Hart Wins in Overtime, 13-10

It was a game that turns coaches’ hair gray. A cliff-hanger. A nail-biter.

But it shouldn’t have been close.

Hart High squandered three first-half scoring chances and needed a field goal in overtime to beat visiting Los Alamitos, 13-10, Friday in a first-round Southern Section Division III playoff game.

Brady Vilensky made the winning 27-yard kick after Hart had blocked a Los Alamitos field-goal attempt in the California tiebreaker.

Hart quarterback Ryan Connors, who entered with six consecutive games of 200 yards passing, completed 14 of 37 for 184 yards. Running back Scott Blanchard gained 99 yards in 11 carries before injuring his neck in the third quarter.

Defense, however, was the story of the game as both teams came up with big plays.

Hart (8-3) took the opening kickoff and drove 78 yards in 11 plays. Connors passed for most of that yardage, then ran the final four yards himself. Hart led, 7-0.

Los Alamitos answered in kind, moving 63 yards on its first possession. The Griffins used trickery and a bit of luck: Running back La Quan Beckton ran 17 yards on a fake punt and wide receiver Chris Gray caught a tipped pass for a 21-yard gain.

Beckton ran three yards to tie the score, 7-7, in the first quarter.

Hart’s avalanche of miscues ensued. The Indians drove to the Los Alamitos five-yard line but a Connors pass was intercepted by Marco Dominguez.

On their next possession, the Indians reached the one-yard line, but fullback Tucker Setterberg was turned back twice and Los Alamitos took over on downs.

Finally, Hart drove to the Griffins’ 35-yard line with 35 seconds left in the half. Again, the Indians missed on a fourth-down play.

A more serious setback befell Hart in the third quarter when Blanchard was taken off the field by ambulance.

In the fourth quarter, Hart’s George Kase forced a fumble and teammate Kevin Miller recovered. Four plays later, Vilensky kicked a 23-yard field goal.

The Indians looked as if they might hold on, but Los Alamitos forced a short punt, and, with 1:45 left, Eric Wallace kicked a 27-yard field goal to tie the score, 10-10.