Will Arduous Schedule Be a Hart Stopper?

Quarterback Sean Norton is excited. Linebacker Brian Elledge is wary.

Both are under the gun.

Newhall Hart begins its season Friday against Los Alamitos, the defending Southern Section Division I champion and the No. 1-ranked team in the Southland by The Times.

For the Indians, it’s the first of five games that might be akin to boot camp. Third-ranked Hart faces one of the toughest nonleague schedules in Southern Section history. Four of its five opponents played for section championships in 2002. The other, No. 7 Los Angeles Loyola, reached the Division I semifinals.

Never mind that Hart reached the Division II finals last season and, in Norton and Elledge, return two of the top players in the section at their positions. Hart will be tested like few teams ever.

“You just hope you survive and don’t get beat up too much before league [play],” Coach Mike Herrington said. “If we can make it through without any injuries, I think it will help our team.

“But mentally, when we get through this stretch, are we going to be in good shape? As good as we’ve been, there’s an outside chance we could be 0-5 going into league. I don’t know how our kids would handle it.”

The last time Hart had a losing record going into Foothill League play was 1990. The Indians hope to avoid such a fate despite facing Los Alamitos (13-1 in 2002) -- which they tied last season on a last-second pass from Norton that was deflected to Cody Kase -- defending Division IV champion Ventura St. Bonaventure (13-1), Division IV runner-up Westlake Village Westlake (11-3), City Section champion Birmingham (11-3) and Loyola (9-4). Los Alamitos later had to forfeit the tie for using an ineligible player.

St. Bonaventure is ranked No. 17 by The Times and Westlake No. 14.

Herrington said he didn’t realize all those opponents would become powers at the same time. The difficult schedule, he said, “was unintentional,” the result of local teams unwilling to play Hart.

“Los Alamitos, Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly -- all those schools have someone on their [nonleague] schedule they know is a lock, a win for them,” Herrington said. “And we don’t have that.”

And that’s before the Indians begin defense of their 12 consecutive Foothill League titles and try to extend their 58-game winning streak in the league.

“As soon as I heard about all these powerhouse teams, I thought, ‘Are we really playing all these teams in the first five games?’ ” Elledge said. “I’m more excited than scared, but we’re still going to have to play harder than we’ve ever played before.”

Elledge, the heart and soul of the Indians’ defense, is one of two returning starters on that side of the ball from last season’s 13-1 team. The other is defensive back Dan Howell, who will also play running back this season.

“I feel responsible for most of the kids on the defense,” Elledge said. “The defensive line will have to step it up, they’ll have to shoulder much of the burden.”

But Hart is synonymous with offense, and in Norton it has a quarterback who passed for 3,984 yards and 35 touchdowns. In Kevin Ciccone it has a receiver who caught 79 passes and averaged 16.8 yards per reception.

“I love it,” Norton said of the schedule. “It’s going to prepare us for our league games, for our playoffs. We may not end up with the best record, but we’re going to be able to show everyone who we are, and we’re going to be ready for every team we play.

“We’re hoping no one gets hurt, but no matter what, it’s going to make every single player tougher and know the level of competition we need to be at each week.”

And in the back of Norton’s mind, there are two teams that he is thinking about: No. 18 Canyon Country Canyon, which represents the strongest challenge in years to Hart’s Foothill League dominance, and second-ranked Mission Viejo, the favorite to win the section title.

“I’ve had my mind on Mission Viejo ever since that [10-6 championship loss],” Norton said. “A lot of these teams over the next five weeks would put up a challenge to Mission Viejo and will let us know where we stand.”

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DIVISION I

2002 champion: Los Alamitos.

League favorites: Rialto Eisenhower (Citrus Belt), Long Beach Poly (Moore), Santa Ana Mater Dei (Serra), Los Alamitos (Sunset).

Contenders: Los Angeles Loyola, Bellflower St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, Anaheim Servite (Serra); Anaheim Esperanza (Sunset); Redlands (Citrus Belt); Lakewood (Moore).

Key games: Long Beach Poly at Mission Viejo, Oct. 2; Mater Dei at St. John Bosco, Oct. 17; Loyola vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Oct. 25; Mater Dei at Bishop Amat, Oct. 31; St. John Bosco vs. Loyola at Glendale College, Nov. 1; Esperanza vs. Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium, Nov. 6; Lakewood vs. Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium, Nov. 7; Loyola at Bishop Amat, Nov. 14; Eisenhower vs. Redlands at University of Redlands, Nov. 14.

The scoop: Jimmy Barnes, Coach John Barnes’ son, might be unproven at quarterback, but Los Alamitos has too many weapons not to be the favorite, and its defense alone probably will outscore several opponents. Five Serra League teams will again make the playoffs, though St. John Bosco is unlikely to successfully defend its Serra title. With a full year’s experience using the option offense, quarterback Jason Forcier running it again, Mater Dei should be much better -- especially early in the season. Esperanza, under its new coach, Bill Pendleton, is switching to a wing-T offense. The Aztecs’ nonleague schedule isn’t much and they probably will be undefeated when they meet Los Alamitos for the Sunset title in Week 9. New Coach Julius McChristian inherited terrific talent at Eisenhower, which should have enough to hold off Redlands. Lakewood could be a playoff sleeper.

-- Martin Henderson

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DIVISION II

2002 champion: Mission Viejo.

League favorites: Claremont (Baseline), Hart (Foothill), Chino (Sierra), Mission Viejo (South Coast).

Contenders: Rancho Cucamonga (Baseline); Canyon Country Canyon (Foothill); San Clemente (South Coast); Chino Hills Ayala, La Verne Damien (Sierra).

Key games: Mater Dei at Mission Viejo, Sept. 19; San Clemente at Corona Centennial, Oct. 3; Hart vs. C.C. Canyon at College of the Canyons, Oct. 24; Claremont vs. Rancho Cucamonga at Los Osos, Oct. 24; Chino at Damien, Oct. 24; Mission Viejo at San Clemente, Oct. 31; Ayala at Damien, Nov. 13.

The scoop: How much discussion can there be after Mission Viejo and Hart? Well, Hart plays the toughest nonleague schedule in the section with four opponents who last year played for section titles. It will only hurt the Indians should they get on a run of bad luck and not recover. Waiting for Hart is Canyon, which should breeze through its nonleague schedule and is led by two blue chippers, quarterback Nate Longshore and linebacker Andrew Schantz. Mission Viejo’s defense figures to be tough as ever, and transfer quarterback Mark Sanchez from Santa Margarita allows the Diablos to unleash Marty Tadman at wide receiver. One of the more intriguing teams is Damien, which last season had victories over Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga and Division I’s La Puente Bishop Amat.

-- Martin Henderson

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DIVISION III

2002 champion: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

League favorites: Peninsula (Bay), Palmdale (Golden), Notre Dame (Mission), Arcadia (Pacific), Lynwood (San Gabriel Valley).

Contenders: Mira Costa (Bay), Antelope Valley (Golden), St. Francis (Mission), St. Paul (Mission), Crescenta Valley (Pacific), Muir (Pacific), Dominguez (San Gabriel Valley).

Key games: Notre Dame vs. St. Paul, Mira Costa vs. Peninsula, Palmdale vs. Antelope Valley, Lynwood vs. Downey, Oct. 17; Dominguez vs. Lynwood, Oct. 24; Arcadia vs. Crescenta Valley, Nov. 13.

The scoop: Notre Dame will have to replace several key skill players, but has four offensive line starters returning and is the favorite to repeat. St. Paul has one of the strongest defenses in the division. Peninsula’s Jordan Munde rushed for 1,911 yards as a junior and hopes to help restore the roar of the Panthers. Perennial power Mira Costa, a division finalist in six of the last 10 years, has many holes to fill after losing 15 starters to graduation. The Golden League produced two division semifinalists last year in Palmdale and Antelope Valley. Both are strong again. Adding Long Beach Poly transfer Marlin Simmons, a linebacker, makes Lynwood a title contender.

-- Peter Yoon

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DIVISION IV

2002 Champion: St. Bonaventure.

League favorites: St. Bonaventure (Channel), Westlake (Marmonte), Redondo (Ocean), Righetti (Pac-5), Camarillo (Pacific View).

Contenders: San Marcos (Channel), Moorpark (Marmonte), Arroyo Grande (Pac-5), Paso Robles (Pac-5), Oxnard (Pacific View).

Key games: Hart vs. St. Bonaventure at Moorpark College, Sept. 19; Arroyo Grande at Righetti, Oct. 24; Camarillo at Oxnard, Nov. 7; St. Bonaventure at San Marcos, Nov. 14; Moorpark at Westlake, Nov. 14.

The scoop: St. Bonaventure may not be as talented as it was last year, but the Seraphs appear capable of winning a second consecutive Division IV title. Quarterback Brian Stevens threw for 36 touchdowns as a junior and senior Terrail Lambert will get a chance to shine at running back now that Whitney Lewis is at USC. Westlake could play St. Bonaventure for the Division IV title for the second year in a row. The Warriors return all-Division IV defensive linemen Jimmy Miller and Michael Stuart, and they have a talented transfer in quarterback Rudy Carpenter. Righetti, which blasted Ayala, 62-28, in its season opener Friday, has a very talented running back in Ryan Mole.

-- John Ortega

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DIVISION V

2002 champion: Corona Centennial.

League favorites: Riverside North (Ivy), Corona Centennial (Mountain View), Colton (San Andreas), Murrieta Valley (Southwestern), Elsinore (Sunbelt).

Contenders: Canyon Springs (Ivy), Corona (Mountain View), Arroyo Valley (San Andreas), Temescal Canyon (Southwestern), Hemet (Sunbelt).

Key games: Fontana Kaiser vs. Riverside North at Fontana, Sept. 19; Corona Centennial at San Clemente, Oct. 3; Elsinore at Hemet, Oct. 17; Corona at Corona Centennial, Oct. 31; Riverside North vs. Canyon Springs at Riverside College, Nov. 14.

The scoop: If this division seemed loaded with talent last season, wait till this season. Matching the excitement of last season’s triple-overtime championship game between Riverside North and Corona Centennial may prove difficult, but each team returns most of its major players from that game. Centennial is led by running back Terrell Jackson, who amassed 50 touchdowns last season, including eight in the championship game. North will count on the twin tandem of quarterback Dion Morton and wide receiver Damon Morton. They will be complemented by speedy running back Josh Barnett.

-- Dan Arritt