Hart Makes an Unwilling Return : Four Straight Victories Nudge Indians Into the Top 10

Rick Scott, the football coach at Hart High, had just one request.

“Don’t rank us,” he asked. “Please--keep us out.”

Scott is fed up with rankings. The Indians opened the season ranked No. 1 in the Coastal Conference and No. 2 in the Valley by The Times.

Despite Scott’s insistance that Hart was an inexperienced team, many expected the Indians to challenge Canyon for supremacy in the area.

But in the opening game of the season, Canyon stopped Hart at the goal line on the game’s final play for a dramatic 6-3 victory.

Hart then traveled to Santa Barbara and lost, 28-18, to the Dons. Hart suffered another loss to Alemany, 27-17, and suddenly the No. 1 ranking was but a distant memory.

The low point came the following week when the Indians met Saugus and could only muster a 0-0 tie.

Even with the losses, Scott tried to remind his team to “be ready for league.”

“And I think we were ready for league,” Scott said. “Our scores indicate that.”

After beating Quartz Hill, 33-0, Hart opened the Foothill League with a 34-9 win over Burbank.

The Indians continued with wins over Burroughs, 22-7, and Alhambra, 35-9. The four straight victories vaulted the Indians back into the No. 10 spot this week in The Times’ Valley poll.

“It’s been a good thing for the kids that they’ve come back from adversity,” Scott said. “It has given them trust in our system. We’re having a lot more success offensively and that has taken pressure off of our defense.”

With a 3-0 league record, the Indians are heading toward a showdown with undefeated Schurr, which is ranked No. 1 in the Coastal Conference.

Hart plays San Gabriel this week, while Schurr plays Burroughs. The following week, Hart will battle Schurr to decide the championship.

The Valley Top 10

Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Last Rk Wk Team League Record

1 1 Canyon Golden 8-0-0 2 2 Granada Hills Valley 4-A 6-0-0 3 3 San Fernando Valley 4-A 5-2-0 4 5 Westlake Marmonte 6-2-0 5 6 Alemany Del Rey 7-1-0 6 7 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 5-3-0 7 8 Canoga Park Sunset 6-1-0 8 4 Simi Valley Marmonte 6-2-0 9 NR Agoura Frontier 6-2-0 10 NR Hart Foothill 4-3-1