AREA'S BIGGEST RIVALRY TAKES FIELD THOUSANDS EXPECTED TO WATCH CANYON, HART FACE OFF IN LEAGUE OPENER.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- The area's most heated high school football rivalry resumes tonight, as Hart and Canyon meet at 7:30p.m. at College of the Canyons in a rematch of last year's Southern Section Div.II championship.

It's the Foothill League opener, and a crowd of about 8,000 is expected -- that's been the average through the years. Host Hart (3-3) looks to break a three-game losing streak that includes a 21-13 defeat in last year's final, which ended with Hart at the 1-yard line.

High school football in California doesn't get much bigger than this. While both teams have had their early struggles against difficult nonleague opponents, they're both coming off impressive performances during the past two weeks, so there shouldn't be any excuses.

``It's a very big game for us. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing because there's going to be a lot of people there,'' Hart quarterback Alex Pettee said. ``Canyon is a very aggressive team, and they fly really fast to the football. So we've got to match their intensity and get after it.''

Fans should arrive early to ensure a seat. Otherwise, they might have to stand like the many thousands who have overflowed this rivalry through the years.

``It's going to be huge. This is a real big game,'' Canyon offensive lineman Marc Valdez said. ``It's always this way when Canyon and Hart get together because we're arch rivals. I'm really looking forward to this game, and we're ready to play.''

After opening with two consecutive poor performances in decisive losses to St. Bonaventure of Ventura and Moorpark, Hart has won three of four, including an impressive 49-21 victory last week over defending Div.I champion Loyola of Los Angeles.

``I think that was a pretty big win for us against Loyola, and now we just have to keep it rolling,'' Pettee said.

Canyon (3-2) lost two of its first three -- the defeats were close losses to St. Bonaventure and fellow state power Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks -- but has won two in a row, including a 38-35 comeback victory last week at defending Div.X champion Crespi of Encino.

Hart defeated Canyon 13 times in a row from 1991 to 2003, but the Cowboys have won the past three, including a 16-14 victory during the regular season last year. This year, Canyon is ranked higher, but Hart has the revenge factor in its favor. It's the Cowboys versus the Indians, and this one appears too close to call.

``This is a game for us to gain some respect back after last year,'' said Delano Howell, Hart's star running back who has scored 20 touchdowns, 18 over the past four games. ``We made some big mistakes that led to those losses against Canyon last year. We had a chance to win those games. We just can't make mental mistakes, and we need to play hard.''

Many in local football circles have been counting the moments for these powerhouses to face off again because both of last year's matchups were decided in the waning moments.

``We can't wait. As seniors, this could be the last time we ever play, and I think we're ready,'' Canyon receiver Kenny Suber said. ``Last year, everyone said it was impossible to beat Hart twice in the same season, but we just played Cowboy football and came out on top. I think we can do it again if we come out and play.

``Hart's a really good team, but we're hoping to beat them again because we've been working hard in practice every day.''

Canyon joined the Foothill League in 1992, but the Canyon-Hart rivalry had already been pumping since the early 1970s, as the neighborhood rivals used to play each other in the first game of the season.

In 1985, Canyon won 6-3 before a home crowd of more than 9,000, and the game ended when Hart's star quarterback, Jim Bonds, was tackled inside the 1-yard line as time expired.

Some who were there that night still wonder why Hart didn't attempt a game-tying field goal, but even then the rivalry was so heated that a tie simply wouldn't suffice. Canyon went on to win its third consecutive Northwestern Conference title, and Hart finished as the Coastal Conference runner-up.

The following year, in 1986, an even bigger crowd showed up for the rematch, as Bonds was a UCLA-bound returning senior. And Canyon featured quarterback Ken Solom, who had taken over during the playoffs the previous season and would eventually play at Michigan. Bonds passed for a then-school-record 326 yards and four touchdowns, but Canyon pulled out a 42-32 victory to preserve a 39-game winning streak behind Chad Ziegler's four touchdowns.

The 1991 matchup was the last time Canyon and Hart played in a season opener -- and it was a doozy, as Hart came back with three minutes left to win 32-27 on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Connors to Davis Delmatoff, now Hart's offensive coordinator. Canyon drove inside Hart's 10-yard line in the final moments, but Doug Socha's fumble recovery preserved the victory.

Five years later in 1996, Hart scored on a 55-yard fumble on the first play to spark a 41-3 victory.

In 1998, Hart's star receiver, Jerry Owens, broke his leg late in the second quarter, and Hart was fired up in the second half, pulling away with a 48-10 victory that featured an 80- yard touchdown pass from legendary quarterback Kyle Boller that traveled nearly the entire distance in the air. Many consider it the most incredible pass in Hart history -- a significant achievement for a program with a national reputation as a quarterback factory.

Perhaps two of the most exciting games in the series came last year. In the first meeting, Canyon won 16-14 to claim its first Foothill League title, as Tyler Hawkins recovered a Hart fumble on Canyon's 5-yard line in the final moments.

A month later, Canyon won again in the championship game at Home Depot Center, as Hart closed with a 98-yard drive from its 1-yard line, ending on Canyon's 1 when J.J. DiLuigi made a game-saving tackle on fourth down in the final seconds.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) ``It's a very big game for us,'' Hart High QB Alex Pettee, left, says about tonight's game versus Canyon, in which he will be matched up against Cowboys QB Ben Longshore, right. ``Canyon is a very aggressive team, and they fly really fast to the football. So we've got to match their intensity and get after it.''

David Crane/Staff Photographer