Tars outmuscle Tustin

Newport Harbor wins physical battle to roll past Tillers and into CIF Division VI title game with Valencia.TUSTIN -- It didn’t come down to turnovers and it wasn’t about elaborate schemes Saturday night at Tustin High. The CIF Southern Section Division VI semifinal football clash between Newport Harbor and the host Tillers was won by the team that showed the most physical prowess.

To the surprise of some, that team was the Sailors, who pounded out a 28-0 victory to earn a trip to Friday’s championship showdown against Valencia. The site of the title game will be determined, but Newport Harbor (10-3) will be the home team against the 12-1 Tigers.

“We got beat by a better team,” Tustin Coach Myron Miller said. “Their scheme didn’t beat us, though it was a good scheme. They were just physically better.”

It would be tough to argue.

The Sailors, who advanced to their seventh CIF title game in the last 14 seasons, used a bruising running game and a disciplined, hard-charging defense to come out on top.

Senior tailback Ryan Rippon amassed a career-high 300 rushing yards on 30 carries, including a pair of first-half touchdown runs.

While the Sailors were cashing in on offense -- they scored on two of their first three possessions and lost a fumble after a 57-yard run to the Tillers’ 9-yard line on the other -- they were containing a Tustin offense that had averaged 30 points in its two previous playoff wins.

Newport Harbor stopped Tustin on four fourth-down attempts, three of which came after the Tillers had run at least 10 plays.

The Sailors, who altered their four-three scheme to a four-five alignment with two safeties deep for insurance, allowed only six plays of more than 9 yards.

The longest Tustin gain was 17 yards, and the closest the Tillers got to the Sailors’ red zone was the Newport Harbor 27-yard line late in the second quarter.

“We couldn’t block ‘em,” Miller said of tackles Delano McKenzie and Ryan Uhl, ends Mike Calabrese, Scott Andrews and Jayme Ohlhaver. “They just physically whooped us. When we can’t double team people, we’re in trouble.”

With the front four occupying the Tustin blockers, linebackers Nick Frazier, Billy Brown, Jack Tracy, Jasen Ruiz, David Rosales and Brett Green successfully chased down ballcarriers all night.

Safeties Tom Jackson and James Coder also made their share of tackles to hand Tustin its first shutout in 20 games. The Tillers were last blanked by Western, 14-0, in their fourth game of the 2004 season.

“[Defensive coordinator] Tony Ciarelli did a good job coming up with a plan and we played well,” Brinkley said. “You know you’re doing something right when you shut those guys out.”

Tustin (6-7) produced 240 yards of offense, good for 14 first downs. But the Tillers got only four first downs after halftime.

Senior Jeff Quinn topped six Tillers ballcarriers with 65 yards on 14 carries.

Rippon, operating behind an offensive line of tackles Charles Schultz and Matt McCullough, guards Alex Flores and Billy Munce, as well as center Lou Truxton, consistently sprinted into the Tustin secondary.

“We blew guys off the line,” said the 6-foot-4, 332-pound Schultz. “We played harder, more physical and faster than they did. That’s a great [Tustin] team. I have a lot of respect for those guys. But you have to give everything to Rippon.”

Rippon, who handled the Tars’ first 26 rushing attempts, had runs of 22 and 23 yards on the opening possession of the game. He capped the six-play, 76-yard procession with a 9-yard touchdown carry with just 2:08 elapsed.

After a fumble ended the second Sailors possession, the Tars took over on their 48-yard line, one play into the second quarter.

Nine plays later the Sailors doubled the lead as Rippon darted off right tackle for a 13-yard touchdown run.

The Sailors’ defense followed the nine-play drive by stopping a fourth-and-three play about four inches shy of the first down to stop Tustin’s deepest penetration.

The Sailors scored on their final two drives in the second half to put the game away.

After six runs by Rippon moved the Sailors to the Tustin 8, Jackson faked to Rippon and kept the ball as he ran around the left side. The scoring bootleg with 6:49 left in the game was the first time any Sailor besides Rippon carried the ball. Jackson capped the scoring with a 1-yard sneak.

“[Brinkley] is like me,” Miller said. “He finds something that’s good for him, offensively, and that’s all you’re going to see. If I could get 8 to 10 yards every time I ran the [isolation play], I’d keep running it too.”