CHIEFS OF STAFF

At first, the idea seemed odd to Peter Dubsky.

The senior defensive lineman needed one sack to break Hart High’s career record after causing weekly mayhem for opponents.

Yet, there were his coaches, only days before a Southern Section Division III semifinal against St. Francis, telling him he would make his season debut at linebacker.

“I was shocked,” Dubsky said.

With Dubsky at linebacker and only three down linemen, Hart neutralized St. Francis’ potent offense, handing the Golden Knights a 13-0 defeat and their first shutout in five seasons.

Voila! Coach Mike Herrington and his talented staff of six assistants had done it again.

“Everything they do seems to work,” Dubsky said. “I feel like I’m getting college-level coaching here. The way they just make stuff up, it’s almost magical.”

Tonight, Hart (11-2) will play Mira Costa (12-1) for a region-record sixth section championship. And it’s no coincidence that the men pulling the strings behind the curtain--including brothers Dean and Rick Herrington, the offensive and defensive coordinators, and assistants Dan Houghton, Mike Halcovich, John Ahart and Davis Delmatoff--have come up with another winning formula.

Few coaching staffs in the state can match their magic touch. Since Mike Herrington took over at Hart in 1989, the Indians have produced an All-Southern Section quarterback each year, 11 Foothill League titles--including the last 10--48 consecutive league victories and are seeking their fourth championship in their fifth title-game appearance.

Mike Herrington credits the experience and closeness of his staff for its success.

The Herringtons have been together at Hart since 1989 and coached together in 1988 at Bellflower. Houghton, the line coach, is in his 13th season at Hart and joined the varsity staff in 1991. Halcovich, who coaches receivers and defensive backs, joined the varsity in 1990 after assisting the junior varsity for five seasons, including a 40-0 run from 1984-87.

Ahart is in his seventh season and Delmatoff, a former all-section quarterback at Hart, is in his first.

“The longer staffs are together, the better they do,” Mike Herrington said. “If you look around the area, to Notre Dame, Westlake, Sylmar, Granada Hills . . . familiarity within the staff is a great asset.”

The coaches are the main reason the Indians host Mira Costa tonight at College of the Canyons in a televised game.

They had to clear several hurdles to get to the final, among them:

* Coming off a 14-0 season and their second consecutive division title, they had to retool around a returning quarterback, running back and strong defensive line.

* Early in the season, when Stanford-bound quarterback Kyle Matter was getting abused like a Doberman’s chew toy, the staff performed an overhaul of the offensive line.

Chris Frome moved from tackle to guard, sophomore Chris Piligian was called up from the junior varsity to play left tackle and defensive lineman Jose Flores was asked to play right tackle.

Suddenly, Matter had time to throw.

* A preseason plan to run a balanced offense was scrapped in the second game, when all-section running back Tim Gregory, the fastest player in the program, suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Mickey Mercado was plugged in at running back, the run-and shoot offense was reinstated and Hart was again off to the races.

* The roles of receivers Kevin Donoho and Julian Lewis were elevated in the run-and-shoot offense.

While all this was happening, Hart sputtered to a 3-2 start and looked vulnerable, dropping from No. 1 to No. 5 in the division rankings.

“If you had told us after the first few games that we would be playing for another championship, I would have laughed at you,” Rick Herrington said. “But we knew the kids could do it. It was just a matter of when.”

With a 28-8 playoff record and 11 consecutive postseason victories under Herrington, it’s unwise to ever count the Indians out.

Tonight Hart can become the third team in region history to capture three consecutive titles. Paraclete will seek its fourth in a row in the Division XII final on Saturday night.

Harry Welch, who coached Canyon to three consecutive section titles from 1983-85, does commentary for prep football games on a Santa Clarita cable television station and has watched the Indian staff closely.

“I think they’re the best coaching staff around, not just in the area, but anywhere,” Welch said. “They have a whole staff that works well together--a head coach who delegates duties better than anyone, a defensive coordinator who is underappreciated but special and an offensive coordinator who is an absolute wizard and knows how to get the best out of his kids.”

When head coaching jobs open, such as the recent vacancy at Foothill League rival Canyon, Hart assistants are rarely mentioned as candidates.

Not that they’re not qualified. They’re just not interested.

“It’s just a matter of respect for our program,” Houghton said. “When I describe the way things work with us, coaches at other schools tell me how lucky we are. We might not be the head coach, but Mike gives us the responsibility to be in charge of our individual areas.

“I think when the players see how well we work together, how we function as a team, it rubs off on them.”

Mike and the Magicians have one more performance this season and their players are confident they’ve got an ace up their sleeves.

“It’s nice to hear that the Herringtons and the rest of our staff will find a way for us to win,” Matter said.