Tustin Isn’t at Its Best in Victory : Prep football: On a night when their game lacks polish, the third-ranked Tillers still have enough to defeat Orange, 20-6.

There was more of the same from Tustin High School’s gutty little Tillers against Orange Friday night.

The Tillers aren’t big, they aren’t fast and they don’t always play the way their coach would like, but after five nonleague games they are undefeated.

Tustin’s 20-6 victory before 2,500 at Northrup Stadium included the run-right-at-’em offense and the run-right-at-’em-and-knock-’em-down defense. Both have become standard fare for the Tillers (5-0 and third-ranked in Orange County).

But Tustin also shanked two field goals, threw an interception and fumbled five times, losing two. The Tillers also had a couple of penalties that hurt scoring chances.

“(We) were our own worst enemy,” Tustin Coach Marijon Ancich said. “We missed a lot of opportunities.”

Tustin might have won by four touchdowns if it had played a more polished game.

As it was, facing an overmatched opponent, the Tillers had a fairly easy time winning, despite occasional lapses.

Running back Visko Ancich rushed for 191 yards and had touchdown runs of 19 and 55 yards and quarterback Andy Borza completed 10 of 16 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown to lead Tustin’s offense.

The Tillers’ defense gave up just 40 yards rushing and 116 passing. Averaging 83 yards a game, Acen Chiles could scratch out just 14 in eight carries. He was the leading rusher for Orange. Quarterback Josh Belovsky completed 9 of 21 passes for 116 yards and one touchdown, but also threw three interceptions.

Only a nine-yard touchdown pass from Belovsky to tight end Kris Lister in the fourth quarter kept Orange from being shut out.

Orange (3-2) crossed midfield only twice, both times in the second half.

“We fired all the bullets we had,” Orange Coach Tom Meiss said. “We were proud of our kids. We felt coming in that we were a little overmatched. They (Tustin)are a good football team. We tried not to give up the easy touchdowns.”

It didn’t work.

Tustin’s first series resulted in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Borza to Shad Vickers with 8:03 left in the first quarter.

Vickers, who caught five passes for 101 yards--all in the first half--filled in at Z back for Keve Love, who was at the funeral of his grandmother in Florida.

The Tillers’ second series ended when Ron Goods fumbled at the Orange 41. The third produced a 19-yard touchdown run by Ancich on the last play of the first quarter. Ancich got tackled trying to run with a high snap on the point after try and Tustin led, 13-0.

With 8:38 left in the game, Ancich took a handoff, ran left, then cut back against the grain for a 58-yard touchdown run.

“We tried to keep it close,” Meiss said. “(But) that third touchdown was a killer for us.”