Hart Churns Past Burbank, 17-14

Hart High quarterback Darren Renfro attempted only 14 passes in Friday night’s Foothill League game against Burbank.

Given that uncharacteristically low number, Hart fans not in attendance probably would assume that Hart either had lost or Renfro had been injured, oh, about two minutes into the game and didn’t return. Or possibly both.

It was neither. Hart discovered a running attack that has been out of commission since last season and ground out a 17-14 victory over Burbank at Burroughs High.

Hart is assured of at least a share of a second straight league title. The defeat was Burbank’s first on the field in four league games, but the Bulldogs have been forced to forfeit six wins for using an ineligible player. Hart is 8-1 overall, 4-0 in league play. Burbank is 0-9, 0-4.

Hart Coach Rick Scott quickly realized that his potent offense wasn’t going to take off when Burbank used a three-man front and dropped eight players into pass coverage.

Scott turned to running back Craig Whitten, who responded with 163 yards and a touchdown in 33 carries. For Whitten, Hart’s leading pass receiver, it was a chance to show anyone who had labeled him an all-catch, no-run running back that they were wrong.

“I had a lot of fun out there,” Whitten said. “I wanted to have a good game because lately I haven’t been labeled much of anything.”

Scott may call him a savior. After realizing Burbank was willing to let Hart run as often as it wanted, Scott turned to Whitten and the running game, which rushed for minus-6 yards last week.

“They were daring us to run so we took them to the challenge,” Scott said. “We had to pull a few things out of the hat that we hadn’t run for a while.”

Burbank gave Hart a scare early in the third quarter when Whitten fumbled the ball away. Gabe Jimenez ran 56 yards for a touchdown two plays later to put Burbank ahead, 14-7.

Hart tied the score on its next possession. Whitten ran five consecutive plays to set up a third and six at the Bulldogs’ 22-yard line. Renfro then hit tight end Brian Allen on a slant pattern and Allen ran into the end zone untouched.

Hart scored the winning points one minute into the fourth quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Jim Harper. Burbank got the ball three times after that but managed no first downs.

It wasn’t exactly business as usual in the first half, either.

As expected, one team threw the ball very efficiently and one ran straight at its opponent. But it was Burbank that filled the air with passes while Hart plowed straight up the middle.

And for the first two quarters, it worked. Burbank quarterback Fred Castillo completed 7 of 12 passes, including five in a row on the Bulldogs’ lone scoring drive of the first half.

Whitten was just as potent. He gained 63 yards in 13 carries and scored on a two-yard run midway through the second quarter to tie the score at 7-7.

B--Howard 26 pass from Castillo (Saldana kick)

H--Whitten 2 run (Harper kick)

B--Jimenez 56 run (Saldana kick)

H--Allen 22 pass from Renfro (Harper kick)

H--FG Harper 37