Newhall Hart’s Brady White is white-hot
When you’re the starting quarterback at Newhall Hart, expectations are always high.
The high school has a rich tradition at the glamour position and so far Brady White seems unfazed by the pressure that comes with living up to the success of his predecessors.
Friday night, the junior put on an aerial display all of them would have been proud of, out-dueling Miami-bound counterpart Brad Kaaya while completing 36 of 53 passes for 490 yards and a school record-tying seven touchdowns in the Indians’ 55-54 overtime victory over West Hills Chaminade at College of the Canyons.
PHOTOS: Hart defeats Chaminade, 55-54, in OT
White found Wes Fitzpatrick in stride for a 23-yard touchdown in overtime, then the Hart defense stepped up when Chaminade, after answering with Dymond Lee’s eight-yard touchdown run on its first overtime possession, went for a winning two-point conversion rather than a tying kick. Hart linebacker Cody Shoemaker tackled Donovan Lee in the backfield, ending the game.
Mike Herrington, who has coached his share of All-CIF quarterbacks in 23 years at the Hart helm, including Ryan Connors, Matt Moore, Kyle Boller, Kyle Matter and Tyler Lyon, thinks his latest project could prove to be among the school’s best. White’s seven touchdowns tied the Hart record set by Boller against Burbank in 1998, and his stellar play has already attracted attention from Division I programs like California, Colorado, Florida, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Vanderbilt.
White’s coolness in the face of a blitz was never more evident than on his sixth touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, when he stood in the pocket until the last instant, stepped up to avoid a sack and delivered a strike to Connor Wingenroth in the end zone for a 48-41 lead with 7:11 left.
Davis Koppenhaver had 13 receptions for 141 yards Hart (2-0), ranked 12th in the Southland by The Times.
One week after setting a school record with 36 completions in a 56-49 victory at Corona Santiago — eclipsing Matter’s mark of 34 against Burbank in 2000 — the 6-foot-3, 185-pound White picked up right where he left off against the Eagles.
Kaaya finished 16 for 37 for 370 yards and three touchdowns for Chaminade (1-1), ranked No. 8 by The Times.
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