Hart’s Defense Shoots Blanks

PASADENA — This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen.

Hart High wasn’t supposed to be a rushing team.

But the top-seeded Indians were forced to adapt in a 14-0 victory Friday night over Muir in a Southern Section Division III quarterfinal playoff game at Pasadena City College.

It was the closest game of the season for Hart and the fewest points it has scored.

With the Mustangs (9-3) continually dropping eight players into coverage, Hart had little choice but to run the football early and often.

When it was over, the Indians (12-0) had actually finished with more yards rushing than passing. Of their 280 yards of offense, 147 were rushing.

It was sophomore running back Tim Gregory, not highly regarded junior quarterback Kyle Matter, who did most of the damage.

Gregory rushed for 148 yards in 19 carries and caught two passes for 20 yards. He has rushed for 1,101 yards and 14 touchdowns in 132 carries this season.

It was a little unorthodox, but Hart Coach Mike Herrington didn’t seem to mind.

“They drop eight and sometimes nine guys back on defense and they were giving us the run, so we had to take it,” Herrington said.

That made for a difficult outing for Matter, who completed 11 of 17 passes for 133 yards with one interception.

Matter went into the game with 3,156 yards passing and 46 touchdown passes.

But the only touchdowns for Hart came on a pair of runs by senior fullback Pat Norton in the second quarter.

Norton, who has committed to UCLA, scored on runs of two and six yards.

Aside from that, it was a battle of defenses.

“They were definitely the fastest team we’ve played this year,” Matter said. “Our defense really won the game for us.”

Muir drove inside the Hart 20 on three occasions only to be stopped on fourth down each time.

The Mustangs finished with 233 yards, all but 28 rushing.

“They play tough defense and their option is hard to stop, so we knew we’d have a tough time,” Herrington said.