THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Hit by Thomas Put Quartz Hill’s Golden League Foe on Notice

When football folks talk of head-to-head play, it is usually in reference to us-versus-them.

As in, “We beat y’all” or, “They whupped us but good.”

In a game for the Golden League title Friday night, a twist was added. Two of the best players in the region went noggin to noggin and traded helmet paint.

Temperatures might have been close to freezing in the high desert, but one play in particular succinctly summarized Quartz Hill’s burning desire to scorch Antelope Valley.

In the second quarter, Quartz Hill tailback Erik Thomas took a pitch around left end, only to find defensive back Freddie Edwards planted squarely in his path. Both players braced for a collision.

The concussive force could almost be felt in the stands. Thomas was tackled but not before he knocked Edwards two yards backward. The last time anybody threw around this much plastic was when Ivana Trump went on a shopping spree with The Donald’s credit cards.

Thomas, a catalyst in Quartz Hill’s fired-up approach, lit a match under his teammates as he spewed verbal flames at Edwards. Standing over the prone defensive back with his arms outstretched, Thomas waxed lyrical after waxing Edwards.

“I love it, baby!”

He repeated those words twice, and redundancy became a theme. Quartz Hill (7-3, 4-1 in league play), the defending Golden champion, went on to record a 20-3 victory over Antelope Valley (6-4, 4-1). It marked the second year in a row in which the Rebels had won at least a share of the league title.

Quartz Hill could not wait to get to Edwards.

“That’s who I wanted to stick,” Thomas said of Edwards, who on offense was limited to 39 rushing yards. “We had pictures of him up all over the locker room.

“We read in the paper where he was the best (running) back in the Valley. We wanted to get those bad boys.”

Hart bypass: Ryan Connors is within hailing distance of two impressive Southern Section records.

The Hart quarterback passed for 478 yards in a 41-20 victory over Burroughs to move within striking range of the section’s single-season passing leader.

Connors, a senior, needs 245 yards to overtake Mike Smith, who passed for 3,437 yards at Los Altos High in 1982. Connors already has bettered the single-season totals of such former Southland luminaries as Pat Haden and Dan McGwire.

If Hart wins in the first round of the Division III playoffs Friday, Connors also could break Smith’s single-season completion mark of 252. Connors has completed 220 passes.

Connors’ yardage total against Burroughs puts him second on the all-time section list. The record of 531 was set by Kevin Harden of Salesian in 1982. Connors also eclipsed Jim Bonds as the Hart career passing leader with 6,017 yards. Bonds had 5,670.

Gun Smith: Entering the season, Royal’s Ryan Fien, Crespi’s Cody Smith and Connors were expected to open the eyes of college recruiters and fry opposition secondaries. The three, all seniors, have not disappointed.

Royal, Crespi and Hart each won league titles. Smith, who has been red hot over the past three weeks, passed for 370 yards in a 41-37 loss to Notre Dame. The total is three yards shy of his school record he set last year against St. Paul.

Against Notre Dame, Smith set a Crespi single-game record for completions with 27 and tied a school mark with four touchdown passes.

Connors and Fien (1,647 yards this season) already have topped their passing output of a year ago, and Smith, with 1,868 yards, is just 35 shy of the total he posted as a junior.

Yet, as predictably superlative as the three have been, a baby-faced standout also has emerged.

Unheralded Keith Smith of Newbury Park passed for 228 yards and three touchdowns last Friday to finish the season with 2,371 yards and 19 touchdowns.

This season, Smith completed 61 passes for 765 yards to receiver Leodes Van Buren. Newbury Park, after dropping its first six games, rebounded to win its final four.

And there is even better news in the west end of the Conejo Valley: Smith and Van Buren are sophomores.

High-fives: Friday night marked the end of the regular season, and some of the area’s top players took the opportunity to mark up the opposition.

It might have been a peak night for scoring in the region this year. Perhaps it was because some teams were saving the best for last.

Tailbacks Elijah Raphael of Kennedy and Pathon Rucker of Glendale each scored five touchdowns and San Fernando’s Brian Brison scored four.

Hart’s Connors threw five touchdown passes, Crespi’s Smith threw four and Tim Kirksey of Westlake threw one scoring pass and ran for three other touchdowns.

In games involving teams from the region, six teams scored between 30-39 points, nine scored 40-49 and one topped the 50-point plateau.

Offensive pickings were especially good for Santa Clarita Valley teams Saugus (42 points), Hart (41) and Canyon (41).