Sunny Hills Runs Past Tustin for Spot in Semifinals

Sunny Hills High School Coach Tim Devaney was rather somber Friday after the Lancers’ 21-0 victory over Tustin. It was hard to understand why.

After all, the Lancers had dominated the Tillers in front of 4,000 at Tustin High School. They had run up and down the field with little interference from the Tustin defense. And with the victory, Sunny Hills reached the semifinals of the Southern Section Division VI football playoffs.

So why wasn’t this guy smiling?

“I’ll be happy later,” Devaney said. “We were very apprehensive about this game. The way Tustin plays the run was very scary.”

So much for fear.

The Lancers (12-0), the top-seeded team in Division VI, did as they pleased for much of the game. They gained 307 yards rushing and had two running backs rush for more than 100 yards.

About the only problems Sunny Hills had was inside the the 10-yard line.

“My defensive coordinator said we would need 28 points to win this game,” Devaney said. “But he says that every week.”

From the Lancers’ first play, it was apparent they would have little trouble running against the Tillers (7-5).

Fullback Brian Pizula burst over right tackle for a 28-yard gain. Kenny Overby followed with a 23-yard gain on the next play and Sunny Hills was off and running.

“Tustin is probably the most fundamentally sound team we’ve played all season,” said Devaney, whose team will play Corona del Mar Friday in the semifinals. “So we felt pretty good about things after our first drive.”

The Lancers went 80 yards without attempting even one pass on the drive. Pizula, who had 126 yards in 21 carries, finished it off with a one-yard run on fourth down.

The Lancers were far from perfect, though. Twice they were stopped inside the 10.

On its second possession, Sunny Hills got as far as the two-yard line, but Overby was stopped for no gain on fourth down. In the fourth quarter, the Lancers got to the eight, but Matt Young’s 25-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Che Brooks.

Other than that, the Lancers were perfect.

By halftime, Sunny Hills led, 21-0. Overby, who had 124 yards in 19 carries, scored twice in the second quarter on one-yard runs. The second touchdown came after Steve Choe recovered a Ron Goods fumble at the Tustin 18.

The Tillers had only 56 yards in total offense at halftime, most of which came on their first drive.

A 32-yard pass completion from quarterback Andy Borza to Frank Mercuri gave the Tillers the ball at the Lancer 27. However, Sunny Hills held and David Basurto missed a 42-yard field goal.

The Tillers’ only scoring chance came in the second half. They drove to the Lancer four, but Borza was sacked by Pizula on fourth down.

Sunny Hills limited the Tillers to only 43 yards rushing in the game.

It was the Lancers’ fifth shutout of the season and their second in the playoffs. Sunny Hills defeated Kennedy, 28-0, in its first-round game.