Injured Owens Shows He Can Still Toe the Line

Watching Hart High receiver Jerry Owens streak down the sideline and into the end zone against Palmdale on Friday night, it was hard to believe he was injured.

Owens, who broke his left big toe last week in a victory over Torrance, did not run in practice this week.

But he ran away from Palmdale defensive back Ty Chiaro on a 53-yard pass play in the fourth quarter, catching the ball at Palmdale’s 15-yard line before streaking into the end zone untouched.

“I was just thinking about running as fast as I could, and to make the catch,” Owens said. “I wasn’t thinking about my toe.”

It was the second and last reception Owens made against Palmdale in the Indians’ 28-6 Southern Section Division II quarterfinal victory.

Owens, who entered the game with a team-high 56 catches for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns, played sparingly on offense--about a dozen snaps--because of his injury. He had two catches for 58 yards.

The spells on offense kept Owens, also a starting defensive back, a little fresher on defense.

It paid dividends. Owens had one of Hart’s two interceptions, giving the Indians 22 this season.

As trick plays go, Palmdale proved Hart wasn’t the only team on the field with something different in its game plan.

Hart’s first offensive play was a double pass for a 50-yard gain, which set up the Indians’ first touchdown.

Neill threw a lateral to Kyle Boller, who passed down field to a wide-open Nate Small, who stumbled to the ground at the Falcon 30 after making the catch.

Later, Palmdale responded with a variation of the statue-of-liberty play, but the Falcons gained only one yard.

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With Hart driving in the third quarter, a Palmdale fan tried to inspire the Falcons’ defense with a commercial slogan.

“Hey Palmdale, these are the guys who stole your french fries,” he yelled.

Although the sound bite got a big laugh from the Palmdale fans, apparently it wasn’t enough inspiration for the Falcons.

Hart capped a 60-yard drive with a 29-yard touchdown run by quarterback David Neill to take a 21-0 lead.