Marijon Ancich - Championship Games

Championship Games

• 1968: St. Paul faced El Rancho in the 4A finale in 1968. El Rancho was held to a 20-20 tie by upstart St. Paul, coached by a young man named Marijon Ancich. That game, also played at the Coliseum, put the St. Paul football program on the map. CIF rules at the time did not permit an overtime period, and the Dons and Swordsmen went into the record books as co-4A champions.

• 1972: St. Paul, which had lost to Bishop Amat 19-6 in a hotly contested game in 1971, came back in 1972 to return the favor and went all the way to the 4A title game. St. Paul beat Western 29-24 at the Coliseum for Ancich's first undisputed championship.

• 1975: St. Paul returned to the 4A title game at the Coliseum in 1975 - its third title-game appearance in eight years - but the Swordsmen lost a 14-13 heartbreaker to Loyola on a missed extra-point late in the 4th quarter.

• 1977: St.Paul survives a sudden death tie breaker vs. South Hills in the quarterfinals en route to the finals where they came up short vs. Los Altos 15-22.

• 1981: The Swordsmen won the title in 1981 with a 30-9 victory over Colton in front of more than 30,000 at Anaheim Stadium. The team goes 14-0.

• 1990: Ancich gets Tustin High School into the championship game for Div. VI, bringing in a record of 13-0. This is the first time since 1933 that the Tillers have reached Game 14. They lost to Sunny Hills 7-3, giving Coach Devaney his 100th victory in front of 11,000 at Orange Coast College. An unprecedented 7 players receive First Team All-CIF awards.

• 1991: The Tillers reach the championship game for the second straight year, after returning only 2 starters from the previous season. They lose again, this time to Coach Marrujo's Valencia Tigers.

• 1998: In the Southern Section Division III championship game, Hart High School intercepted a pass on their own five-yard line with 21 seconds left to preserve a 17-14 victory against St. Paul. Hart was led by eventual Cal Berkeley and NFL quarterback Kyle Boller.