Foothill sets the tone, shuts down Tustin

Foothill started a new winning streak in the 42nd cross-town rivalry game against Tustin with a 21-6 victory on Friday in a non-league matchup at Tustin High. The Knights (1-1) have now won two in a row and seven out of the past 10 games over the Tillers (0-2).

"It's always been a war with Tustin," Foothill coach Doug Case said. "We grew up a lot tonight. The kids did a great job of executing."

Foothill took advantage of playing on a short field after recovering a loose fumble by scoring with 3:35 left in the first half. Quarterback Zach Griffith connected with Brandon Dupre on a 10-yard screen play.

"Everyone around me was doing their job, all I had to do was throw the ball," Griffith said. "The offensive line was giving me all day to throw the ball, and that gave me a lot of confidence to let it fly."

Tustin answered back in the second half with a 25-yard touchdown run from Ameer Webb, who outsprinted three Foothill defenders. But a failed two-point conversion left the Knights ahead, 7-6.

"We were supposed to run that play to the inside," Webb said. "It wasn't there so I just told my quarterback to go with me, and I was able to bounce it to the outside for the touchdown."

The Tillers defense appeared to be in full control of the game, but a costly penalty late in the fourth quarter gave Foothill's offense a second chance.The Knights were in a third-and-long situation at midfield when Tustin was called for roughing the passer. Foothill had failed to covert the first down on the play, but the penalty gave the Knights a fresh set of downs and the ball at the 24-yard line. On the next play, Griffith found Dupre again this time on a play-action pass to make it 14-6 with 5:42 left in the game. The Knights defense held its ground against the Tillers' double-wing offense one last time and forced a turnover on downs to take full control of the game close it.

"From the beginning we wanted to come out and hit them hard," Foothill linebacker Jordan Winger said. "This is the game we train for and the entire offseason. "Foothill put the finishing touches on the victory two plays later when Robert Daniel broke free for a 39 yard touchdown run that made it 21-6. Tustin's Taylor Richardson, who rushed for 135 yards on 29 carries, stepped in to fill the void left by star running back Anthony Wilkerson.

Contact the writer: acasas@ocregister.com