With Game on the Line, Lancers Put It Into Drive

COSTA MESA —  The game was over Friday night, his team had won, and Kenny Overby was doing what came naturally.

Overby, a senior running back for Sunny Hills, was crying his eyes out.

In a moment, he would be surrounded by reporters and TV cameras. But now, he was looking toward the sky in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening, could it?

It was.

The scoreboard at Orange Coast College told the story:

Sunny Hills 7, Tustin 3

The Lancers, losers of three of their first five games, had just won the Southern Section Division VI championship.

At one time, reaching the title game seemed improbable enough. Winning was certainly out of the question.

And it still appeared that way with 6 minutes 41 seconds left Friday night. Tustin’s Matt Coo had just kicked a 21-yard field goal to give Tustin a 3-0 lead.

Given the brutal defensive struggle the game had been, it figured to be enough for the Tillers. It was not.

Sunny Hills, with all of four first downs at that point, started at its own 20.

Running back Mike Sullivan carried for nine yards on the first play. Overby picked up six on second down, then gained eight more.

“Our running backs were getting around the corners, and the line started blocking,” quarterback Jamal McKenzie said. “It was time to start kicking butt.”

But two plays later, Sunny Hills was faced with fourth and three at the 42. McKenzie calmly drilled a four-yard pass to Stephen Choe, and the drive continued.

“That pass had been there all night, I just hadn’t listened to my offensive line coach,” said Tim Devaney, Sunny Hills coach. “But at that point, if they were going to give us five yards, we were going to take it.”

Mixing runs by Sullivan, Overby and McKenzie, Sunny Hills moved toward the Tustin goal line. On third and three from the 32, the Lancers converted when Sullivan went around left end for 14 yards to the 18. And with less than a minute to play, Sunny Hills broke inside the Tiller 10.

On third and one, McKenzie sneaked three yards to the six.

“The line did it on that drive,” Sullivan said later. “They wore Tustin down and moved them around.”

Tustin Coach Marijon Ancich agreed.

“They just played a little harder,” said Ancich, who was coaching in his sixth championship game. “We also missed a couple of crucial tackles early in the drive.”

Inside the 10, Sunny Hills couldn’t be stopped.

McKenzie gained three yards to the three. Overby went left for two yards, and the ball rested only a foot from the end zone.

Sunny Hills called a timeout with 32 seconds left to make sure everyone knew their assignments.

The game-winning play went to Overby, who burrowed straight ahead into the line for a one-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds left.

It was the last of the 58 yards in 18 carries. Overby played with most of the game with an injured shoulder. Devaney said it “might” be a slight separation.

After the touchdown, Overby carried his arm close to his body as he jogged off the field.

But later, he said nothing of the injury.

“We did it,” he said, still weeping. “We did it. This is beautiful. I can’t believe it.”