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AGHHH! While the score on the board was 14-7, it was closer than that!
Hart
had, by my count, about 450 yards of offense from scrimmage for the game, over 250 of that in the first half. Yet it
was 7-7 at half and Hart managed only 2 TDs for the game. As in the previous games, there were a lot of Indians shooting
themselves in the foot again.
Here's a quick run down on the scoring.
It was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter. Each team had one "full"
possession with Hart turning it over on downs and Claremont badly missing a long field goal attempt.
In the second
quarter, Hart turned it over on downs on the first play and Claremont punted a few plays later. Hart turned over on
downs again on the Indian's third possession of the game.
Claremont finally scored very late in the second on a 69-yard drive, the critical
plays were a 36-yard pass by the tailback and a 23-yard pass on third and long by the QB. The
RB scored on a 1-yard run with 1:21 left in the half.
Hart immediately replied
with an 85-yard, 7-play drive lasting 1:05 to make it 7-7 at half. MacArthur caught a 17-yard pass followed
by 38-yarder. Souza had an 11-yard run made possible by a devastating block by Borland. Stevens had the TD
on a 12-yard run.
To begin the second half, Claremont went 4 and out. Hart turned it over on downs. Claremont
got down to the Hart 30 and then badly missed another long field goal.
Hart scored on a 1-yard run by Stevens with 10:25
left in the game to make it 14-7. The key play was a 31-yard pass to Borland caught at the 1.
On
the next possession, Claremont turned the ball over on downs and Hart went from the Indian 33 down to the Claremont 3 when
Claremont intercepted a pass on the goal line and returned it 76 yards to the Hart 24. The Claremont RB appeared to score
on the next play but it was called back on a fairly obvious hold. Claremont managed to get a first down at the Hart
11 on a fourth and long play but then went backwards after that with -1 on a run, another holding penalty, a +1 run and then
two incompletes.
After another Hart first down, Souza took a knee and it was over.
Lots
of yards. Not a single punt by Hart. But not much on the scoreboard.
Stats:
First Half:
Hart: Souza had 52 yards on 10 carries, Stevens
had 82 yards on 12 carries and a TD, Almond had 8 yards on 1 carry. Souza was 8 of 18 for 113 yards. Borland had
3 catches for 42 yards, McArthur had 2 catches for 55 yards, Almond had 1 for 0 yards and Stevens had 2 for 16 yards.
Total of 255 yards from scrimmage.
Claremont: The running back had 59 yards on 15 carries and a TD. The QB had
9 yards on 2 carries. He was 2 for 4 for 36 yards. The RB was 1-1 for 36 yards. Total of 140 yards of offense
in the first half.
Second half:
Hart: Souza had 38 yards on 5 carries, Stevens had 51 yards on 13 carries and
a TD. Souza was 8 of 12 for 102 yards and an interception. Total of 192 yards from scrimmage. Borland had
2 catches for 38 yards, Almond had 3 for 40 yards, Cox had 2 for 12 yards, McArthur had 1 for 12 yards.
Claremont:
The RB had 124 yards on 17 carries, the QB had 11 yards on 3 carries. Passing: the QB was 2 for 10 and 25 yards.
The RB was 0-1 passing. Claremont had a total of 149 yards from scrimmage in the second half. About half of that was
on two long runs by the RB including a 43-yarder on 3rd and long.
Hart switched from a 3-4 back to a 4-3 defenseand
Ted Glasnow had some big moments as a pass rusher. No sacks but a lot of hurries and some solid hits. Hart still
had some trouble containing on the corners. Defensively, there were a lot of missed/sloppy tackles that allowed no-gainers
to become first downs.
On offense, Hart continued to shoot themselves in the foot and then reload and let loose with
a few more:
- On the first drive, Hart got down to the 26 but then a delay and an offsides
(?) backed the Indians up and they turned it over on downs.
- On the second drive, Hart got down to the 27 but then a late hit -- well after
the play -- cost them about 10 yards (marked after the end of the run) and a down (because the penalty was after the play
was over) effectively killing the drive.
- The third drive died on a fourth down when the snap was fumbled (a very questionable
call; the ref ruled that Souza picked the ball up when his knee was on the ground).
Hart scored in very Hart-like fashion on the fourth drive just before half --
the best drive of the season.
- After half, Hart got a 33-return by Borland on a punt and eventually got down
to the 19 but ran out of downs.
- On the "put 'em away" series at the end of the game, there was an interception
in the endzone.
The passing game continues to be inconsistent. Souza started the game with
a pass that should have been caught and probably gone for a TD. But then he threw several that were not really on the
mark. In the second half, he was far more accurate but then had the INT.
Despite the inconsistency, there has been a consistent and marked improvement
in passing. In the first game, Souza was 9 for 20, 72 yards and 2 interceptions. In the second game, he
threw for 102 yards. In the third game, he threw for 185 yards. Against Claremont, he was 16 of 30 (the first
time over 50%) and 218 yards. More importantly, the receptions were split between all five starting targets.
The other think that is very noticeable is the route running. Receivers are making more correct adjustsment so that
when Souza finds himself flushed out of the pocket, he still has targets. The problem remain drops when Souza puts it
in there and off-targets when receivers are open.
Next week: Loyola (no Diamond by that time either). Hart better
have the kinks worked out or it's trouble in River City.
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