Hart and the Foothill League -- version 2006

After watching some practices and passing tournaments and asking around lo these many months, it's time to put some thoughts on paper. The first thought: I'm optimistic about Hart. Very optimistic. Here's why.

Offense

Somewhat unfairly, any analysis of Hart always starts with the offense and that, of course, starts with the quarterback.

Quarterback: Alex Pettee certainly has the physical qualities to excel at the position. He's big, strong-armed and savvy. He's listed on the program as 6'3" 205. I have my doubts that he's quite that big, after all, Sean Norton was listed on the program at 6'0" when he was a senior and now, three years later has shrunk to 5'11" at Fresno State.

Last year when I watched Pettee play, my first thought was that he was somewhat slow-footed and - well - possessed of a bit of baby fat. Obviously, he spent a lot of time in the weight room over the winter. This spring and summer I saw a svelte, vastly quicker player. He has a very good arm with a quick release but most importantly, he has "presence." You can see a little bit of the gunslinger swagger when he walks on the field. He projects confidence. And he's savvy. One of the most experienced coaches on the Hart staff told me last year that Pettee had a better grasp of the Hart system as a JV than any QB he had seen -- and the speaker had been watching and coaching in the Hart program through all the great QBs. Pettee benefitted tremendously from the injury-plagued season a year ago which allowed him to start and win three games (actually, he started only two but Tyler Lyon got clocked on the second play of the game against Birmingham last year so, in essence, Pettee started that game). He had two very good performances against Westlake and Birmingham and a superb performance against Loyola. In short, he's not a rookie.

He has one quality which I know both elates and terrifies offensive coaches -- the "no conscience" confidence in his ability. Sometimes QBs throw interceptions because they simply don't see the defense. Pettee is one of those guys that sees the defense and has the confidence to say "I can get it through there." I like the guy's "can do" attitude.

In an unusual circumstance for Hart, there's another QB waiting in the wings, B.R. Holbrook, a 6'3", blade thin junior who's probably ready to go right now. I suspect he'll be on the field a lot on defense this season.

Running Back: Delano Howell started last year as a soph but was plagued the entire season by a recurring ankle problem that kept him out of all or portions of at least a half dozen games. He's bigger and faster and probably will be given an increasingly larger role as a receiver. I'm hearing that he has matured a lot in that he has both a better understanding of the game and the contribution he is capable of making (last year, quite frankly, his play sometimes was a little timid -- not so this season). Assuming he's over the injury problem, he can devastate defenses.

Receivers: This is the real wild card - a whole new crew. Collectively, the starters have 12 varsity receptions between them. Michael Vairo (8 catches last year) and Michael Davis (4) both played at the slot and started some games last year, benefitting, like Pettee, from injuries to the starters. Brandon Arndt started last season as a corner and will be back there again but he's also now a wide receiver. He's fairly tall and has shown some very good hands. Steve Heirshberg seemed to come out of nowhere this summer and is about the same size as Arndt.

Collectively this group is not the fastest to ever play at Hart but they do seem to catch the ball well. After watching Hart for so many years, I've seen a fairly consistent pattern with new receivers. It is very unusual to see a kid get very many "yards after the catch" in about the first 8 games as a starter. It seems that in the first few games kids are so concerned about running the right route and simply catching the ball that they forget they can run with it too. Thereafter, the confidence factor kicks in and they start racking up the yards after the catch. I wouldn't be surprised to see that pattern repeat itself this season. The difference here is that there is virtually no experience in the group so it's likely to happen all at once. There are several other kids who probably will end up getting significant time in receiving roles.

Offensive Line: Derek Bickford and Jordan Rojas both had very good seasons last year, as with so many others, getting a lot more playing time than they might have expected because of injuries and suspensions. The rest of the line looks pretty solid in the little I've seen of them, particularly the center whose name I simply can't recall. Overall, the group is smaller than last season but, as a group, quicker, which is generally a more valuable asset than size at the high school level. Hart always seems to be short of linemen. This year appears to be no exception. Apparently some kids will play both ways, at least part of the time and two sophomores have been promoted from the JV team.

Kicking and Special Teams: I'm told the kicking game will be up a notch or two from the end of the season last year when the suspensions caused some difficulties. Hart has some potential on kickoff returns. Punting and punt returns rarely have been a Hart strong point.

Defense

I noted above that most any discussion of Hart starts with the offense. That's really not fair. Last season, Hart's offense too often was firing on about 4 of 8 cylinders. It was the defense that made the season. This year could be even better than last year. Hart's style of defense often is of the "bend" variety but rarely "break" variety. I would expect more of the same.

Linebackers: While Hart has a history as a quarterback school, Defensive Coordinator Rick Herrington has churned out an equally impressive string of linebackers. The group this season may well be one of the best. Patrick Larimore, only a junior, is an animal. A very big, very fast animal. A quirky hit to his lower leg caused nerve damage and ended his season in the second game a year ago. He's back and ready to hit someone. Hard. On every play. He was even scary in passing league! He apparently will get some time on the offensive line as well. Chris Hickok came in last season when Larimore went out and ended up as the second leading tackler. He'll do well too. Because I've been unable to see much football over the last several months, I don't know who all the kids are but I understand that Howell and Dakota Luster may see time in the linebacking spots. All and all the linebackers and strong safety (essentially another LB in the Hart scheme) will be a very formidable group.

Defensive Backs: Arndt and Adam Reyes return. I'm not sure who all the other guys are, having seen so little of them in pads, but it looks like backup QB Holbrook and Dakota Luster will be out there (Luster may be in a linebacker role most of the time). This should be a savvy group - maybe not the fastest ever seen - but certainly very capable. The DBs have been mistake-prone the last couple of years. This group appears to be sharper.

Defensive Line: Essentially, a whole new group. Only Bickford and Rojas saw any significant time last season. From what I've seen, it may be a somewhat smallish group but quick, much like the offensive line. It will be interesting to see what role the two sophs will play.

Now on to the league:

Hart: Hart's demise was widely predicted last season. But, lo and behold, the Indians ended up in the championship game, beating Mission Viejo soundly along the way (something which was probably beyond Canyon's ability) and losing by a whisker to Canyon. For those who want to write off Hart, last year ought to serve as notice that the Indians are not about to go quietly into the night. Ever. Hart lost three games last season - to the top two teams in the state! All three games were decided in the final minutes, both Canyon games literally in the final seconds. And this was a Hart team whose injuries financed the Christmas bonus of just about every medical provider in the Santa Clarita Valley. Disparage Tyler Lyon all you want but the 2005 Indians were about one healthy ankle/knee/leg away from an undefeated season. Yes, Canyon beat Hart twice, fair and square, but the football gods seemed to have magically decreed the first victory with an unforced fumble and the second one was decided literally by an inch. On offense, Pettee's leadership and Howell's speed and punch will cure the scoring anemia. On defense, Larimore will have an equally forceful impact. I really like the Indians chances.

One interesting note. This will be the first year in which we see the full impact of the two newest schools, Golden Valley and West Ranch. It's already noticeable at Hart with a much smaller student body and a significantly smaller number of kids on the football teams at all levels (hence, a lot of two way players).

Canyon: The Cowboys are highly ranked by just about everybody and deservedly so. They're the returning champs and have an extraordinarily large number of returning starters. The 2005 Cowboys were classic Welch: a lot of good but not necessarily great high school players who played ferociously hard and gave everything they had in fairly simple offensive and defensive schemes, precisely executed. I would expect 2006 to be much of the same. The offensive line has a couple of very big guys (Nick and Nick) and it seems like the whole bunch is addicted to the weight room.

DiLuigi is the single most determined running back I have ever seen - not the biggest or the fastest or the quickest - but one who fights for every possible inch. While I admire the tenacity, I worry about that style of play. It seems like those are the kids who are most likely to get hurt because too many defenders get a really good shot at them (you ever notice how seldom guys like Reggie Bush or Barry Sanders get really clobbered; they rarely ever take a direct hit and tend to go down before it can happen).

Ben Longshore has the benefit of an additional year of learning, not only in the Canyon system but from his brother.

While DiLuigi got most of the press last year, I think much of the success could have been attributed to Richie Wirthlin. Hart held DiLuigi in check but Wirthlin seemed to make the big play at the most critical moment. Can Chris Kingsbury bring that same sort of magic? Canyon suffered without it (Wirthlin missed the Simi game last year, Canyon's only loss last season).

Canyon looks to have a very decent kicking game.

Canyon's defense is sort of a mirror image of the offense: lots of very hard-hitting tenacious kids giving their all for the Welchboys. There are lots of returning starters so it should be a good group.

Canyon supporters have been prone to brag that the Cowboys are something like 19-1 in pre-league games over the last four years, a far better won-loss record than either Hart (13-6-1) or Valencia (15-5). However, there is no question that both Hart and Valencia played far more difficult schedules. That has changed somewhat this year. Canyon has added Moorpark (who the Cowboys defeated tonight), St. Bonnie and Notre Dame to the schedule - a far more formidable opening trio than last year's Leuzinger, Burroughs and Simi Valley (who upset the Cowboys).

Will the Cowboys repeat? Clearly they will be one of the top teams and we'll know fairly early because all the other Divisional powerhouses are on Canyon's regular season schedule.

Valencia: I simply don't know a lot about Valencia at this point. We have heard all the Herrick accolades. That's an era past. While he did very well at Valencia, only one of the three teams he quarterbacked made it to the finals, the 2004 team. And why was that? Defense! The 2003 and 2005 teams did not have any where near the defensive prowess of the 2004 team. If the 2006 Viking defense can get back to 2004 form the team will be a force. Certainly there are some very talented kids returning on defense, particularly in the defensive backfield. I'll wait a few games before making any judgement.

On offense, it seems to me that everything starts and ends with Vereen. He may be the best running back to every play in the Santa Clarita Valley. In my opinion he's far ahead of Manual White right now (as a high school player). If I were going to start an offense from scratch in the SCV, I might make him my first pick. He's scary fast and strong enough and quick enough to get away from anything less than a gang of determined defenders. But -- he's only one player and when teams can key on him, he can be contained. So offensively, the question is whether the new QB(s) and receivers can provide enough firepower to free up Vereen. If so, watch out. Like Canyon and Hart, we should know early. Valencia has a truly formidable pre-league with Corona Centennial, Bishop Amat, Birmingham, Orange Lutheran, Bosco and Notre Dame.

Saugus: The Centurions are easy to write off. But don't be too hasty. For reasons I can never quite fathom, Saugus gives Hart heartburn about every other year. Last year Hart managed to escape with a stultifying 14-7 win where a single call might have changed the outcome. A couple of years before that, Hart won with an knock down of a Saugus pass in the end zone to end the game. Overall, Saugus doesn't have the same talent as the big three and doesn't play at top form consistently. But they definitely have the ability to really screwup someone's season.

Golden Valley: Ain't gonna happen this season. They may rack up some pre-league victories (the soon to be famous Kilpatrick is on the schedule) but it'll surely be downhill from there. The new school battle at the end of the season with West Ranch should be interesting.

Like I said at the top, I like Hart's chances (but then I've been saying that since I started posting back in 2000). Chew on this fun fact. Hart lost in the championship game in 1994 to Antelope Valley and then came back the next season and beat them in the title match. In 2002 Hart lost to Mission Viejo in a very close championship game and came back in 2003 to soundly defeat the Diablos in the championship. In 2005, Hart lost to the Cowboys in a very close championship game and in 2006 ------------- .

It all starts tomorrow.