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This game wasn't much of a contest.
Here's the summary:
Will Simons once again started the game really well, sending the opening kickoff into the endzone. Lakewood's first few
plays looked ominous for Hart: 15-yard run, 13-yard run, 3-yard run, 2-yard run, 9-yard run, 1-yard run down to the Hart 37.
Then Lakewood tried a pass. I swear it was the first play that Los Al scored on against Hart where Daniel Howell (DB) slipped
and fell. This time Howell was once again in perfect position, didn't fall and intercepted at the 3.
First oddity of the night: The person playing QB for Hart came on the field wearing - No. 45? Who was this mystery person?
It was Norton of course. One suspects he forgot his jersey. We fans were concerned he forgot something else: Hart's initial
couple of plays were inauspicious: two incomplete passes. Hart then started moving the ball well in small pieces, just enough
to get some first downs. Hart moved the ball to the Lakewood 45 but then got moved back to the 50 on a false start. Next play:
pass down the left sideline to Kevin Ciccone for a 50-yard TD and Hart was up 7-0 with 3:30 left in the first.
Following a kickoff to the endzone, Lakewood went three and out.
Hart started the next series at the 30. Norton was sacked twice. The difference compared to last week was that Norton
stepped forward into the pocket so on the first sack, lost only a yard and only 4 yards on the second. In any event, on 3rd
and 15 he hit Ciccone for 38 yards to end the first quarter.
At that point Norton was 7 for 10, 1 TD and 126 yards. Ciccone had three catches for 99 yards.
Six plays into the second quarter Norton hit Kase for a 10-yard touchdown pass and it was 14-0.
Will Simons kicked the ball short and flat and Lakewood got a return to the 50 but that drive quickly ended in a 3 and
out.
Hart started the next series at the 15 and tried three straight running plays. On the ensuing first down, Norton threw
to Ciccone on what looked like an outside screen but was apparently a flea flicker of sorts. Ciccone, after catching the ball,
kind of threw the ball up for grabs and Lackwood recovered at the Hart 42.
Four plays later, Lakewood returned the favor and fumbled with Hart recovering at the 10.
Hart then went on a 10-play drive (8 passes) which ended with a 25-yard TD pass to Kase. In the drive, Norton completed
2 passes to Kase, 2 to Ciccone, 1 to Wilson and 1 to Wolfe (now that's balance!). Hart was up 21-0 with 21 seconds left in
the half.
Hart kicked it short (deliberately) so Lakewood started at the 45. The Lancers star runner (whose name escapes me) ran
for 25, and following a 5-yard pass, Lakewood kicked about a 44-yard field goal to make it 21-3 at half.
Norton was 17 of 22 for 3 TDs and 245 yards in the first half. Lakewood's QB was 3 of 6 for 14 yards and an INT.
Hart started the second half at the 35 following a nice return but sort of struggled on the first series and after 7 plays,
punted from the 45. Lakewood went 3 and out.
Hart started the next series at the 34 and moved the ball down to the Lakewood 27 where Norton threw a 27-yarder to Ciccone
to make it 28-3 with 5:47 in the 3rd.
Lakewood was once again was forced to start on the 20. Following an incomplete, the Hart free safety (Coutin?) intercepted
a pass at the Lakewood 45. 8 plays later, Norton threw a 5-yard TD to Ciccone.
Second really odd situation of the night: Lakewood started at the 20 and moved the ball smartly down the field to the
Hart 32. The next play, with the clock running and five seconds left in the third quarter, the Lakewood QB called timeout
(why not just let it expire?). The coach seemed ticked off. On the next play, the QB threw it down the middle and it appeared
that Ryan Wolfe, the Hart corner, intercepted it. The back judge made no signal at all but the side judge appeared to signal
"INT." The Hart offense came out as did the Lakewood defense. The chains were moved down to the 12. Then everyone
apparently realized it was the end of the quarter so all the players went back to their respective sidelines and did the usual
"end of the quarter" conferencing. One of the Lakewood coaches was really getting into it with a ref during all
this.
The chains were moved to the other end at the 12. The Hart offense came out. The Lakewood defense came out and everyone
milled around for a bit. Suddenly the refs decided it wasn't an INT after all and gave the ball back to Lakewood and respotted
the ball at the 31 (they gained a yard when the chains were reset). Three more plays and Hart took over on downs.
Next series: Norton played for only 4 plays in the fourth quarter and completed 2 more passes, one to Wilson for 32 yards.
Thereafter the subs were in. They moved the ball down to the 8 (thanks in part to a reception by Simons the kicker, his first,
I believe). The Indians stalled out there and kicked a field goal to lead 38-3 with about 6 minutes left.
Hart put primarily subs in on the ensuing series. Lakewood keep the starters in. The Lancers really didn't do too well
against the 2nd stringers but a very suspect pass interference call kept the drive alive and eventually the Lancers scored
with 1:36 left. Hart took the onsides kick and ran out the clock.
Observations: On offense, the Lancers tried to blitz a lot but the Indians handled it well with a series of passes to
receivers on hot routes across the middle, draws and screens. In addition, Norton did very well stepping into the pocket so
even when he got sacked a few times early in the game, it was for minimal losses. Lakewood really only got to Norton once
in the second half and he turned that into a short gain.
Defensively the Hart kids really controlled the game but did have a few times when they laid back and tried to wait for
and then arm tackle the runner instead of going after the runner who ended up running by the defenders.
Hart made a lot of nice adjustments and the stats reflected it: Norton finished the game with 25 of 37, 5 TDs and 373
yards. Ciccone had 8 catches for 167 yards, Kase had 8 catches, Wilson 6 and Wolfe 2. That's really hard to defend.
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