PHOTOS: Foothill brings home the trophy defeating Tustin 28-14 with strong second half effort

Foothill players, including No. 6 Gabe Gallardo, celebrate with the Gauntlet Trophy after Friday’s game. (Photos Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Foothill’s football team finished strong Friday night to defeat crosstown rival Tustin 28-14 in the 57th edition of the annual battle of “The Gauntlet” before a capacity crowd at Northrup Stadium.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo

With the win Foothill improves 2-0 while Tustin dropped to 0-2.

The Knights took control of the game in the third quarter jumping to a 14-0 lead, but the Tillers made it close to 14-7, after scoring on the final play of the stanza.

Foothill, however, took charge in each possession of the fourth quarter with junior running back Roman Pistone throwing and running for two pivotal scores. On his touchdown pass to Brady Shrank, the ball was deflected by the Tustin secondary and into the arms of the receiver.

Pistone sealed off his great performance with a 10-yard run with less than five minutes left in the game to increase Foothill’s lead to 28-7. He wound up with about 200 yards rushing said Foothill Coach Doug Case.

The Tillers had one final possession to cut the deficit to two scores when junior quarterback Mateo Vasquez threw a long touchdown pass to close the gap to 28-14.

“The kids played well, obviously we made some mistakes down in the red zone,” said Case. “But I told the kids at halftime, ‘just do your thing. Just quit making mistakes and we will be fine.’

“The kids played awesome in the second half and we’re just getting better and better every week.”

The victory over Tustin was special.

“It’s a huge game. I told the kids ‘crazy things happen in this game,'” Case said. “We had a tipped ball for a touchdown. It’s always been a great battle. They’re a good football team and I’m sure they will be around in the end also.”

Foothill leads the overall series over Tustin 30-25-2 record.

“This was a great game for us and for our march towards a championship,” Case said. “We marched up and down the field in the first half but only had seven points to show for it. The Knights were led by Roman Pistone and quarterback Luke Peterman,” Case said.

“The one two punch kept Tustin off guard. The defense led by the Gabe Gallardo, Zack Yourstone, Isaiah Bolanos, and Jack Holcomb did a great job keeping the Tillers offense to a minimum number of big plays. Defensively, we have been dominant in the two games thus far. Tustin had a potent running game that we had try and take away. For the most part we accomplished that goal.

“It is always great beating Tustin and to be in control of the Gauntlet trophy. I told the kids that they will remember this game, more than any other, as they grow older. These seniors, from both schools, will see each other around our community and will talk about the great crosstown game from 2019.”

There is a lot of history in the game. Since 2000, Coach Case’s first year at Foothill, the Knights and Tillers are tied at 11 wins each.

“You can’t go anywhere this time of year and not be asked about this game. It’s been awesome over the years,” Case said. “I don’t think there is a better community rivalry then what we have going with our three high schools in Tustin USD. The competitiveness and respect for each other’s program, just shows what our sport programs are all about. 

“We’re looking forward to the next crosstown game with Beckman next Friday and keeping the momentum going.”

—Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone