|
A close one that should not have been!
Hart kicked off deep into the endzone and San Clemente started at the 20: run for 4, inc., pass to the TE for 28 yards
and a first down; run for 1, inc, pass for 7 and go for it on fourth down (5 yard pass); then run, inc., inc., punt. [Notice
the pattern on first down]
Hart got no return on the punt and started on the two-yard line. The first play was a scramble by Norton for 8 yards,
the second a perfect pass to a wide open Kevin Ciccone which was dropped (hey - even the guys with the stickiest fingers drop
one once in awhile). Third play (the same play) was a 13-yarder to Ciccone. Norton then ran 12 yards for another first down.
Hart got an illegal procedure penalty to back 'em up 5. Norton ran again for 4, then for 6 and then passed to Kase for 12
[at which point Cody came off the field on offense]. Norton got sacked on the ensuing play for a 3-yard loss followed by a
6-yard pass to Howard and then a 35-yarder to Ciccone down to the 10. Hart stalled out and then got hit with an illegal shift
penalty. A six-yard pass eventually got Hart to the 6 where the Indians kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with :56
seconds in the first quarter. (A fourteen play drive).
SC once again started at the 20 after another booming kick into the endzone. The Tritons ran on first down for 1 (are
you seeing a pattern here?) passed for 17, ran for 3 to end the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter Todd
Wilson intercepted Beau Budde's pass.
Hart started on the 48 and on a 7-play drive (3 pass, 4 run) scored on a one yard run by Lafferty. The big play was an
18-yarder to Scott which took the ball to the one. Hart 10-0 with 9:41 in the second quarter.
Note that the receiver was Scott. He had only two receptions in the previous 12 games. I noticed that Kase played on offense
on only the first series. I suspect that he may have the flu or some other illness. He didn't appear injured but clearly was
struggling - he appeared darn near collapse on the sidelines when the offense was in. In addition, Hart lost a starting DL,
Matt Wheaton, on the first series as well - he had his shoulder pads off and some sort of wrap on his shoulder after that.
Back to the game. SC once again started at the 20 (Simons was booming them into the endzone). First play - you got it
- run for 1, pass for 6 run for 4 (QB sneak), sack for -4, run for 7 and then pass for 16 out to the Hart 48, pass for 19
and then a 29-yard pass (No.3, don't recall his name but he's a real player) for the TD. Hart was then up only 10-7 with 6:42
left in the half.
Hart started at the 20 and on the first play, Norton hit Ciccone for 35 yards. Hart ran 14 plays in the drive and eventually
got down to the 10 where they stalled out and tried and missed a field goal so it was 10-7 at half.
In the first half, Norton was 12 of 16 for 163 yards. The SC QB, Budde, was 8 for 13 for 127 yards, a TD and an INT.
To begin the second half, Hart took a flat, short kick out to the 34. Ciccone started with another dropped pass but got
6 yards on the next play. Hart punted following an incomplete pass to Howard (probably the only uncatchable ball all night
by Norton).
The punt returner got the ball at about the 20 and took it to about the Hart 30 (50 yards) but it was all for naught as
there was a hold at the beginning of the return so SC started at the 10. Following a sack, a 5-yard run and an inc, SC punted.
Ciccone more than made up for any drops with a 45-yard punt return to the 16-yard line. Five plays later Lafferty scored
on a 1-yard run. Wilson also had a nice 14-yard catch in there too. Hart 17-7.
On the next series, SC set up a great return (what a wedge!) and returned the ball out to the 46. There followed a - you
got it - 1-yard run, a sack and an incomplete and punt.
Hart started at the 15 and advanced 8 yards on a screen to Howard, lost 3 on a run, got a 10-yard pass to Ciccone followed
by another screen for 15 by Howard. Hart eventually got down to the 39 when the Indians went to the screen once too often
and it was intercepted.
SC starter at the 43 - where the first play was, of course, run for 3, inc, run for 5, FAKE PUNT for 6 and a first down
followed by a pass interfence penalty which took it down to the 28. Pass for 3 run for 3 but then a late hit by SC moved the
ball back to the 37 to end the third quarter.
SC got down to the Hart 26 on the next play and kicked a 44-yard field goal to make it 17-10 with 11:02 to go.
Hart got another nice return by Ciccone on the kickoff and started at the 34: 7-yard run by Norton, 14-yard pass to Wolfe,
0-yards on a outside screen to Ciccone, 11 yards to Scott (first down!), 11 yards to Wilson and then a very nifty 23-yard
run by Paxton Howard for the TD. Hart 24-10 at 8:54.
This kickoff was very flat but skipped over the returners and into the endzone so once again SC started at the 20.
This, ladies and gentlemen was the "penalty drive" and for once did not start with a run: inc, inc, run for
7, go for it on fourth down (and burn a timeout) and get it, inc, 14 yards, PENALTY PI for 15 and a first down. Next play:
PENALTY PI and another 15 yards. Minus 1 on a run, inc, QB gets flushed on the next play and gains nothing but PENALTY --10
yards against Hart for defensive holding (a very unusual call!). This moved the ball down to the 16 and two plays later SC
ran it in. Hart 24-17 with 6:07 to play. (Critical thing here is SC burned two timeouts in the drive.)
SC tried an onside kick and really leveled the Hart CB, Daniel Howell, who caught it and held on -- biggest hit of the
night.
Hart managed one first down but eventually punted into the endzone and SC took over with 3:25 to play. The Tritons got
a first down but then had a pass for 5 yards, an incomplete and a 4 yard run by Budde. They got stuffed on the next play (4th
down) and Hart took over at the Triton 39.
Hart got the ball with 1:42 left. First play -1 by Howard (1:42 left). Second play +1 by Howard, time out by SC, their
last. Third play +4 by Norton. Hart stands around and lets the clock run down to :13 and takes the penalty then calls timeout.
On the punt, Simons booted it very high. The returner signaled fair catch and then got out of the way thinking it would go
into the endzone. It didn't. The Hart guys gathered around the dribbling ball and time ran out -- Hart wins.
Second half numbers for Norton: 11 for 15 and 110 yards and an interception. I think thats the first time since the quarterfinals
in 1999 that Hart has not had a touchdown pass.
Norton was 23 of 31 for 273 yards and one interception. Hart had 104 yards rushing.
Budde was 4 for 13 and 33 yards in the second half, while he was the victim of a couple of drops, the Hart defense made
it much tougher for him. Budde finished the night at 12 for 26, 170 yards, 1 TD and 1 Int. The offense had net 76 rushing
for the game. The differences between the halves is striking: first half SC had 155 yard. The second only 91. But for the
penalties which led directly to all 10 second half SC points, Hart really controlled in the second half.
Given the size of the Triton offensive line and that Hart is a little on the small side and got a lot smaller when Wheaton
went out, I thought SC would be better on run blocking. They were pretty unimpressive in that regard. On the other hand the
pass blocking was excellent. Budde was sacked only once in the first half and generally had plenty of time. Things changed
somewhat in the second half and he was harried a bit (and he's not going to set any speed records). Nevertheless, the pass
blocking was generally pretty good.
Hart's play calling seemed awfully tentative much of the night, particularly as the Indians closed in on the goal line.
There is no question not having Kase on the offense really made a difference.
I didn't have a big problems with the refs as some other internet posters had -- on the "penalty drive" the
first PI was a good call from where I was sitting. I had a little trouble with the second one. The holding really bothered
me not because there was or was not a hold (it happened on the far side of the field if at all) but because the call was really
late. Those always bothers me. I also had a big problem with one non-call where from my vantage point it appeared that the
Hart FS had a good shot at an INT but was tripped up as he was going for the ball. (Thats the only call that elicted any booing).
|
