Hart Passes Put Torrance on Run

Top-seeded Hart literally threw Torrance out of the Southern Section Division II football playoffs, trouncing the Tartars, 42-13, Friday night at College of the Canyons.

Steve McKeon, Hart’s junior quarterback, threw four touchdown passes as Hart (11-0) gained 313 of its 458 yards in the first half to forge a 35-7 lead.

But Torrance had unofficially gotten the heave-ho 2 minutes 38 seconds into the second quarter, when McKeon hit J.B. Nelson (three receptions for 69 yards) with a 14-yard scoring pass to make it 28-0.

It was set up by linebacker Marc Zimmerman’s sixth interception and an 11-yard return to the 19.

“I felt very good coming out--very confident,” said McKeon, a junior who had been battling flu. “I was throwing terribly during the week, but I felt really strong out here tonight.”

McKeon completed 10 of 19 passes for 295 yards. Torrance’s Dave Lechman intercepted two of his throws.

The Tartars blitzed McKeon but couldn’t stop him with man-to-man coverage. He threw for 222 yards in the first half, including scoring plays of 31 and 14 yards to Nelson and 21 and 27 to running back Ted Iacenda.

Iacenda, who entered the game with an area-best 31 touchdowns, had four more. He also scored on runs of 80 and eight yards.

The Tartars ran three plays and punted on their first possession and missed a 47-yard field goal on their next drive. Then it was an interception, punt, touchdown after Lechman’s first interception, then punt, punt.

Andre Hilliard caught a 16-yard pass from Babak Farrokh-Siar and ran through Ryan Riske for the first Tartar score. Riske got a tongue-lashing on the sideline, but there were few of those, because the Tartars couldn’t stop Hart’s aerial attack.

“Our Achilles’ heel all year has been our pass defense,” Torrance Coach Rock Hollis said. “We were praying for a little wind. We knew they were going to pass the ball if they saw the films we gave them.”

It took Hart two plays to cover 41 yards on its first drive with its no-huddle, run-and-shoot offense. A 31-yard pass play from McKeon to Nelson to the corner of the end zone capped it.

When they got the ball back, the Indians marched 64 yards in seven plays. Iacenda lined up in the slot, ran a post route and pulled in a 21-yard pass at the goal line to make it 14-0.

Iacenda made the pass play look easy, just as he did with his 80-yard run on the only play of Hart’s next drive. He took a handoff at the line of scrimmage, darted toward the Torrance bench and steamed up the sideline.

“My God,” Torrance Coach Hollis said when asked about Iacenda, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior.

Iacenda had 309 yards rushing and receiving. He rushed for 122 yards, which gives him 1,249 for the season. He had five receptions for 187 yards, including a 73-yarder on a shovel pass.

Perhaps his most impressive plays were the eight-yard run and his 27-yard reception that capped the first-half scoring.

Iacenda bulled up the middle and broke three tackles on the scoring run and made a fingertip catch in the end zone on the pass play.