Hart Gets Defensive, 21-13

VALENCIA — Oh yes, they do play defense at Hart High.

There’s usually never a reason to know or care, thanks to its high-powered offense, but Hart won a game Saturday night thanks to its defense.

Hart, which averages 486 yards and 42.9 points, was shut out in the second half but held on for a 21-13 victory over Alemany in a Southern Section Division III semifinal at College of the Canyons.

Top-seeded Hart held Alemany to 207 total yards.

“Their offense gets all the notoriety, but the defense is really tough,” Alemany Coach Jim Bonds said.

“Not too many holes on that defense.”

The biggest defensive play came with two minutes left in the first half.

Alemany had been hanging around and trailed, 14-13, with possession of the ball at its 29.

But Hart linebacker John Bourg intercepted a pass by Casey Clausen and returned it 20 yards to the Alemany nine.

Two plays later, fullback Pat Norton caught an 11-yard pass from Kyle Boller to put Hart up, 21-13, with 1:12 left until halftime.

“It was a gift from God,” Bourg said. “The guy just gave it to me. My eyes were huge.”

Hart (11-2) will play St. Paul in the Division III championship game next Saturday night. A coin flip today will determine the host school.

The only on-the-field loss for St. Paul was a 26-17 setback to Alemany in a Mission League opener. St. Paul (11-2), which shut out six consecutive opponents this season, forfeited an early season victory over Mission Viejo because it used an ineligible player.

Alemany (9-4) kept Boller off-balance by blitzing on almost every play.

Hart, which finished with 293 total yards, countered by emptying its playbook on a hook-and-ladder that netted 39 yards in the first quarter. Boller completed a short pass to Chris Ciccone, who pitched the ball to Billy Brecht down the left sideline.

The play, which went to the Alemany 37, helped set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Boller that gave Hart a 14-7 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter.

Boller completed 14 of 26 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest total of the year. He passed for 265 yards against Valencia.

“Our offense was anemic,” Coach Mike Herrington of hart said.

“Alemany had a great defensive scheme. I didn’t think anybody could shut us out for a half.”

Boller played most of the game at safety because starter Chad Carlson was injured early in the first quarter.

Boller, who played safety all last season, intercepted a pass by Clausen and broke up two others.

Clausen, a junior, completed 14 of 39 passes for 170 yards with three interceptions.

De’Andre Scott of Alemany was held to 20 yards in 10 carries, including a one-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that pulled Alemany to within 14-13. The extra point was blocked.

“I’m real proud of my boys,” said Bourg, who stopped Clausen on a scramble to force a fourth down on Alemany’s final possession.

“We were ready for this game.”

Bonds, who played quarterback at Hart in the mid-1980s, said he was glad his homecoming was over.

“It’s been a rough week for me,” Bonds said. “I’m kind of glad the game’s over.”

The game was halted briefly after the first play from scrimmage because of a technical problem involving the coaches’ wireless headsets.

The Hart coaches could hear Alemany’s play-calling, which was brought to the referees’ attention by Hart.