Tustin’s Ancich Is Coach of the Year

Marijon Ancich, who led Tustin High School to its first football championship game in 42 years, is The Times’ Orange County coach of the year.

Ancich led Tustin to a 13-1 record in his seventh season, winning the Sea View League title and earning the top seeding in the Division VI playoffs.

Ancich is the winningest active coach in the Southern Section with a career mark of 237-66-9 in 26 seasons. He spent 19 years at St. Paul before moving to Tustin in 1984.

Ancich immediately revived one of the county’s worst programs. The Tillers were 1-9 in 1983 and 3-17 in the two seasons before Ancich was hired but were 6-4 in his first season.

This year, Tustin outscored three playoff opponents, 104-20, to advance to the division championship game for the first time since 1948. Sunny Hills upset Tustin, 7-3, for the title.

Tustin’s season began in Hawaii, where the Tillers spent a week at a remote church camp preparing for their opener against Honolulu Pac-5 at Oahu’s Aloha Stadium. Tustin won, 37-7, and went on to average 26.8 points per game.