HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: WEEK 3 : Westlake Gets Flattened by Sudden Hart Attack, 37-7

Hart and Westlake, two high school teams with strong football traditions, were off and running when they met Friday night at College of the Canyons in a nonleague game.

And neither team was concerned about moving the ball on the other.

But the only team that lived up to billing was Hart in a 37-7 rout.

Steve McKeon completed 13 of 25 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns and the Hart offense rolled up 434 yards, 395 in the air. Hart had 324 yards in the first half.

Receiver J.B. Nelson had four receptions for 130 yards without a touchdown, while Cody Joyce caught three passes for 159 and two scores.

Ted Iacenda, leading the region with 468 yards rushing, was limited to 35 yards in 11 carries but scored two touchdowns and has 68 in his career.

Hart (3-1) was averaging 417.3 yards per game, the most among Foothill League teams. Westlake (1-1-1) came in at 410.5, which ranked second in the eight-team Marmonte League.

The big question was: Who would improve on defense?

Hart, allowing 354.7 yards, ranked last in its league in yardage allowed. Westlake, at 341.5, was second worse in the Marmonte.

Who would give? Or rather, who would not give?

Hart’s defense answered by holding Westlake to 183 yards, recording seven sacks and shutting down the passing game. Steve Aylsworth completed four of 14 for 33 yards.

Hart linebacker Marc Zimmerman grabbed one of those passes for the 10th interception of his career, a school record.

“Everybody was pumped and it all came together tonight,” Zimmerman said.

Now the only question is: What happened to the Warrior offense?

Hart, with its concerns on defense, knew it had to contain a Westlake rushing attack that featured Jamal Harris and Jonathan Weems, who coaches say have been timed at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

Harris finished with 103 yards in 18 carries; Weems had only four yards in six carries.

Westlake’s Jason Victor, who began the game with 13 catches for 278 yards and three touchdowns, managed one reception for four yards.

“We started off moving the ball, but their defense made an adjustment in their coverage,” Aylsworth said. “They dropped their defensive backs back, and our receivers were swamped. There was nothing there.”

Westlake had to find a way to contain Hart’s athletic receivers.

On the opening drive for Hart, McKeon threw a 17-yard swing pass to Joyce, who broke two tackles. Two plays later, Nelson, who beat Pat Casteel on a fly pattern, caught a 49-yard pass while back-pedaling to set up McKeon’s eight-yard scoring pass to Casey Keltner.

Westlake rushed back to tie, 7-7.

Aylsworth, who completed only two of 10 for 11 yards in the first half, keyed a 10-play, 65-yard drive with scrambles of 14 and nine yards for first downs. Harris scored on a five-yard run.

But Hart’s defense stepped up and the Indian offense stayed in high gear.

The Warriors finished the half punting three times, fumbling the ball away another time and running out of time on the Hart 15-yard line as the half ended.

The Indians scored on four of five possessions to make it a 31-7 blowout in the first 24 minutes.