Tillers

Out of the mouths of babes--and over-exuberant football fans--fall words that should be left unspoken. Take the remark made by a Saddleback partisan early in the third quarter Thursday night after the Roadrunners took a nine-point lead over highly regarded Tustin. "So that's the No. 4-ranked team in the county, huh?" he said. Yep. The Tillers scored the final 21 points to prove it and won the Sea View League game, 33-21, at Santa Ana Stadium.

As roofs go, the one that caved in on Orange High School's basketball team Tuesday night was a hefty one. Orange got to halftime trailing Tustin by five points. But things fell apart shortly thereafter and Tustin pulled away for a 79-50 victory in a Division II-AA playoff game. Third-seeded Tustin, 23-4 after its second-half romp, plays Edison, a 71-49 winner over Elsinore, in Friday's quarterfinals. Orange Coach Richard Bossenmeyer's overachieving Panthers end their season 15-9.

As the Southern Section cross-country preliminaries came to a close Saturday, a collective sigh of relief seemed to echo through the hills surrounding Mt. San Antonio College. As expected, Orange County's top teams--Corona del Mar and Dana Hills (boys) and Santa Ana Valley and Villa Park (girls)--passed another test, placing fourth or better in their heats to earn their way to the Southern Section championships next Saturday. But pre-race nerves of coaches and athletes seemed skittery.

Senior running back Drake Griffin of La Habra was simply unstoppable in the second half, rushing for 217 yards and three touchdowns over the final two quarters of the Highlanders' 35-26 victory over Tustin in the Southern Section Southwest Division championship game Saturday afternoon at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Griffin, a transfer from Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, finished with 317 yards and four touchdowns in 29 carries, and quarterback Cody Clements, who has committed to Washington State, completed five of eight passes for 58 yards and one touchdown for the third-seeded Highlanders (11-3)

Though London McBride managed just one completed pass, it was enough to beat Tustin. McBride's 23-yard touchdown pass to tight end Eric Richardson on fourth down with 1:09 remaining gave Wilmington Banning a stunning 19-16 victory over host Tustin Friday night. Tustin (2-1) gave the Pilots two chances to score in the final six minutes before McBride delivered the game-winner.

Shannon Bates scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday night to help the Westminster High School girls' basketball team defeat Villa Park, 44-40, in a nonleague game played in the Spartans' gym at Villa Park. The Spartans (1-3) had trailed by 10 points at halftime but outscored the Lions, 18-6, in the third period to take a 28-24 lead. Suzie Barnett scored 16 points for Villa Park, but Westminster (3-2) came back in the fourth quarter behind the play of Bates.

Nigatu Gefawson scored with four minutes left to give the Canyon High School boys' soccer team a 1-0 Century League victory over Villa Park Wednesday at Villa Park. It was the first loss of season for Villa Park (3-1-1, 13-1-2). The victory gives Canyon (4-0-1, 14-7-1) sole possession of first place in the league. Canyon ended Esperanza's 61-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 victory in the Orange Tournament on Dec. 20.

Last year, that wacky, which-way-is-up Sea View League gave us . . Firsts: --Tustin High School defeated Foothill, 21-6. It was the first time the Tillers had defeated the Knights in 14 years, thus winning the city football title and the coveted Golden Gauntlet, the championship trophy. That was early October. By early November, Tustin defeated Saddleback, 9-7, and clinched part of the league championship--the first for Tustin since 1955.

Thursday's Woodbridge-Tustin Sea View League game was nearly a replay of the first meeting of the year between the teams Jan. 9, when Christine Garner's last-second 43-footer gave the Tillers an upset victory. In the rematch, Katie Sherman's 40-footer as time expired hit the back of the rim and Woodbridge won, 48-47, at Tustin. Priya Vasudev's two free throws with 14 seconds to play gave Woodbridge (14-6, 3-3) a 48-44 lead.

Steve Surico, Tustin High School pitcher, relieved himself of a lot of pressure Wednesday by signing a national letter of intent to attend Loyola Marymount University on a baseball scholarship. No longer will college recruiters barrage the senior left-hander with phone calls or appear at his games to evaluate his every pitch. But Surico still has the professional scouts to deal with.