TUSTIN – KC Carr found a new way to contribute Friday night.
The junior running back for Tustin scored six touchdowns to lead the Tillers to a 42-27 victory against visiting Huntington Beach in a CIF-SS Division 7 first-round playoff game.
Scoring touchdowns is nothing new to Orange County’s leading rusher this season, but catching one and scoring two others off turnover returns was a first.
“They all stand out because I had help with them,” Carr said.
The win was the first in the postseason since 2012 for Tustin (9-2), which ended Huntington Beach’s season in the second round that year, the last time the Oilers made the playoffs.
Carr, who rushed for 192 yards on 29 carries against the Oilers (4-7), almost singlehandedly put the Tillers ahead for good in the final minutes of the first half.
Fullback Anthony Herbas’s solid running opened up a play-action pass that sprung Carr on a corner pattern and quarterback Sagel Simon lofted a perfect throw, resulting in a 27-yard touchdown that tied the score, 14-14, with 1:48 left in the first half.
Carr then moved to his cornerback position and, two plays later, the Oilers fumbled on a run play. Carr came up with the loose ball and outraced an offensive player to the goal line to complete a 43-yard touchdown return.
The Tillers then pooched a short kickoff that dropped near the Huntington Beach 20-yard line and Tustin sophomore Jerome Childs beat the Oilers to the ball to keep possession. Carr picked up 25 yards on third-and-21 before scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run. He then ran in the 2-point conversion for a 28-14 lead with 11 seconds left in the first half.
Carr added an 82-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half, and clinched the game with a 69-yard interception return for a score with 1:24 left in the game.
