Hart loss has coach, players a little down

NEWHALL - Can Hart High come back from its most devastating nonleague loss of the past two decades?
That's the burning issue for the eight-time section champion Indians (0-1), who committed seven turnovers in an embarrassing 34-0 opening defeat to St. Bonaventure of Ventura last week.

"I think we can. We've been really motivated this week because we got blown out last time," receiver/defensive back Brandon Arndt said. "We learned nothing comes easy, and we've got to work for everything and play mistake-free football."

Hart doesn't have the luxury of a soft place to fall. The Indians can't afford another letdown at 7 tonight at defending Div. IV finalist Moorpark (0-1), which has advanced to the section semifinals or further in three of the past four seasons.

"How am I doing? Not great," said a plaintively honest Hart coach Mike Herrington, whose teams occasionally have started slowly but have never had a losing season through his 18-year career. "We've been a little down at practice this week. That's partially due to the heat, but they were basically humiliated. We've got to get things going."

Now Herrington has a chance to prove just how good a coach he is. With a group of relatively small linemen and so many inexperienced starters at the skill positions - particularly quarterback Alex Pettee, who completed just 11 of 32 passes for 109 yards in the opener, along with the entire receiving corps - Hart isn't as intimidating as usual.

Meanwhile, Hart has a tough schedule, as six of the first eight games are against opponents that advanced to the section semifinals or better last year.

Plus, there isn't as much depth as usual, as Hart has fewer than 40 players on its roster for the first time in Herrington's career.

"Yes, our numbers are down, and I really don't know why that is," Herrington said. "The thing about it is, we've been very successful, so you would think that would bring out a lot of players."

Herrington refuses to dish out blame for the St. Bonaventure disaster without attributing a healthy dose of Hart's problems to himself.

"I guess it was my fault," he said. "Instead of things being second nature, we reverted back to old habits."

Arndt begs the public not to give up on Hart. Among the players eager to make a second impression, Arndt promises a more respectable performance.

"Our practices have been a lot better, amazingly better," he said. "We're a lot more focused, and hopefully we'll do great tonight."

While Hart and Moorpark are coming off losses, it should be pointed out that both opened against elite opponents. St. Bonaventure is 95-4 with five section titles over the past six years, while Moorpark fell 33-14 to defending Div. II champion Canyon, ranked No. 2 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 13 in the nation by Student Sports.

"Moorpark is supposed to win the Marmonte League championship this year, so this isn't an easy one, either," Herrington said. "They're right up there."

Hart running back Delano Howell is coming off a solid performance, rushing for 125 yards with five receptions. Fellow junior Patrick Larimore totaled 18 tackles, but there weren't many other highlights.

"I think they were the only two that had good games," Herrington said.

The good news is it's still very early.

How well Hart rebounds from such a public whipping remains to be seen, but at least the team still has plenty of chances to redeem itself.

gerry.gittelson@dailynews.com

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