TUSTIN – What a difference a year makes for Tustin’s George Wilson.
Last year, Wilson didn’t get a chance to play in the annual rivalry game against Foothill.
Friday, he made up for lost time.
The senior two-way player threw a touchdown pass in the third quarter, and on the next defensive series returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown to help the Tillers recapture the Gauntlet Trophy with their 21-9 home victory over Foothill.
“That’s why he’s a two-way guy,” Tustin coach Winter Welz said of Wilson. “He’s an All-County guy. He’s going to show it this season why he’s a top-10 guy.”
Wilson moved to quarterback in the third quarter when starter Alema Pilimai went down with a leg injury on the first possession of the second half.
On second-and-8, Wilson connected with Elijah Asiata for a 7-yard pass. Two plays later, he found Jonathan DiMaio for 14 yards. Later in the drive, Wilson found Aramie Faletoi in the back of the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass and 14-3 lead.
“I saw they were disrespecting Aramie and making him go 1-on-1,” Wilson said. “Aramie is an underrated athlete, so we knew we had a mismatch and we took full advantage of it.”
Wilson then helped put the game away when he intercepted Preston Moebius’ pass and went in for a score and a 21-3 lead for Tustin (2-0).
“I was reading the quarterback’s eyes, I reacted well and it went our way,” Wilson said. “This is huge. We’re getting the monkey off of our back. I don’t think people thought we could bounce back this year, but we’re trying to make a statement out here. This game is personal to me. I felt like I could have made a difference last year.”
Wilson, who missed last year’s game with an injured elbow, also had 42 yards rushing and 34 receiving.
Foothill, playing its season opener, closed the scoring with 1:59 left in the game on Jimmy Latham’s 1-yard touchdown run. For the Knights, that touchdown came too late, considering the success they had moving the ball inside the 20s in the first half.
“We came away with only three points and that (the three points) wasn’t even from inside the 20, that was from the 40,” Foothill coach Doug Case said. “We moved the ball early on, but we just didn’t capitalize.
“We got a score and they come right back with a 70-yard quarterback keeper right up the gut and shifted the momentum right back to their side. They played tough and we just made too many mistakes.”
Foothill took a 3-0 lead on Evan Mickelson’s 48-yard field goal in the first quarter. Then Tustin’s Pilimai took the first play on the next Tustin drive for the long touchdown and the Tillers never looked back.
Foothill will face Beckman next week, while the Tillers will visit Aliso Niguel.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
