Tustin off and running in playoffs

TUSTIN- Tustin's basketball team might not score as much in a game as the school's football team did Thursday.

The Tillers beat Magnolia, 76-26, in a CIF-Southern Section Southwest Division first-round playoff game at Tustin. (Full game stats.)

Tustin (7-4) will play in the second round against the winner of Friday's Pacifica-Foothill first-round game. Magnolia finished 6-5.

Anthony Wilkerson rushed for 268 yards and four touchdowns for Tustin. Ameer Webb rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on four carries. Reserve back Johnny Lopez rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on four carries for the Tillers, and third-string back Travis Farley scored on a 50-yard run on the last play of the game, the only time he touched the ball.

Magnolia senior running back Robert Cruz, who went into the week as the leading rusher in Orange County and California, ran for 228 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries. He also scored on a 77-yard reception.

Wilkerson scored on a 67-yard run on the game’s first play from scrimmage, just 15 seconds into the contest. The next time Tustin got the ball, Wilkerson scored on the second play of the possession, on a 70-yard run to make it 14-0.

Cruz scored on the 77-yard reception, and then Webb scored on the first play of the Tillers’ ensuing possession, a 65-yard run, to make it 21-6. A 50-yard run by Cruz cut Tustin’s lead to 21-12. The Tillers scored the second quarter’s only points on a 3-yard run by quarterback Taylor Richardson and a 2-yard run by Dakota Lambert to take a 35-12 lead into halftime.

It was Tustin's highest points total of the season. The Tillers surpassed 60 points three times during the regular season. The county record for single-game scoring is 109 points, set by Fullerton in 1921. In 2001, Tustin beat Ocean View, 92-0, in a Golden West League game.

The onslaught resumed quickly in the second half as Tustin scored three touchdowns on its first three plays from scrimmage in the third quarter: runs of 32 and 65 yards by Wilkerson, and a 60-yard run by Lambert that made it 56-12.

Cruz scored on a 1-yard run for Magnolia late in the third quarter, but the Tillers responded quickly in the fourth with a 49-yard touchdown run by Webb and then a 37-yard touchdown run by Lopez to give them a 70-18 lead. A Cruz run of 36 yards and his two point conversion made it 70-26. After a Magnolia fumble with three seconds left, Farley ran up the middle for a 50-yard TD run to conclude the game.

The Tillers had won six in a row before losing to El Dorado, 28-23, last week in the Century League finale.

Wilkerson, a 6-foot and 210-pound junior, said the Tillers might be playing their best right now.

"Everyone's healthy," Wilkerson said. "And we’re a lot more than just two running backs."

He gave credit to the offensive line of Shawn Connolly, Scott Hungerford, Jovanny Mendez, Luis Rubio and Dillon Sommer, and tight ends Chris Robinson and Justice Tausaga.

Tustin coach Myron Miller said the blocks of fullback Wade Minshew are also important to the double-wing offense, but he was also pleased with the entire Tustin operation.

“We blocked and ran hard tonight,” Miller said, “and all the running backs got to play.”

• Click here for full game stats and links to season totals and team rosters.

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com