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[Excerpt from a letter to my son]
In the fourth game of the year Hart had another bizarre game.
Palmdale had a 3-0 record coming into the game. Hart was 1-2. Hart took the opening kickoff, moved it right down the
field then fumbled on the one.
Palmdale moved the ball well but eventually fumbled.
Hart took it down the field and scored on a short run by Todd Hourigan (the first time he scored in his high school career).
Hart went for two and blew it.
Palmdale moved it down the field and scored. I might add that this was after their first string quarterback was taken
to the hospital with a separated shoulder.
Hart took it down the field - and fumbled on the 5. Hart got the ball once more before half and tried and failed to kick
a fairly short field goal. At half: Palmdale 7, Hart 6.
Things got a little wacky after that. On the second half kick off, the Hart kicking team "stood up" the returner
(it looked a whole lot to me like his progress had been stopped and the whistle should have blow), a Hart player yanked the
ball out of the returner's arms and then sprinted into the end zone for the TD. Hart players joyously run to congratulate
him. The refs, of course took umbrage -- 15-yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for excessive celebration. It didn't matter.
Hart made the 2-pointer and was up 14-7.
This unsportsmanlike call is getting out of hand. That's the third call I've seen like that in three weeks, one against
TO and two against Hart. In each instance it was after an excellent play followed by lots of backslapping and hugging. As
near as I can tell, no taunting or foul language was involved and certainly no dirty hits. I really think all three calls
were bad.
Hart scored again on a pass following a fumble (I think) and later scored on another short run by Hourigan. Hart 28-7.
Palmdale team scored late in the fourth quarter to make it 28-14.
Hart promptly took the ball down the field and could have scored but let the clock run with the ball on about the two.
Final: Hart 28, Palmdale 14.
The only negatives are that Hourigan got a severe bruise on his shin (which put him out toward the end of the game) and
one of the starting linebackers (Dave Childers, who is being recruited by BYU) separated his shoulder. Unfortunately, when
they took X rays, the doctors discovered that he had a cracked vertebrae in his neck (it probably had been there for a couple
of weeks) which almost certainly ends his season. Hart's defense already is very suspect up the middle -- most of their defensive
linemen are puny -- especially the tackles.
In other Varsity news, Antelope Valley was beaten 19-0 by Dominguez. This is not surprising since Dominguez started seven
sophomores last year including a 6'5" QB who is one of the best basketball players in the state. Dominguez, purely on
raw talent and speed, is the team to beat in Division II if you ask me.
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