SEA VIEW LEAGUE : Corona del Mar’s Mistakes Help Tustin

Corona del Mar gave Tustin a victory Thursday night. The Sea Kings fumbled and threw it right into the Tillers’ lap.

The final totals were four interceptions, three fumbles and a 23-14 Tustin victory at Newport Harbor High.

“We got some opportunities (tonight), but believe me, the last couple of games we’ve had no help in the turnover department,” Tustin Coach Marijon Ancich said. “Our guys should feel proud about this.”

It hadn’t quite reached the point of desperation, but suffice to say Tustin needed a victory in a bad way Thursday. A loss would have knocked the Tillers out of playoff contention with only three games left in the Sea View League season.

“It was--how do you call it--a gut check,” Ancich said.

It was so important that Tustin defeat Corona del Mar that Ancich moved Jason Reynolds three steps back into a running back position and inserted freshman Chris Collins at quarterback.

Corona del Mar (4-2-1, 1-2-1 in league play) eased any tensions Tustin might have felt with a fumble on its first play from scrimmage. Tustin recovered at the Sea King 23-yard line, and three plays later Reynolds scored on a two-yard run.

Corona del Mar fumbled again on its next series, and three plays later, Reynolds ran two yards around left end for another touchdown and Tustin led, 13-0 with 7 minutes 13 seconds left in the first quarter.

Tustin (3-4, 2-2) might have put the game away at that point, but as Ancich said, “Our guys got a little lax and they came right down the field.”

Behind the passing of quarterback Matt Evans, Corona del Mar rallied for a 14-13 lead with 9:00 left in the third quarter. Running back J.R. Walz scored the Sea Kings’ touchdowns on one- and 19-yard runs.

But Tustin didn’t fold, thanks primarily to Corona del Mar’s inability to hold onto the ball. A fumbled punt return set up Zach Matthews’ 24-yard field goal, which gave the Tillers a 16-14 lead 40 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Later, Jon Lauderdale intercepted an Evans pass at the Corona del Mar 46 to set up a 42-yard touchdown run by Lamar Barrett with 3:40 left in the game.

Evans’ four interceptions put a damper on a night during which he completed 18 of 31 passes for 207 yards.