No. 1 Hart Flags Down Redondo in 30-16 Win

It was part rout, part ridiculous.

Hardly flexing its muscles in the first round of the Southern Section Northwestern Conference playoffs, Hart High slapped Redondo around for a sloppy 30-16 win Friday night at College of the Canyons.

The referees, however, probably pulled a few muscles reaching for their penalty flags. The officials were kept busy, levying 311 yards in penalties.

“Doggone it,” an angry Hart Coach Rick Scott said. “Both teams practice all year long and work their fannies off and then some officials working for beer money come out here and put on a clinic. It’s not fair to the kids.”

Hart was penalized 17 times for 170 yards, and Redondo (6-5) was flagged 15 times for 141 yards.

“I think they got most of their yards on penalties,” Hart linebacker Frank Williams said. “It was a crazy night.”

Williams had two of Hart’s four interceptions as the Indians held Redondo to 137 total yards.

Hart, which led at halftime, 30-2, survived a sloppy second-half comeback by the Seahawks. Late in the third quarter, fullback Eric Craig hit Jason Allen on an option pass for an 18-yard touchdown. Redondo scored its final touchdown with less than a minute to play when Mark Fisher returned a fumble by Jeff Piper 22 yards.

In next week’s second round, Hart (10-1) plays St. Anthony, a 51-14 winner over San Marino.

Hart quarterback Darren Renfro, the Southern Section’s leading passer, completed 13 of 23 passes for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns, but his performance was overshadowed by Hart’s sloppy play.

“Our first drive was good,” Renfro said.

Hart took a 7-0 lead the first time it had the ball. Williams intercepted quarterback Robbie Zeller’s pass at Redondo’s 21-yard line. Four plays later, tailback Craig Whitten, who led all ballcarriers with 52 yards in 16 carries, scored on a two-yard dive.

Hart scored again early in the second quarter when Darrin Kellaris made a juggling catch of a Renfro pass for a 12-yard touchdown.