DANA POINT – Tustin mounted a 20-point halftime lead then held on through a sloppy second half to defeat Dana Hills, 20-14, in a nonleague season opener Friday night at Dana Hills High.
Tustin stormed out of the gate, dominating both sides of the ball.
The Tillers’ defense held Dana Hills to two three-and-outs and 4 total yards in its first two series. Offensively, Tustin (1-0) put together two lengthy, nine-play touchdown drives, both capped by junior Alema Pilimai, with a 3-yard run and a 5-yard pass to senior George Wilson, respectively.
Pilimai finished with 72 yards rushing and one touchdown on 19 carries and completed nine of 15 passes for 68 yards and one touchdown.
“In the first half, (Pilimai) was off the charts,” Tustin coach Winter Welz said. “Our running game was working.”
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After Tustin missed a field goal, junior De Von Anderson intercepted Dana Hills on the first play of the ensuing drive and returned it 25 yards for a 20-0 lead with only 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
However, the Tillers’ spark was gone in the second half.
“We couldn’t get anything going,” Welz said. “We were just worn down and took way too many penalties.”
Tustin was charged with seven penalties for 62 yards, stalling its own momentum and extending Dana Hills drives.
A defensive holding call against Tustin on a fourth down extended a Dana Hills drive, and the Dolphins capped it with a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior Cole Wilber to senior Jay Schuyler.
Wilber finished 16 of 36 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Schuyler caught six passes for 63 yards and one touchdown.
A pair of Tustin defensive penalties helped set up Dana Hills’ second touchdown – a fourth-down face mask of Dana Hills senior running back Brian Scott and a horsecollar tackle on the next play gave the Dolphins the ball at the Tustin 7-yard line.
Scott’s 2-yard touchdown run trimmed Dana Hills’ deficit to 20-14. Scott rushed for 29 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.
On the game’s final drive, Wilber took a quality shot toward the end zone, but Tustin junior Hugh Bethell intercepted the pass as time expired to seal the Tillers’ victory.