El Dorado's Ryan Cardenas tries to get away from Huntington Beach's Russell Hall during the Golden Hawks' 45-19 victory Thursday. KEVIN SULLIVAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER LATEST FROM THE OCVARSITY.COM BLOG Related links CIF football: Wrapping up first round, looking to second Football updates: second-round game sites Friday Fandemonium Fryer breaks down CIF first-round action No-win situation? Barnes' wife, mother can't lose Updated CIF football brackets Esperanza battles its way past San Clemente Orange Lutheran has answer for Fountain Valley It's not easy, but Tesoro knocks out Los Alamitos Servite goes for two, loses to Lakewood in OT New state football rankings (Nov. 19) Pacifica delivers knockout blow to Foothill Mater Dei finds its legs in victory Mission Viejo has smooth playoff start Canyon stops Cypress with second-half effort Tustin off and running in playoffs Mater Dei's Barkley could soar into rarefied air El Dorado begins title defense with big first step La Habra leaves no doubts with 83-0 romp St. Margaret's still too much for Campbell Hall Laguna Beach follows sophomore's lead Western stays grounded, beats Sunny Hills Garden Grove ousted by Norwalk Thursday Fandemonium Calhoun's Stars, Stats and By the Numbers Corona del Mar passes first playoff test Los Amigos brightens when lights come back on Santiago finds its focus, defeats Costa Mesa Laguna Hills earns hard-fought victory Fullerton overpowers Santa Ana Valley Replay: Football playoffs live chat Best in regular season? Glad you asked Calvary Chapel has no answer for Mayfair No. 1 seed Saddleback Valley Christian tripped up Fairmont Prep left frustrated again Irvine makes big stop to beat Westminster Trabuco Hills clears first playoffs hurdle Brethren Christrian falls on the road in first round

Playoffs kick off with huge performances

Find final scores, updated brackets, slide shows and much more.

There wasn't a lot of drama Thursday night, but there were plenty of huge performances from county players on the opening night of the CIF-SS playoffs.

The first-round game between Tustin and Magnolia in the Southwest Division looked like the best game on paper, and it featured two of the top running backs in the county.

Tustin's Anthony Wilkerson and Magnolia's Robert Cruz both put up huge numbers, but it was the Tillers that almost overloaded the scoreboard at Tustin High with their 76-26 victory.

Wilkerson rushed for 268 yards and four touchdowns for Tustin. Cruz had 228 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries and he had a 77-yard touchdown reception.

El Dorado moved a step closer to defending its title with a 45-19 victory over Huntington Beach in the Southwest Division.

Western advanced in the Southwest Division with a 38-15 victory over Sunny Hills. Mookie Cooksie  ran for 134 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries and he had three receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

Chris Paul had touchdown receptions of 40, 38, 9 and 5 yards and he scored on a 29-yard fumble return to lead Laguna Beach over Santa Ana in the Southern Division.

Norwalk eliminated Garden Grove from the Southern Division playoffs with a 38-6 victory. Jose Guzman and Ray Craig combined for 342 rushing yards and four scores to lead Norwalk.

Come back to the OCVarsity blog on Friday night for Steve Fryer's "FryDay Night" coverage of the "Barnes Bowl" between John Barnes' Los Alamitos Griffins and Brian Barnes' Tesoro Titans.

Father vs. son, you gotta love that CIF-SS selection committee.

Carlos Arias will have "Instant Analysis" from the Orange Lutheran-Fountain Valley game. And of course we will have live coverage from all the rest of the big games all around the county.

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com