I have to admit that right now Hart is somewhat of an enigma to me.  I saw virtually none of the summer passing tournaments.  I missed all but two or three plays of the scrimmage against Alemany on Friday.  There is a new offensive coordinator.  There is a new defensive coordinator.   There is a new base defense.  There are still two quarterbacks rotating as of last Friday.  Nevertheless I am not without my sources of information and, of course, I am never short of opinions.

So here’s my take on Hart and the Foothill League for 2008.  I will start with the easy part:

Offense

Receivers

In 2007, Hart started the season with four receivers who, collectively, had zero receptions, zero yards and zero touchdowns.  What a difference a year makes.  In 2008, Hart has three returning starters in Dimitri Diamond (31 catches, 494 yards and 7 TDs), Spenser Souza (28, 436 and 2)  and Blake Borland (25, 316 and 2).  I am trying to remember the last time that Hart had that much returning experience at receiver.  My best guess: never.  I can recall several years in which there were two returning starters but never three.  This has the potential of making a huge difference throughout the season.

I have repeatedly commented that most receivers, through about the first seven or eight games, do not get too many yards after the catch.  Suddenly, about the eighth game, receivers figure out that not only can they catch the ball, they can run with it too!  With three receivers already beyond that eight-game threshold, I expect to see a lot more yards-after-the-catch and thus significantly higher yards per catch from this group.

The question is how Souza and Diamond will be utilized.  Last season Diamond had several turns in the backfield as an “H” back and Souza had a couple as well.  It appears that Diamond will fill a greater role as a runner this year, presumably as an H-back or out of the two-back formation that Hart introduced in the Canyon game last season.

Souza, through the Friday scrimmage, continued to alternate at quarterback but was named the starting QB today.  If the Indians continue to alternate QBs, I would expect that when he is not in at QB, Souza will spend time at slot.  At QB, he will bring an added running dimension.  

It looks like Ted Glasnow will be a wideout along with Borland.  He, according to most accounts, had a very good summer.  Nate Almond and Brendan Cox may fit in there too as slots when Souza is at QB and/or Diamond is at RB, and as backup running backs.

Another plus at receiver: Diamond and Glasnow are fairly tall (6'2") a big help for the QB in finding the target and allowing for a bigger bull’s eye.

Running Backs

Jake Stephens, a junior and a starter as a DB last season, will be the running back.  He’s very quick and fairly fast as well.  And, most importantly, a ferocious hitter with good balance.  I expect that Diamond will get some carries both as a single back and more frequently as an H-back/second running back, depending on the formation.  It  appears that there will be some better set ups for the runners as far as the formations and blocking schemes so this should be a productive area.

Quarterback

As of this writing Spenser Souza has been named the starter but I get the feeling there is going to be a fair amount of alternating.  I have been watching Hart football for over 20 years.  While there have been a few years when a couple of kids alternated through much of the summer –  Kyle Boller/David Neill in 1997; Tyler Lyon/Robbie Moore in 2004 come immediately to mind –  it has never been the case during the season. 

Sholes is taller than Souza and appears to have the better arm.  Souza is quicker and stronger.  I will be very interested to see how this plays out.  I would not be surprised to see formations in which both are on the field at the same time and in a position to pass – for example, Souza lined up in an RB spot, takes a pitch from the Sholes and then rolls and either runs or passes (to, among other possibilities, Sholes).  I have no idea what the plan is but I do not expect it to be revealed until at least the first league game.

Offensive Line

Chris Anderson (6'4'' 250) and Rick Aversano (6'3'' 275) return and are two big, agile players.  Obviously, one does not get to see these kids in the passing leagues and I had only the briefest glimpse of the team in the scrimmage so I am a little in the dark as to the other starters (I didn’t get to write down jersey numbers on Friday) but I gather others in the mix are John Boscarino (6' 225), Tommy Lien (6'1" 220), Nick Ovendale 5'11" 220) and Josh Galdos (6'0'' 270).  These guys are a little smaller than some Hart O-lines in the past but appear to be athletic, particularly Lien.  

Kicker and Punter

Year-to-year, kickoffs and kick returns have tended to be a Hart strong point.  Punting and punt returning have been mediocre -- or worse. 

Field goal kicking was a bi-polar exercise last season with a spectacular kick in the wind to beat Canyon, two end-of-game muffs resulting in a tie with Valencia and then another winner to beat Saugus.   Hart had a couple blocked in the championship as well.  Hopefully, Hart will be able to follow up the strong points this year and avoid the weak efforts.  As to who will actually do the kicking and punting, I really don’t know. C.J. Reyes as kicker?  Hart started with one kicker last year and changed to another after four games. 

Over the last ten seasons, the QB, RB or a WR have been the punter the vast majority of the time.  

Defense

Defensive Line

Adam Bouyer (6'2" 255 ) returns. Last season, he had one of the more spectacular interceptions I have ever seen by a D-lineman.  He is one of three returning defensive players but the only lineman.  The need for D-linemen has dropped by 25% since Hart will be using a 3-4 set up rather than 4-3 which I think is a good match for the year-to-year talent at Hart (lots of good linebackers, usually a dearth of linemen).  I gather there is a fair amount of flux with positions remaining in the “undecided” column right now.

Linebackers

Linebackers have been a Hart strength as long as I can remember with a long string of all-CIF players.  Dimitri Diamond will lead the way this season. Michael Aquilar and Matt Barrera also appear to be in the running for a couple of the spots.   I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jake Stevens and Spenser Souza in there in some situations at either LB or DB spots.  

Defensive Backs

Ty McArthur is one safety and has developed a reputation as a hitter in a very short time.  Souza is such a good athlete that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back there, if not full-time, at least in the most obvious passing situations.  Does C.J. Reyes figure in the linebacking or DB picture? The base group is likely to be all new.

Coaching

The most pressing question: Now that we have only Herrington instead of three, do the kids still call Mike Herrington Coach 1?

Keith Matkin is the new DC, assuming the job that Coach 2 (Rick Herrington) held for two decades.  Matkin has changed the basic scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4 but I suspect that much will remain the same since Matkin played under Herrington on one of the exceptional defensive teams at Hart in the early ‘90s, has been part of the varsity coaching staff for eight years and also had a couple of years as a coach at the Hart lower levels.  By all accounts he has the work and preparation ethic of his predecessor.  However, one of Rick’s strong suits was his astute adjustments during games.  That will be Matkin’s real test.

The new OC is Jason D’Autremont.  He’s been part of the Hart staff for seven years.  Nevertheless, this is a big change – both Coach 3 and Davis Delmatoff (D’Autremont’s predecessor) were quarterbacks.  At Hart.  D’Autremont was a wide receiver.  At San Luis Obispo.  The common factor: all were all-CIF players.  It will be a new perspective and it looks like there may be some new tricks in the bag this year.   As with Matkin, D’Autremont’s test will be making adjustments during games.

I’ve heard some suggest that without Coach 3 and now without Coach 2, Hart is headed to purgatory. Horsepucky!  Mike Herrington has been an integral part of all eight Hart CIF championships (unlike his brothers, he was a varsity assistant on both the ‘83 and ‘86 championship teams).  And the new guys both have benefited from a substantial amount of time on the Hart staff before assuming their new roles.  I hear very positive things from kids and parents of kids.

The Schedule

Now we get to my beef.  With the CIF’s idiotic “geographic” playoff alignments, scheduling at Hart is far more difficult.  Coach Herrington, like most athletic directors, has little interest in scheduling a team in the pre-league portion of the season that the Indians may meet again in the playoffs.  Given that most of the better teams that are reasonably close are in the same playoff division, the scheduling options have narrowed considerably.  In addition, Herrington has never scheduled certain schools for personal reasons.  Alemany, Notre Dame and St. Francis are off limits because of the close personal and familial relationships among the coaches and there are certain other schools that are not scheduled because of “other” concerns.  (I leave that to the readers).

The net effect is that Hart has a less than thrilling pre-league schedule from a fan point of view.  It’s hard to get too excited about Claremont (6-24 over the last three years including 0-10 last season) and Righetti (15-15 over the last three years) but sometimes you’re kind of stuck with it.  I like the return of Palmdale to the schedule, a team with talent that has prospered over the last 3 or 4 seasons.  I hope Loyola remains there in the future.

The league schedule is baffling.  Historically, the schedule has been hard-easy-hard-easy-hard (that’s all relative of course).  This year Hart opens with Saugus-Canyon-Valencia (preceded by Loyola) then finishes with West Ranch and Golden Valley.  Given the relative weakness of most first-round playoff opponents, this schedule amounts to something approaching two or even possibly three bye weeks in a row (WR is likely to be competitive; that will not be the case for GV or, in all probability any first round playoff opponent).  I don’t see that as a positive.

The rest of the Foothill League


I saw the Cowboys play on Friday night against Bakersfield.  QB Adamczyk, and receivers were impressive during the summer.  The QB has very good technical skills – footwork, release etc.  However, I have had a couple of people mention that things might be considerably different with charging D-linemen in the mix.  My view may have been colored because I was alerted to that possibility but it appeared on Friday that the Bako front seven, when they decided to go after the QB, had the better of the situation.  Canyon got virtually nothing – running or passing – in the second and third quarters of the game and gave the QB a tough time.  Question: was this because (1) the Bako front seven were very good, (2) the Canyon O-line was not very good, (3) the Canyon O-line had some kinks to work out on picking up assignments, (4) the QB has trouble with the pass rush, (5) all of the above, or, (6) none of the above.  I’ll give it a couple of weeks.

RB Darius Rudolph had a tough time against the very fast Bako defense.  Camp, more of a pounding-type back, was fairly effective against Bako up the middle, as was Chris Reed.  Will Antonio Bray be in the mix?  If he can get control of himself, he’s a game changer.

The most dangerous aspects – right now – of the Canyon offense are the quick slants and flat passes to Rivas, Habberstad, Cusumano and Voogt.  All showed some great potential for yards after the catch.  With those kinds of routes, if a defense overplays, they can go to the house which Rivas did against Bako.  Of course, the DBs may also step in front of some of the passes and it’s to the house the other way.

The Canyon lines looked smallish though there are a couple of really big guys on the offensive line (left OT Japheth Gordon is BIG along with the right guard and Chris Reed is a potential force on the defensive line). 

The Canyon MO since I’ve been around here is smallish linemen who are very strong, quick and ultra-aggressive.  Based on what I’ve heard – which may have colored what I say – this group may not be as athletic as some in the past.  That appeared to be the case on Friday when the Bako offense ran through and around the Canyon defense fairly regularly and the Bako defense was pretty dominate through much of the game.  This brings back the series of questions: was this because Bako has exceptional kids, or because Canyon doesn’t or because there are still some kinks to work out.  We’ll know in a couple of more weeks after the Norco game.

Canyon’s defense has always emphasized stuffing the middle but by doing so, sometimes gives up a little on the edges.  Bako had the speed to simply run by the D-ends and OLBs.  Will Canyon have the defensive speed on the corners to contain Saugus’ Zirbel, Valencia’s Thompson and the rest of the Foothill RBs?

Tyger Rodriquez as kicker looked pretty decent, especially for a first game (and returned a fumble 85 yards for a TD too!).  The onside kicks were just about as good as you could hope for.  The punter did not have huge distance but had great hang time.


Valencia has a lot of gifted athletes at the skill positions including QB Dominck Solley (best QB name in the area!), RB Jordan Thompson (who I thought was very impressive as a junior last season) and receivers Zack Tartabull and Brock Vareen.  Solley is a throwback to the pre-Herrick days of the running-throwing QB (which will also be the case at Saugus and at least in part, Hart).  There will be a lot of speed in the defensive backfield with some of those same guys.  

The big key – as has been the case for the last couple of years – is the line play.  In 2004, the defensive front seven was very speedy and the offensive line was competent though not over-powering.  It got the Vikes a league championship and a chance to play in the Division 2 championship game.  The  2005 the D-line was less speedy and the Vikes faded to third in the league.  In 2006, the O-line was kind of a sieve and the Vikes dropped almost to the back of the pack (landing at the bottom was an impossibility with GV in the mix that season).  Last year, the O-line in particular was markedly improved and the Vikings fortunes improved with it.  The skill players are there.  The line play?  I don’t know.


If Hart is a cipher, Saugus is transparent.  

Last season, Desi Rodriquez and Ryan Zirbel had 95% of the carries during prime time.  Eighty percent of the Cents’ yards came on the ground. The D-Z duo is back for a return engagement and there’s no reason to expect major changes in offensive philosophy. 

With the graduation of receivers Mario Wright and Ry Biehahn, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more passes go to Zirbel.  Question: are there any downfield receiving threats?  The Signal mentions Colin Depew and new-to-football Josh Coefield.  Depew had 7 receptions last season for 42 yards (6 yards a catch).  Coefield has never played before at any level.  No doubt both are fairly fast but catching and then running with it will be the test.  Watch what happens about week 8.  That’s when you start to see whether receivers have the ability to get consistent yards after the catch.  I see this an issue because, as noted below, defense may be a problem and in a high-scoring shootout, you better be able to get the ball down field.

The Cents also have to replace three O-linemen.  Again, it’s hard to get a feel for that because there is no chance to see linemen in the summer.  The talk on the street is that the upcoming bunch is “okay” but not necessarily dominating though returning player Justin Wells (6'1" 265) should be a force.  

The key number on defense: 11.  100% of the starters on defense are new.  Last season, Saugus’ defense was generally impressive keeping many opponents under 7 per game.  A factor that one should take into account with that group, however, is that the bulk of them started the previous season.  In other words, many of them had been playing together as a group, more or less, for two seasons.  Will the new linebackers have the ferocity of the McKillop twins?  Will there be the same cohesive play.


West Ranch gave Hart and Canyon a battle last season but struggled against Saugus (a running team) and Valencia (a passing team).  Ross Bacon is a very good running back.  The QB, Jake Bernards, has skills and is a three-year starter but will those talents go to waste?  Last season the West Ranch passing game was, at best, a rudimentary afterthought.  They seemed to have upgraded things.  We’ll see.  If the stars align correctly, these guys have the talent – and some really excellent coaching – to knock off one of the “big four”.  They almost did it last year.


There is some talent at GV.  The overall attitude is coming around too.  But there will not be enough talent and/or tenacity to effectively compete against the big boys of the Foothill League. Hopefully, they will knock off most of their pre-league opponents.  I'd love to see this group come into league play at 4-1.

So who wins the Foothill?  The Daily News has Hart No. 1.  The LA Times’s only Foothill League team in the top 25 is Hart.  The Signal has four writers who each picked a different winner (Canyon, Hart, Saugus and Valencia).  I’ll go with the consensus – Hart. (You didn’t think I’d pick anyone else, did you?)