Tustin Powered by Coach’s Simple Recipe

Take dozens of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, add a small-in-number but united-in-purpose cast of characters and toss in an old-fashioned football coach whose playbook fits on a cocktail napkin.

What you’ve got is the heart of Tustin’s double-wing offense, a unit that has rolled up nearly 6,000 yards in total offense and has scored a county-record 613 points.

Along the way, the Tillers have won 11 of 12 games and have reached the semifinals of the Southern Section Division V playoffs, hosting Santa Margarita (11-1) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tustin has been virtually unstoppable on the ground this season, rushing for 4,684 yards. In the Tillers’ only loss, they still scored 40 points; however, Servite, their Golden West League rival and the division’s top-seeded team, scored 50.

In the last game of the regular season, Tustin rolled up 82 points--the second-best single-game total in county history--against winless Santa Ana. In last week’s second round of the playoffs, the Tillers used only three of their four designated rushing plays in a 60-45 victory over Loara.

Fullback DeShaun Foster has carried 144 times for 1,664 yards and 28 touchdowns and his 218 points is third-best in county history. Halfback Brandon Lambert has carried 141 times for 1,219 yards and 18 touchdowns. Wingback Greg Carnal has rushed 99 times for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns, and slot back Dominique DeGrammont, an outstanding hurdler in track and field, has rushed for 535 yards and five touchdowns.

“Each one of these guys could stand on his own in another program,” Miller said.

Just when it seems to make most sense to defend against the Tillers with a 10-man front, quarterback Todd Scott, a converted 5-foot-8, 154-pound linebacker, lofts a long pass. Most times, however, Scott takes the snap, pitches the ball to one of his backs and runs interference as the lead blocker. Even so, he has thrown for 1,244 yards and 13 touchdowns.

With this much firepower, the only thing stickier for Miller than the peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches he keeps for his players in the Tustin weight room is figuring out how to spread the ball among his talented running backs while calling the plays--all six of them--from the sidelines.

“When you have two great running backs, you can outflank an opponent,” Miller said. “With four, it’s like spreading the wealth. Each one gets a piece of the pie.”

So far, Miller has managed to satisfy everyone. The Tillers have converted 14 of 17 two-point conversion attempts, and they regularly go for first downs on fourth-down situations in their own territory.

“Whenever I get the ball, I figure I’ve got to do something with it or I won’t get it back,” said Foster, a junior who added that there is some competition among the running backs.

“I ain’t going to lie, there were a couple of times I thought I deserved to get the ball more,” Foster said. “But you know, that’s life. I have to live with it and go on my way doing my best.”

Said Scott: “What we do is like going out and having fun with your friends. Sometimes you want to do some things but you can’t, so you just go along with what all the others do.”

Still, the Tillers have made an impact around the county.

“There’s nothing exotic to what he does,” Servite Coach Larry Toner said of Miller. “It’s not as flamboyant as, say, the Denver Broncos, but his kids have bought into the system.”

Loara Coach John de Fries agreed.

“Our game plan was to keep the ball away from their offense,” he said. “But I’ll tell you, they don’t waste much time coming at you when they get the ball.”

Miller’s playbook may be simple, but it’s effective.

“That’s the thing about this,” Carnal said. “Everyone knows what we are going to do, but you’ve still got to stop us.”

Miller arrived at Tustin two seasons ago. The program was still reeling from the departure of Marijon Ancich, who returned to Santa Fe Springs St. Paul in 1992 after leading the Tillers to four league titles and two Division VI championship games in nine seasons.

Tustin Athletic Director Al Rosmino thought the team was underachieving in 1993 and ‘94, when it won only two games. When then-coach Tim Ellis left to take over at Trabuco Hills in 1994 (an offer that was later rescinded), Rosmino and the school’s administration, sought to push the Tillers in a different direction.

Enter Miller, a disciplinarian with a solid background in simple smash-mouth football. Explained offensive tackle David Wilford: “We try to go out and pound the defense. We pound them and pound them until they just give up.”

Miller has never been known as a strong X’s and O’s coach. “I’ll never be invited to one of those [football coaching] clinics to spill my guts,” he said.

Last year, Miller’s first at Tustin, was a disappointment. The Tillers qualified for the playoffs, but they finished 4-6-1.

“We didn’t get it that season, but we decided to just work harder in the off-season,” left guard Frank Frappier said.

Miller encouraged the players to lift weights in the off-season, demanded they attend summer football classes and brought shopping bags full of those sandwiches to school each day. He said they helped build muscle. The players said they built character.

“They would just be there,” Foster said. “If you wanted to eat them, you could. If you wanted five of them, you could eat five of them. But you had to eat each one you took. That’s the way coach is.”

Those who didn’t buy into Miller’s philosophy dropped off the team. Tustin’s roster today consists of barely two dozen players, and some say that hurt the Tillers against Servite. When the Friars went to a no-huddle offense, it wore down the Tillers, many of whom play both ways.

“I haven’t found more than 23 or 24 guys who want to go through this grind,” Miller said.

The Tillers opened the season with a 29-22 victory over nearby rival Foothill. They scored 56 points against Troy and El Modena--both playoff teams--the next two weeks, and haven’t been held to fewer than 40 points since. They won six in a row before losing to Servite, and bring a five-game winning streak into Saturday’s semifinal.

The effort hasn’t been lost on others.

“I hope our game isn’t a track meet: We score, they score. They’ve been doing that to people,” Santa Margarita Coach Jim Hartigan said. “For us to be productive, we have to get them out of rhythm, force them to punt a few times.”

Said Miller: “The kids want to be the last team standing. We don’t care how we get there. I’d trade a 100-yard effort for a win Saturday.”