VALENCIA – The Hart and Castaic football teams came into Friday night’s game at College of the Canyons with identical records — 6-3 overall, 3-2 in the Foothill League — and identical stakes.
The winner? They’d end the regular season on a high note and have a CIF Southern Section playoff berth secured. The loser of Friday’s game would finish fourth in the league and have to hope for the best this weekend.
It was Hart that came out on top in the all-important matchup, winning 42-13 behind a dominant first half.
Hart started things quickly as it forced a Castaic punt to begin the game and scored on a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Zach Rogozik to take a 7-0 lead.
The score came one play after quarterback Tim Larkins hit receiver Shawn Irwin on a 54-yard deep ball down the left sideline.
After the defense forced another punt from Castaic on its next drive, Larkins found Chris Clauss wide open for a 50-yard touchdown, giving Hart a 14-0 lead midway through the opening quarter.
Clauss, largely used as a running back throughout the season, lined up at slot receiver at times Friday.
Hart’s defense showed its mettle during a key moment early on, holding Castaic out of the end zone after the Coyotes had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Hart forced a turnover on downs when Jayden Broderick’s fourth-down pass to Gage Gibson was broken up.
Larkins scrambled 8 yards for another touchdown to extend the lead to 21-0 with 6:14 remaining in the second quarter.
Another Clauss score, this one coming when he found a hole to his right and went 26 yards for a touchdown, made it 28-0 Hart.
Larkins later hit receiver Shawn Irwin in the back left corner of the end zone to give Hart a commanding 35-0 lead at halftime.
Castaic found some life in the second half when running back Paul Lotz ran for a 95-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Quarterback Tyler Lewis connected with receiver Lucas Milan for another score early in the fourth, but by then it was too late for Castaic to mount a serious comeback.
Hart head coach Rick Herrington praised his team’s defensive effort in the first half saying, “they played great in the first half, defensive line played really well, stopped the run, and then played good pass defense.”
“We did everything we were supposed to do in that first half,” he commented.
Hart’s second-half performance wasn’t flawless, but Herrington wasn’t too concerned.
“Second half, we made a couple mistakes here and there. … Hey, got a big lead, you know. Not too mad about it. Just got a couple things we gotta fix so we’ll be OK.”
Larkins, who went 20 of 31 passing for 292 yards and three total touchdowns, was satisfied with his team’s offensive performance.
“I think we all played smart, came out hard, and we just did our jobs,” the senior said. “We sold everything that we needed to.”
Now both Hart and Castaic will await their playoff fates.
The CIF Southern Section playoff brackets will be announced Sunday at 10 a.m. Castaic will have to hope it receives an at-large berth or its season will be over. Hart can rest easy knowing it will be part of the postseason action.