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1997 (11-2)
Overachieving in a Transition Year
Hart lost a tremendous amount of talent from the 1996 team including all the starters at every skill position.
The senior class was not particularly loaded so the starting lineup included or 3 or 4 seniors. The rest were juniors
and 2 or 3 sophomores. Both the offense and defensive lines were undersized. On offense, opponents got a lot of yards rushing
right up the middle. On defense, they tended to run around and through the offensive line and David Neill, the quarterback,
took a real beating the entire season.
While the future potential was huge (and borne out over the next two years), no one thought this team would be particularly
outstanding. Hart was picked by many to finish 2nd or 3rd in the Foothill League. So much for a down year.
Hart ran through the pre-league opponents other than Loyola and but for the lack of a linemen or two would have won that
game. Hart won the Foothill easily except for a very tenacious Saugus team which kept that game close.
Hart was tearing through the playoffs when a combination of pouring rain (devastating for a passing team), a broken collar
bone (to Kyle Boller, the backup QB, starting safety and long snapper), a broken toe (Jerry Owens, the leading receiver and
starting DB) and a concussion (to a starting slot) pretty much sealed the deal against a powerful Peninsula team. Nevertheless,
it was very good year.
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Date
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Location
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Opponent
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Score
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09-12-1997
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GHHS
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Granada Hills
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33-0
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09-19-1997
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TOHS
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Thousand Oaks
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35-7
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09-26-1997
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COC
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Westlake
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18-14
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10-03-1997
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PHS
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Palmdale
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20-0
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10-10-1997
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COC
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Loyola
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21-31
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10-17-1997
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COC
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Canyon
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38-28
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10-24-1997
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COC(A)
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Valencia
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42-25
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10-31-1997
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COC
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Burbank
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55-14
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11-07-1997
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BHS
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Burroughs
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38-6
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11-14-1997
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COC(A)
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Saugus
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21-14
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11-21-1997
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COC
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Torrance
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42-20
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11-28-1997
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PHS
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Palmdale
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28-6
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12-05-1997
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Harbor CC
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Peninsula
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10-35
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1998 (13-1)
Touchdowns! Lots of Touchdowns!
The 1998 season really put Hart on everyone's football radar. Hart looked terrific in a TV game against Valencia that season.
Kyle Boller was spectacular. The team and Boller set all kinds of records on offense and won a CIF Championship. It was
a really great season.
It is still hard to grasp just how spectacular Boller's performance was that season. Fifty-nine touchdown passes and only
three -- yeah, that's right, three interceptions. Check out the "individual records - passing" section of this
site. Boller, not surprisingly, holds some of the single season records and is near the top in every category. What may
be even more impressive is that he's near the top in career records too despite starting half as many games as most of the
Hart quarterbacks.
And of course, Boller would have not been anywhere near as successful without the receivers, most especially Jerry Owens,
arguably the best receiver and probably the best athlete to ever play at Hart. But for a season-ending broken leg in the final
regular season game, he would probably own every receiving record at Hart and many Southern Section and state records as well.
I have a different "view" of this team than any other season at Hart. Why? Hart played 14 games that season
including five regular season home games and three playoff home games. I was part of the chain gang and worked the down marker
on all eight home games. Thus, I was right on the line of scrimmage a good portion of the time and got to hear much of the
opposing coaches' pre-play and post-play discussion. It was fascinating, often hilarious and sometimes extremely disconcerting.
I've included some of those observations in the game summaries.
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Date
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Location
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Opponent
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Score
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09-11-1998
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QHHS
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Quartz Hill
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49-13*
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09-18-1998
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COC
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Thousand Oaks
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42-7
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09-25-1998
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COC(A)
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Sylmar
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49-26
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10-02-1998
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COC
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Palmdale
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44-7
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10-10-1998
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Glendale
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Loyola
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22-23
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10-16-1998
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COC(A)
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Saugus
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63-14
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10-23-1998
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COC
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Burroughs
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52-0
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10-29-1998
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COC
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Valencia
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38-14
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11-06-1998
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COC
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Burbank
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49-6
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11-13-1998
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CHS
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Canyon
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48-10
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11-20-1998
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COC
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Highland
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56-6
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11-27-1998
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SFHS
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St. Francis
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51-12
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12-04-1998
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COC
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Alemany
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21-13
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12-10-1998
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COC
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St. Paul
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17-14
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Boller's game by game stats
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