Hart Caps Perfect Season With 34-6 Win Over Valencia

The alumni were in place, ready for a scintillating game and a championship for Hart High.

The former may not have existed, but the latter was definitely a part of Saturday night at College of the Canyons.

Hart drubbed Valencia, 34-6, in the Southern Section Division III football championship before an estimated 9,000 in winning its second consecutive title and third since 1995.

The game did not have the intensity or excitement of the Indians’ 17-14 title-game victory last year over St. Paul, but Hart will take it just the same. A championship is a championship.

Practice meant perfection for Hart, which had one of its best weeks of practice and, not coincidentally, finished 14-0 for the first time.

“We had probably the best week of practice in the history of Hart football,” said Coach Mike Herrington of Hart. “Our kids were so focused, it was unbelievable.”

Hart, the king of the three-receiver offense, won with its usual flair and panache, employing a hook-and-ladder play late in the first quarter to keep alive a scoring drive.

The Indians also went with a new wrinkle--a tight end--and succeeded.

Evan Allen, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound defensive end, caught three passes for 42 yards as a tight end, including a seven-yard touchdown catch with 9:13 left in the second quarter to give Hart a 14-0 lead.

“You can’t do the same thing all the time,” Herrington said.

The bad omens for Valencia (10-4) began on the second play of the game, when defensive tackle Kaelen Jakes, a 6-4, 250-pound junior who figures to be one of the top recruits in the Southland next year, was hit in the right knee by a Hart player.

Jakes watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.

“It probably hurt us quite a lot,” said Coach Brian Stiman of Valencia, who said Jakes suffered a torn medial collateral ligament.

Hart showed little sympathy, continuing to embark on a drive that lasted 7:03, traveled 80 yards in 14 plays, and was capped by a two-yard pass from Kyle Matter to Pat Norton.

“I knew it was going to ge tough,” said Valencia running back Manuel White, who scored Valencia’s only touchdown on a one-yard run late in the third quarter. “They’ve got great pursuit. It’s over now. I’ve got to move on.”

White, who has committed to UCLA, gained 59 yards in 16 carries.