WESTLAKE VILLAGE — Westlake entered Friday night undefeated, and Tustin fell behind by two touchdowns before the first quarter was halfway over. Then the Tillers scored 28 unanswered points.
Tustin defeated Westlake 28-21 in a nonleague game, improving to 4-1 and handing the Warriors (4-1) their first loss of the season.
Westlake’s Charles Davis scored a touchdown with 10:41 remaining in the first quarter. The Warriors appeared to score again less than two minutes later, but the touchdown was called back.
Erik Green scored with 7:47 remaining in the quarter, and the extra point extended Westlake’s lead to 14-0.
Westlake coach Rick Clausen said the Warriors found success early by getting the ball to their players in open space.
“We were getting our guys the ball in space and allowing them to do some work,” Clausen said. “Just trying to get the ball out on time and trying to catch them a little bit off guard early on.”
Tustin responded with a field goal before Jeremiah Williams scored his first touchdown of the game, cutting Westlake’s lead to 14-10.
Steele Holcomb followed with another touchdown before halftime. Tustin missed the extra point but took a 16-14 lead into the break after scoring 16 unanswered points.
Holcomb said falling behind early did not change Tustin’s approach.
“It doesn’t matter the score,” Holcomb said. “We just need to go punch one in and then punch another one in and just keep going.”
Tustin carried the momentum into the second half.
Williams scored his second touchdown with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter, extending the Tillers’ lead to 22-14. Williams described the play as a wedge similar to the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Tush Push.”
“The offense has a lot of faith in me to run the ball, hold onto the ball and get the job done,” Williams said.
Williams said the shift in momentum was something the Tillers could feel on the field.
“Momentum is, like, really a real thing in football,” Williams said. “People don’t really understand that till you’re really in the game. You really see it. You know, you could be down by 21. You score one touchdown, you feel like you can come back right then and there.”
Holcomb scored his second touchdown with 8:59 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Tustin a 28-14 lead and completing a run of 28 unanswered points.
Holcomb said the Tillers began finding success after eliminating some of their early mistakes.
“I think we stopped making a little bit of mental mistakes that we were making,” Holcomb said. “We just started playing our game, and that’s when we started to find success.”
Westlake continued to push late in the fourth quarter. Dylan Bruns sacked the Tustin quarterback with 5:32 remaining, and the Warriors scored a touchdown with 2:27 left. The extra point cut Tustin’s lead to 28-21.
“We’re gonna compete, you know, and that’s why we scheduled these guys,” Clausen said. “That’s a darn good football team. And we needed to see our kids compete tonight, and they did a good job competing.”
Tustin held on in the final minutes to secure its fourth consecutive victory.
Williams said the Tillers have responded since losing their season opener and now enter their bye week with momentum.
“We told ourselves we can’t lose no more games,” Williams said. “We came out a little shaky, but, you know, I’m really proud of my team. It means a lot for us.”