Tustin’s Miller Considering the Pass

Tustin High Coach Myron Miller knows a thing or two about football. But he’s come to the conclusion he doesn’t know enough about the passing game.

“I’m going to have to find a quarterback and receiver coach for next year,” Miller said. “I’ve been doing it the last eight years. But when I played football, all I did was block the guy in front of me. So what can I tell our quarterbacks and receivers besides ‘Here’s a ball, go play catch.’ ”

Miller said he does not want the Tillers to become a passing team, but he said it’s clear they will run the ball better if teams have to respect the passing game.

“At least defenses will have to play us more honestly instead of just putting eight to nine guys up front,” he said.

For the record, Tustin quarterbacks already have attempted 72 passes--12 more than last season.

The Tillers improved to 4-3 after dominating Westminster, 44-16, Thursday in a Golden West League opener.

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Typically, teams with 0-5 nonleague records don’t talk about winning the league title. But this isn’t a typical year in the South Coast League.

Mater Dei has moved on to the Serra League after winning seven consecutive league titles, and every team enters league play with at least two losses.

So before Dana Hills played its opener against Mission Viejo Friday night, its coach, Scott Orloff, was wearing a big smile.

“I think it’s fun,” he said. “This is what high school football is supposed to be about. I think anybody could win this race.”

Mission Viejo took a step in that direction, defeating the Dolphins, 19-18.

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Despite Santa Margarita’s two on-field losses (one later reversed by a forfeit) and its tougher schedule this season, the Eagles entered Friday’s nonleague game against La Puente Bishop Amat averaging 27.8 points and 8.4 runs of 10 yards or more per game.

Last season, Santa Margarita averaged 23.9 points and 6.1 runs of 10 yards or more through its first five games.

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Believe it or not: Magnolia’s 31-0 loss Thursday to Savanna wasn’t the worst news of the night for the Sentinels.

Scott Gilbert, a sophomore lineman, broke his ankle on the opening kickoff return, and running back Richard Flickinger broke his leg, in both the left tibia and fibula, after a one-yard carry in the third quarter.

Savanna’s defense, which had missed eight starters just two weeks ago, was missing only one starter against Savanna and appeared to be getting close to healthy. Coach Bill Friedrich said before the game, “We haven’t had our best lineup on the field.”

And it looks like they won’t.

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Added Magnolia’s Friedrich after Thursday’s defeat: “We just didn’t execute. You have to be able to do more than one thing in a row right.”

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City rivals La Habra and Sonora met Friday night for the 24th time. La Habra leads the series, 19-5, after winning the Freeway League opener, 28-14.

“It is a fun and exciting game. It is a game that everyone looks forward to playing,” said Mark Takkinen, Sonora’s coach, before the game. “It is a kind of family rivalry because students who attend Sonora have parents who went to La Habra.”

Said La Habra Coach Frank Mazzotta: “It is important to the kids because they want to beat their friends. It means much more since the kids know each other. . . . The community wants to see the best that their kids have to offer on Friday night.”