Well I'll give a full game summary a shot and hope I get it posted this time.

First an overview.

Neither offense was particularly effective. According to my notes, St. Bonaventure had 264 yards of offense from scrimmage and Hart had 246, not exactly fearsome numbers for either team.

Lyon was 19 of 39 with 2 TDs and 220 yards. The big difference from last week was that although he completed only one more pass last week (20 of 34 last week) he got about 130 more yards against Moorpark as compared to St. B. This is a real tribute to the St B defensive backs who, for the most part, simply did not let the receivers get any yards after the catch. Hart had 12 net yards rushing on 17 carries (including sacks), a dismal performance compared to last week's 200 plus yards rushing.

The SB offense was not exactly overwhelming. Lee was not much of a factor running (certainly when compared to last year) getting 73 yards on 26 carries. He had some nice screen passes though. The Bonnie QBs (I didn't even notice there were two until this morning) started VERY badly (1 for 5 for minus 1 yard and an INT in the first quarter) but were, in my view, very solid after that going 14 of 18 for 1 TD and 192 yards in the final three quarters.

Botched plays/turnovers were the difference. Hart gave up 3 INTs and 2 fumbles. Bonnie scored on 4 of the 5 turnovers plus ran a punt back for a TD. That's 31 points on Hart miscues.

St B has some of their own faux pas: an INT that led to a Hart field goal and a blocked punt that Hart recovered in the endzone for a TD. And then there were the SB penalties: at least 12 of them.

So here are the details.

SB took the kickoff, got no return but also got tagged with a clipping penalty and started at the 10: Run by Lee for 4, run by ? for 6, inc, run by Lee for -2, penalty for delay (-5) inc and punt.

Hart got no return on the punt (the returner wisely let the ball drop and roll) and started at the Hart 36: Pass interference on the first pass; pass to Surratt for 15, inc, inc (drop), pass to Christensen for 7, pass to Wolfe for 12, run by Lyon (flush) for 5, run by Castleberry for about 5 which was nullified by a holding penalty, moving the ball back to the 21; pass to Surratt for 21 yards and a TD. Hart 7-0 at 6:39.

SB got nailed for a clipping penalty on the return and started on the 13: run by Lee for 2, run by Lee for 0, INT by Wheeler which was returned to the 9-yard line.

Hart: run by Castleberry (hereafter RC) for -4, pass to Wolfe for 0 (notice the yards after the catch!), inc (dropped in the endzone) and then a 30-yard field goal; a nice stop by St B under the circumstances. 10-0 Hart at 3:08.

St B got a short return and started on the 20: Run by #8 for 2, penalty for delay of game (2nd time), pass for -1, inc., punt.

Up to this point -- basically the first quarter -- St. B had 9 yards of offense from scrimmage, minus 1 if you throw in the 2 delay penalties. The Seraphs three series ended up punt, INT, punt. Hart seemed very much in control. How quickly things can change.

On the SB punt, the Hart returner was surrounded by the SB return team and tried to catch the ball rather than letting in drop. Bad decision. He fumbled it and Bonnie recovered at the SB 48. Not only did this give the Seraphs the ball back, it clearly pumped a lot of life into them.

SB: run by Lee for 7, run by Lee for 7 [end of the first quarter], run by Lee for 0, pass for 2, pass for 11, pass for 13, run by Lee for 2, pass for 5, run by Lee for 4, run by Lee for 0, run by Lee for 1 and the TD. 10-7 at 7:34.

Hart got a 20-yard return by Wheeler out to the 25: inc (almost an INT), inc, INT by #57 as the Hart QB got hammered as he threw the ball.

The SB linebacker returned the ball to the Hart 17: sack for -8 (the only one of the night), run by Lee for 0, run by Lee for 4 and then a 38-yard field goal to tie it up at 10-10 with 5:02 left in the half.

Hart got a 39-yard return by Wheeler out to the 43-yard line: run by RC for 5 and then another INT on a really great effort. The ball looked to be going past the receiver (who was beyond the defender). The defender put it into high gear, caught up, leaped and snagged it over the Hart receiver (the local paper, the Signal, got a very nice picture of this play).

SB started at the SB 10: Lee run for 4, # 2 run for 4, delay penalty(third time), pass for 12, inc (tipped), pass for 15 on a screen to Lee, inc, inc, Lee run for -1 on a draw and then a great punt block by Arndt which was recovered by Orie Kilpatrick in the endzone for a Hart TD at :55. The PAT missed so it was 16-10.

Think the half was over? Hardly. SB started at the 35: pass for 7 to Lee, run by Lee for 11 on a draw, pass for 33 down to the Hart 14 with :24 seconds left. [The preceding plays are why I have my doubts about "prevent defenses." The Hart LBs played deeper and the DBs backed off as well; all the yardage was from catch and run underneath the defense] Run on an end around for 1, pass for 9 and then with no timeouts left, the QB ran for 3 yards and was stopped on the 1 to end the half.

What a turnaround. Hart had the game completely in control in the first quarter then: fumble, INT, INT and its now a real game.

The third quarter was devastating for Hart.

On the kickoff, the Hart returner dropped the ball and had to fall on it so Hart started at the 14: pass to Wolfe for 7 (Lyon under center), pass to Surratt for 11, run by RC for 3, pass to Wolfe for 7. Here's a spot where I'm not sure the play-calling was well thought out. Hart was at the Indian 41. It was third and about a yard. Hart went to its "double tackle" offense with a full-house backfield. The problem is that the "power" runner in this alignment was Castleberry. He's quick and shifty but very light, hardly a power-runner. SB packed it in the box and RC got stacked up on the line for no gain. Hart then ran the identical play on 4th down and Castleberry was about an inch short of the first down at the 42. From my perspective, Hart would have been better off running with the QB under center and a single tailback, keeping the rest of the field spread and giving the linebackers something to worry about. Without a big bruiser to hand the ball to, the double tackle formation has little value. In any event, going for it on a fourth down at this point in the game at this spot on the field (keep in mind Hart was ahead 16-10 at this point) was probably not the best choice if for no other reason than it gave SB another huge pyschological boost.

SB started at the Hart 42: run by Lee for 11 and then pass for 31 and the TD. SB up 17-16 at 8:40.

Hart started at the 20 (no return): RC run for 9, pass to Leigh for 6 and then another critical, game-changing play. Lyon dropped back to pass and was hit as he threw. From my view it looked like he was throwing therefore an incomplete. The ref called it a fumble and SB had the ball on the Hart 26.

SB: penalty (holding?), screen pass to Lee for 13, a naked bootleg and pass for 16, delay penalty, run by Lee for 12, run by Lee for 4 and a TD. SB up 24-16 at 5:02 in the third.

Hart got a nice 38-yard return by Leigh to the 42: sack for -7, inc, inc, punt and another disaster. The punt was moderately long but very flat. The returner caught it and had a full head of steam before any of the Hart guys got down there. He returned it 75 yards for a TD and it was SB up 31-16 at 3:35.

Hart settled down and started the next series at the 28: run by RC for 9 (QB under center), run by Lyon on a sneak (from under center) for 4, pass to Yudin for 8, run by RC for -3, pass to Wolfe (QB under center) for 10, inc, run by Lyon for 6 (flushed) [QUARTER], pass to Wolfe for 6, pass to Yudin for 16, pass to Wolfe for 14 (QB under center). Hart was down to the 2-yard line at this point and once again went to the double tackle, full house offense: RC run for 1, RC run for 0 and then on third down a pitch to Wolfe for a 1 yard run and a TD. 31-23 at 9:56.

SB started at the 14 and the Hart defense really sharpened up: run by Lee for 0, run by Lee for 1, delay penalty (number 4), pass for 10 and punt.

Hart started at the 24: sack for -5, pass to Wolfe for 5 (QB under center), inc (drop) then a very short punt of 12 yards.

SB took over at the Hart 38: pass for 13, run by Lee for 1, run by Lee for 1, penalty for delay (number 5), run by Lee for -3, penalty for delay (number 6) and another punt.

Hart start at the 10 with 3:20 to go: inc, sack for -8, inc and punt from the very back of the endzone.

SB started at the Hart 35 due in part to a clipping penalty: run by Lee for 0, run by Lee for 3 and then some really dumb play calling by SB: a rollout pass attempt. The receiver was covered so it went incomplete and more importantly stopped the clock (Hart had used its final timeout before this play). Even dumber in my view, SB punted on fourth down when they were at the Hart 32. They should have taken a shot at running it. In any event, the punt went into the endzone. There ended the SB offensive effort for the night, a paltry 25 yards in the fourth quarter. But there were fireworks to come.

Hart started at the 20 and had the single worst offensive series I can recall in some time. 1st down: grounding. The ball got moved back to the 5 (How can that be? Isn't the worst case "half the distance"?). The next play was an incomplete. On third down Surratt caught the ball for a 5-yard gain. On fourth down (you know, when the DBs and LBs are supposed to just knock it down), Lyon looked left and then threw left -- right into the hands of a waiting defender who returned it for a TD. 38-23 with 1:36 to play.

Hart got the ball on the 25: inc, inc, pass to Surratt for 11, inc, pass to Wolfe for 15, pass to Surratt for 12, inc, and then pass to Wolfe for 37 yards and a TD. Hart decided to go for two at that point and blew a snap (was it to the running back?) So it was 38-29 with :47 to play.

Hart did not get the onside kick. SB took a knee or two and that was it.

Some additional comments. Hart botched six plays: 3 INTs, 2 fumbles and the punt return for a TD. SB, as all good teams do, capitalized on 5 out of 6 of those plays: INT for a TD, punt return for a TD, fumbled punt leading to a TD, an INT leading to a FG and the QB fumble leading to a TD. What can I say? Hart screwed up and SB made Hart pay a huge price for almost every error.

I think there are a few other things that Hart has to worry about. First and foremost, it appears that the team plays uninspired football much of the time. Last week, the Indians were kind of limping along until Lyon ran one in for a TD. He came off the field fired up and it energized the whole team. It was at that point Hart really seized control of the Moorpark game.

This week, Hart controlled the game early but the dropped punt, followed closely by an INT seemed to completely deflate the kids and wholly inspire SB. The Hart kids need to more visibly display their enthusiasm to get everyone fired up. You have to play in control of yourself but football is an emotional game.

Second, special teams. The Hart kickoff return has been a bright spot in that the returners have been consistently getting very good returns. Just about every other aspect of special teams needs work. The kickoff team looked better this week. I guess the kicker does not have the ability to consistently get the ball to the endzone so, after the kickoff return for a TD last week by Moorpark (and I cannot recall that happening in the time I've been going to Hart games) Hart has resorted to tactic they used in 1998 of kicking the ball high and short and to the sideline and trapping the carrier there. It was effective against SB. SB had a total of 7 return yards in the first half (on 4 chances -- and this doesn't count the penalty yards) and 14 in the second half.

As I noted in my pre-season post, punt teams have never been a Hart strong point, either kicking or receiving and this game illustrated that point in spades. The Hart returner tried to catch one that he surely should have let go, fumbled and lost the ball. This is a persistent plague at Hart. Seems like the correction is usually to let everything go which has its own problems . Punting isn't a strong point either. Hart did not punt in the first half but that was because of the two INTs (on five possessions Hart had 3 scores and 2 INTs). The first punt by Hart was late in the third quarter. The distance was fine but it was flat and allowed for a TD return. The second punt netted 14 yards. The third punt netted 33 but that was because a long return got called back on a clipping penalty.

I'm not too critical of Lyon at this stage. One of the INTs was a spectacular play by the DB. Lyon did not make a bad choice; the defender made a spectacular play. The other two INTs were bad choices/bad throws. I note that he sometimes looks like a baseball pitcher (which he is) -- he checks the runner and then goes into a big windup, ie., he sometimes looks too hard at a receiver and then has a somewhat slow delivery which allows the defense to react. Other times he looks off the receivers very well and delivers the ball crisply. Experience and coaching will correct these deficiencies over time. He is not always on the mark either but this to is due in part to other factors like the rush and throwing off his back foot. I expect this to improve as well. He has suffered a few unfortunate drops by receivers, especially by kids who should do better. Seems like the drops are caused as much as anything by running before catching the ball.

The running game should have been better. SB is good but Hart is far more capable than they showed last night. As last year, I have a lot of trouble with running virtually every play out of the shotgun. Last week I don't believe that Hart ran more than 1 play (by the first string) from under center. This week Hart ran most everything from the shotgun and SB is way too fast to make the running game work. In addition, Hart ran a lot of plays from an empty backfield. Of course the defense has no reason to think run and really goes after the QB. Because SB has such speedy cover guys, they can afford to blitz extra people, or as it appeared to me last night, a delayed blitz. What appeared to happen to me is that the blitzer would wait for a tick, letting the offensive linemen all commit to a block and then run through the middle to the QB. Actually, SB got to Lyon only three times but also deflected one pass, flushed him twice, caused him to throw into a grounding call and whacked him about a dozen times as he released the ball.

The solution in my mind is three-fold. First, the blockers have to work out the kinks. Count on it. It'll happen. Second, Hart can't get too worried about this as virtually no other team around has both the speed and the savvy to make a scheme like SB's work. Third, Hart has to make the defense fear the running game a little more. Against a team like SB, an empty backfield just invited a completely unrestrained rush. Second, the shotgun with the RB next to the QB is very, very limited. There are really only three running plays. Hand off to the RB as he runs in front of the QB. Fake the handoff to the RB as he runs in front of the QB and then have the QB run. Other choice: pitch to the RB. There are of course left and right variants of this. The problem with all this is that it is fairly slow developing and takes place about 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. The linebackers have a long time to see it and adjust. With fast linebackers, its unlikely you'll get any yardage out of the running plays and thats about what happened to Hart last night. Hart's "under center" running plays were generally far more productive than the shotgun running plays. Excluding sacks, flushes and the double tackle plays, Hart averaged about 2 yards a carry out of the shotgun and over 6 yards a carry from "under center". I also have a problem with the double tackle with Castleberry at the power spot. As I noted above, he's a shifty quick runner, not a power guy. I think Hart is better off going to an under-center formation with one back and a spread to move the linebackers out and away from the LOS and let the Hart linemen get a hole for the quick back. The return of Toledo, a more powerful runner than Castleberry, may cure this.

A final thought about SB: a number of posters have commented negatively about the QBs. Quite frankly, I did not notice there were two of them. Whoever was in the game in the first quarter did not do well at all but there after I thought the QB work was very very good.

Not a pretty game but also not without redeeming values.

Westlake will be facing a lot of riled up Indians next Thursday. Think Custer at the Little Big Horn.

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