Foothill Falls to Tustin Again Despite Ranking : Football: Tillers shut out Knights for the fourth straight game. Tailback Barrett scores twice.

This was supposed to be the year Foothill finally had Tustin’s number. The Knights had gotten most of the attention in preseason polls, while Tustin was expected to be in a transition phase with first-year Coach Tim Ellis having replaced Marijon Ancich.

Still, Tustin was able to handle Foothill.

The Tillers (2-0) used two third-quarter touchdown runs by tailback Lamar Barrett and a swarming defense that helped the them blank Foothill for the fourth consecutive time, 14-0, Friday night at Tustin High.

It was Tustin’s fifth consecutive victory against Foothill (0-1) and a painful defeat for the Knights. Foothill entered the game as the county’s No. 10 team and No. 3 in Division IV. The Knights haven’t beaten Tustin since a 10-0 decision in 1988.

Ellis said unranked Tustin was inspired by the publicity Foothill had gotten.

“We haven’t gotten a lot of respect in the newspapers,” he said. “Everything that’s been coming out is about Foothill, Foothill, Foothill. Our kids were a little mad about it.”

Barrett, who finished with 114 yards in total offense, broke up a 0-0 tie in the third quarter when he scored on a one-yard run with 7:34 remaining for a 7-0 Tustin lead. The touchdown came after he raced 83 yards with a pass from quarterback Kevin Timone to set a first-and-goal situation from the Foothill one. He scored two plays later.

On the Tillers’ next possession, Barrett scooted in again from a yard out with 38 seconds remaining in the third, capping a 56-yard drive in six plays for the final score.

Foothill had opportunities to score several times, but failed.

“They played great,” Foothill Coach Tom Meiss said of the Tillers. “Obviously we’re disappointed. But I think we will rebound from it.”

Tustin’s defense harassed Foothill quarterback Kevin Daff for most of the game. Though he completed 13 of 22 passes for 100 yards, the bulk of the Knights’ offense, he was sacked four times and was forced to rush several attempts.

The turning point for Foothill, Meiss said, was when tailback Ethan Taub ran 19 yards for a first down at the Tustin 47 on the first play of the third quarter. However, a personal foul penalty backed them up to the 39. The drive stalled and the Knights never recovered.