Tustin Overcomes Mental Errors

Showing only sporadic bursts of the play that gave it the No. 2 ranking in Orange County, Tustin High School defeated shorthanded Saddleback, 28-10, Friday in a Sea View League game at Tustin High School.

Tustin (7-0, 2-0 in league) never appeared in serious danger of losing, but Coach Marijon Ancich said he was disappointed by his team’s mental mistakes, which allowed Saddleback to stay close in the second half.

Ancich said he is having trouble keeping his undefeated team focused, and that the Tillers’ five turnovers could be partly attributed to that.

“It’s so mental right now,” Ancich said.

Fortunately for Tustin, Saddleback (3-4, 1-1) was having a few problems of its own, not the least of which was the fact that the Roadrunners were missing seven starters because of injuries and disciplinary problems.

Senior quarterback Paul Delgado, who had returned from an ankle injury last week for a 28-14 victory over University, didn’t suit up for the Tustin game, and leading rusher Mike Castro was slowed by an injured hip.

But Saddleback Coach Jerry Witte said the players who made it to the field against Tustin performed well.

Junior Luis Estrella took over as the Roadrunners’ quarterback and completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Anthoni Davis to cut Tustin’s lead to 14-10 in the third quarter. But the Tillers then took control.

“I don’t want to take anything away from them,” Witte said. “I just wish we would have made them drive farther for touchdowns.”

On each of Tustin’s first three touchdown drives, the Tillers needed to gain not more than 10 yards to score.

The first drive of 10 yards came after Ron Goods returned a kickoff 85 yards, missing a touchdown only because Kimko Bandy tackled him from behind. Visko Ancich scored on a one-yard run that gave Tustin a 7-3 lead. Saddleback had taken a 3-0 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Julian Orozco.

Saddleback then fumbled on its next possession, setting up a four-yard run by Goods to give Tustin its 14-3 halftime lead.

Leading, 14-10, in the third quarter, Tustin scored on a six-yard pass from Andy Borza to Goods after Jason Clair recovered a fumble on the Saddleback eight-yard line.