Tustin Rips Foothill in Rematch

Tustin sought perfection in its rematch with Foothill in a first-round Southern Section Division VI playoff game Friday, and the Tillers nearly produced it with a convincing 71-28 victory.

Tustin rolled up 545 yards of offense, scored touchdowns on 10 of 11 possessions and tallied 34 second-quarter points to take a 42-22 halftime lead at Tustin High.

Tustin will face Santa Margarita in the second round.

Tustin had a balanced attack, led by fullback David Little, who scored three touchdowns on runs of 52, 19 and four yards, and Marcus Burrell, who caught three touchdown passes of 23, 24 and 31 yards. Tustin quarterback David Little didn’t throw often, but completed four of five passes for 124 yards.

Foothill (6-5) defeated Tustin (7-4) in the season opener Sept. 11, 35-15, and that loss had Tustin itching for the rematch.

“We were absolutely embarrassed,” Tustin Coach Myron Miller said of the season opener. “Tonight, our goal was to score every time we had the ball. One of the best things to happen us was to get this second chance at Foothill.”

Now, Tustin gets another shot at Santa Margarita, which won the teams’ last meeting last season in the Division V championship game.

“We don’t care who we’ll play,” Miller said. “We just line it up every week and give it the best we’ve got.”

Miller said Tustin’s offense has sputtered lately, but the Tillers had no such problems Friday.

Leading rusher Branden Malcom rushed for 128 yards in 16 carries, including a 32-yard touchdown run. James Sargent rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard scoring run midway through the second quarter to extend Tustin’s lead, 28-7.

Foothill also had some big plays. Darren Crume returned a kickoff 65 yards for a touchdown to pull the Knights to within 28-14 with 5:55 remaining in the second quarter. But Tustin scored two more touchdowns before halftime.

Terrence Newman rushed for 71 yards in 11 carries and scored two touchdowns for the Knights.