Hart Bids Adieu to Schurr in 31-30 Win

The final Foothill League meeting between Hart and Schurr highs ended with a bang as Hart thwarted a pair of last-minute Schurr scoring chances to escape with a 31-30 victory Friday night at College of the Canyons.

Schurr, which will move to the new Almont League next season, rallied for 13 fourth-quarter points, the last six coming on a nine-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ray Donahue to halfback Kiki Casillas with 1 minute 25 seconds to play.

But Hart (5-3, 3-0 in league play) smothered Casillas on the two-point conversion attempt, then survived a final Schurr drive after the Spartans (6-2, 2-1) recovered an onside kick.

Darryl Lee’s interception with 43 seconds to play preserved the win.

“All of our games are classics,” Hart Coach Mike Herrington said of the Indians’ 10-year rivalry with Schurr. “We got some breaks the first half, they got some breaks in the second half. But we held on.”

Hart quarterback Ryan Connors completed 22 of 28 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, including a 24-yard toss to tailback Deriek Charles with 2:28 remaining that gave Hart a 31-24 lead. Charles caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

Schurr, however, countered with a six-play, 67-yard drive to score. Trailing by a point after the touchdown, Schurr Coach Ken Davis elected to go for the win, passing up the point-after kick.

But on the two-point conversion attempt, Casillas bobbled the pitch from Donahue and never had a chance to escape the Hart defense.

“I know what everyone is going to say: ‘Why did you go for two?’ Davis said. “But you gotta try for it sometime.”

Schurr, which had three touchdowns nullified by penalties, immediately had another chance to score when Henry Sanchez recovered the onside kick at the Schurr 47.

But Donahue threw two incomplete passes, then was blindsided as he attempted a third. Lee picked off the wobbly pass and Hart ran out the clock.

Schurr took a 7-0 lead on its first possession. Running back Claudio Millan’s 81-yard run on the Spartans’ first play from scrimmage gave them Schurr a first down at Hart’s two-yard line. Millan carried from there for the touchdown.

But Hart answered with three consecutive touchdowns.

Connors’ ability to scramble away from a fierce rush sustained a 69-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard screen pass to Charles for a touchdown and a 7-7 tie.

Connors finished Hart’s next two drives with touchdown passes of 11 yards to Charles and 27 yards to a diving Davis Delmatoff.

Schurr drove 86 yards in 11 yards on its next possession, Millan notching his second two-yard touchdown run.

Trailing, 21-14, Schurr drove to the Hart four-yard line with less than a minute to play in the first half. However, the Spartans were penalized for illegal motion and Connors intercepted Millan’s option pass on the next play.

After Connors hit three consecutive passes, Tim Cronk kicked a 32-yard field goal with no time on the clock to give Hart a 24-14 lead.