|
You just knew 1995 would be a great year. Hart was 13-1 in 1994 with a junior-laden team. All those guys were back and out
for blood including 2004 Player of the Year Ted Iacenda, all-CIF quarterback Steve McKeon and all-CIF linebacker Marc Zimmerman.
There were two close losses to top teams in the pre-league portion of the season but it was all Hart after that. The championship
game pitted No. 1 Antelope Valley against No. 2 Hart at AV, the exact reverse of the previous season when Hart was No. 1,
AV. No. 2 and the game was played at COC. The outcome was reversed too with Hart winning in the probably the finest high
school game I have ever seen.
|
Date
|
Location
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
|
08-31-1995
|
Honolulu
|
St. Louis
|
33-38
|
|
09-08-1995
|
SFHS
|
San Fernando
|
35-6
|
|
09-15-1995
|
THHS
|
Thousand Oaks
|
31-17
|
|
09-22-1985
|
COC
|
Westlake
|
37-7
|
|
09-29-1995
|
PHS
|
Palmdale
|
58-7
|
|
10-06-1995
|
COC
|
Loyola
|
23-27
|
|
10-20-1995
|
COC(H)
|
Canyon
|
28-7
|
|
10-27-1995
|
?
|
Burbank
|
56-0
|
|
11-03-1995
|
?
|
Burroughs
|
40-10
|
|
11-10-1985
|
COC
|
Saugus
|
47-7
|
|
11-17-1985
|
COC
|
Inglewood
|
56-20
|
|
11-24-1995
|
DHS
|
Dominguez
|
42-12
|
|
12-01-1995
|
COC
|
Peninsula
|
37-3
|
|
12-08-1995
|
AVHS
|
Antelope Valley
|
35-28 Champs!
|
1995 Statistical Summary
1996 (9-3)
I expected 1996 to be a bit of down year for Hart. Most of the big guns from the 1995 championship team, a senior-heavy group,
were gone. The cupboard wasn't bare but it wasn't well-stocked either. On the whole, this was a very inexperienced at the
beginning of the season. It was a rocky start. Hart lost two of the first three including a game which had one of the most
bizarre finishes in Hart history. AGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!
Thereafter, the Indians went on an 8-game winning streak, including soundly thumping of Loyola and running (or passing,
as the case may be) roughshod over the entire Foothill League (Hart:197; the rest of the league 37 with most of those points
scored against subs late in the game). Hart eventually lost to Ayala in the quarterfinals and finished 9-3.
The Indians lost to Ayala by 3, Westlake by 2 and Thousand Oaks by 1. Every loss was in the last minute.
The 1996 edition was a fun and exasperating team to watch. After a rocky start, this team exceeded expectations in many
respects.
I wrote a short account of almost every game in letters to one of my sons who was away. I have extracted the game summaries
from those letters and included them here with a little editing to protect the innocent (some of my comments in letters were
a little more acerbic than what is posted here).
|
Date
|
Location
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
|
09-13-1996
|
COC
|
Granada Hills
|
45-14
|
|
09-20-1996
|
COC
|
Thousand Oaks
|
35-36
|
|
09-27-1996
|
WHS
|
Westlake
|
24-26
|
|
10-04-1996
|
COC
|
Palmdale
|
28-14
|
|
10-12-1996
|
Glendale HS
|
Loyola
|
24-10
|
|
10-18-1996
|
CHS
|
Canyon
|
41-3
|
|
10-25-1996
|
COC(H)
|
Valencia
|
37-7
|
|
11-01-1996
|
BHS
|
Burbank
|
40-6
|
|
11-08-1996
|
COC
|
Burroughs
|
42-14
|
|
11-15-1996
|
COC(H)
|
Saugus
|
35-7
|
|
11-22-1996
|
COC
|
Downey
|
41-7
|
|
11-29-1996
|
COC
|
Ayala
|
19-22
|
|
