DUO HAS CARDINALS FLYING HIGH.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON

CANYON COUNTRY -- You don't always hear the roar of the crowd in the quiet world of eight-man football, but Garrett Borden and David Ozorizzi are making some noise at Santa Clarita Christian High.

Borden, a junior running back, and Ozorizzi, a senior quarterback who learned the game just one year ago, have helped the Cardinals (2-0) defeat Bethel Christian of Lancaster 50-0 and respectable Windward of L.A. 49-0. Both games were shortened because of eight-man's 45-point mercy rule.

These two are not about to make you forget J.J. DiLuigi and Ben Longshore just down the street at mighty Canyon High, but Borden and Ozorizzi have done their best to bring respectability to a level of football that most don't take seriously.

After sitting out the first game while recovering from a hip injury, Borden rushed for 141 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns, including a 55-yarder, in the victory over Windward. Ozorizzi rushed for 194 yards and accounted for five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) against Bethel Christian, followed with 134 yards rushing and three touchdowns against Windward.

Of the two, Borden, whose father is successful professional wrestler Sting (real name Steve Borden), could probably play at larger schools. At 6 feet 1 inch tall and 210 pounds in weight, he's powerful and fast enough to break long touchdowns.

Ozorizzi is 6 feet tall and weighs just 150 pounds, but there has never been a faster quarterback at Santa Clarita Christian, which often runs a quarterback sweep.

A serious football player who trains privately with former Hart star Ted Iacenda, Borden is happy at Santa Clarita Christian.

``I thought about it a lot, but I could never leave. I don't want to be anywhere else but here,'' Borden said.

Borden's father, a former Hart basketball player, is quite an athlete compared to most pro wrestlers: He's a 6-foot-3, 250-pounder who was a slam-dunk jumper in high school.

Garrett could eventually be as big as his dad. As things are, he's a lot tougher than most eight-man starters.

``He's really worked hard and done a lot of physical training,'' Santa Clarita Christian coach Garrick Moss said of Borden. ``Against Windward, he just stiff-armed guys and ran right through some tackles. He's very fast, too. He ran the 100 (meter dash) in club track and won just about every race.''

Ozorizzi, who also plays basketball and baseball, is among a core group of seniors who have been together since the first grade at the tiny school tucked behind the Edwards Cinema complex.

``I've made some really tight friends here, so I've never thought about leaving,'' Ozorizzi said. ``I enjoy it here a lot.''

Ozorizzi is also an honor student with a 4.0 grade-point average.

Nearly 100 percent of Santa Clarita Christian graduates attend college, and Ozorrizzi is hoping to go to Caltech or UCLA.

``He's just a very smart football player, and he's also very calm, which is something you don't see in quarterbacks a lot of time,'' Moss said. ``He's also got a real good sense of vision and for finding the open field.''

Santa Clarita Christian looks for its third victory at First Lutheran (0-2) of Sylmar at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Last year, the team didn't make the playoffs, but Santa Clarita Christian usually is among the section's best. The Cardinals figure to have its usual crowd of 100 or so, but never will the school see a spectacle resembling big-time high school football.

That's OK with Borden and Ozorizzi. They're not worried about playing in such anonymity. They're too busy simply having fun and enjoying the game. Sounds crazy, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.