[Excerpt from a letter to my son]

This game has to be one of the most bizarre in Hart history.

Hart started out by scoring on a fairly long pass to a wide out. Hart 7-0.

Hart shut 'em down on defense and got a nice return on a punt. On the first play from scrimmage in the series, the Hart quarterback dropped back, looking to his right the whole time. Suddenly he looked left, threw to Cody Joyce, the slot, and on about the prettiest screen you'll ever see, Hart scored. Hart 14-0.

Hart stopped TO and got the ball back again. The quarterback threw a long one to the end zone which Joyce caught (or maybe trapped). Hart 21-0 by the middle of the second quarter.

TO got the ball after the Hart kickoff and, on an obviously blown coverage by the linebacker (who was nowhere near the play) threw a little swing pass to the running back who took it about 40 yards down the field before he was tackled. TO slowed down after that but finally scored and then scored on a two-point conversion to make it 21-8 at half.

Early in the second half, Hart scored on a short run by the quarterback. 28-8.

Somewhere late in the third quarter, TO scored and blew the extra point. Hart 28-14. At the end of the third quarter Hart scored again. It was 35-14 (I think I have this sequence right).

Hart kicked off - a squib kick (not an intentional onside kick but rather a kick along the ground because Hart did not have someone who could kick deep). The ball hit a TO lineman and Hart recovered! Things were looking good for the Indians.

Next play: the Hart quarterback was hit and fumbled about midfield. A TO player picked it up and ran it into the end zone. TO went for two. Hart 35-22 very late in the game.

Following a Hart punt and with 1:35 remaining, TO scored again and went for one. Hart 35-29.

Needless to say, TO tried the onside kick but failed. QUIZ TIME -- what would you do?

Hart had the ball on about the 40. The Indians lined up in a protective type formation, snapped the ball and the quarterback took a knee. WHAT! Hart used almost no time on that play. TO called time out (IT WAS ONLY THE SECOND THOUSAND OAKS TIME OUT -- THEY HAD ANOTHER ONE REMAINING!) Hart lined up again in the protective formation, snapped the ball and the QB again took a knee -- another few seconds were consumed on the clock. TO took another time out. It was third down and a lot of time remaining. Hart's QB took another knee. TO had no more time outs so the clock kept running down until Hart got a "delay of game" penalty.

The clock stopped with 13 seconds left and Hart had now backed up to about the 20-yard line with the penalty (for delay) and the knees. Hart now called a time out and the coaches gave the players some sort of instruction.

HART IS AT IT'S OWN 20 AND IS NOT PUNTING, apparently because Todd Hourigan, the long-snapper, is on the bench. The quarterback took the snap, the clock started: 13 - 12 the QB ran back to the end zone (he's in the north endzone so he is facing the clock at the far end) - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8. He danced around - 7 - 6 - 5. TO players started to figure it out and converged on him. He danced more 4 - 3 - 2.

Then unbelievably, incomprehensibly, he ran FORWARD out of the end zone and out of bounds on the 2. TO took over at the two-yard line with two seconds to play. TO scored. 35-35. Bedlam! TO players rejoiced and rejoiced. 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration. They had to kick the extra point from the 18-yard line (actually the 25 with the spot of the ball). Snap. Place. Kick. Through. Hart lost to Thousand Oaks 36-35.

Most suspect play-calling and stupidest execution I have ever seen by Hart. I'm just guessing that someone thought TO had only one timeout left which is the only possible way one can account for Hart taking a knee with 1:30 to play. Hart should have handed-off and ran the ball toward the outside on the next two plays (outside the hash marks but not out of bounds) because by doing so, the play itself would have consumed four or five seconds each time and it would have taken the refs an extra 4-5 seconds to spot the ball on the hash mark each time. That would have easily consumed all the time on the clock. By going to the knee immediately after the snap, the play ended instantly and the ball was instantly spotted by the ref. As I said at the beginning of this letter --- AAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH.

The only other thing good about the game was that Scott Hunt had a couple of "decleater" tackles. Oh and Todd Hourigan was knocked out and taken to the hospital but I think he's fine.

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