GAME OF THE WEEK: HART FINDS A WAY USING SMARTS, INDIANS KEEP STREAK INTACT.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer There's a reason why Hart High has gone 26 consecutive games without a loss. Even against a team that has more speed and better athletes, the Indians have the smarts. Sean Norton noticed receiver Kevin Ciccone uncovered at the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for and called an audible on fourth-and-2 with 48.8 seconds remaining. He hit Ciccone with a quick pass that turned into a 30-yard touchdown Friday to ice Hart's 27-14 nonleague victory over host Birmingham. ``I think our mental game pulled us through,'' Norton said. ``I guess they forgot a corner and we immediately saw it.'' Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). turned the pace in its favor in the first quarter, starting a track meet that led to each team scoring on its first two drives. Each team went scoreless in the next two quarters and entered the fourth tied 14-14. On the first play of the quarter, Cody Kase sacked Birmingham quarterback Ryan Lombardo and stripped the ball. Brian Elledge recovered and returned the fumble 46 yards into the end zone to give Hart the lead. ``I told the team we played the No. 31 team in the nation and we were two plays from beating them,'' Birmingham coach Ed Croson said. ``Doggone dog·gone Informal tr. & intr.v. dog·goned, dog·gon·ing, dog·gones To damn. interj. & n. Damn. adv. & adj. also dog·goned Damned. it, two plays. I think we played with those guys.'' Surprisingly, Birmingham (2-2), ranked No. 6 by the Daily News, was right with No. 1 Hart (3-0-1) even after the initial pace subsided. Hart of Newhall opened the game by driving 80 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Norton to Kase. Birmingham immediately responded and showed that it had the speed to cause Hart problems. On the Patriots' second offensive play from scrimmage A play from scrimmage is the activity of the games of Canadian football and American football during which one team tries to advance the ball or to score, and the other team tries to stop them or take the ball away. , Bryan Baylor caught a short pass over the middle and raced by Hart defenders for a 59-yard score. Birmingham had two chances to take the lead in the second quarter but field-goal attempts of 25 and 49 yards were blocked, first by Eric Wilson Eric Wilson can refer to:
As portrayed by Togo, Ryan Wolfe is a man driven to succeed. He displays a desire a to impress his superiors coupled with ambition (c.f. . The Patriots pressured Norton relentlessly to keep the game even. Charles Chezick had 2 1/2 of the team's seven sacks. Birmingham had three drives into Hart territory in the second half but couldn't capitalize. It hurt that running back Dennis Keyes missed part of the quarter with a sprained ankle A sprained ankle, also known as a ankle sprain, ankle injury or ankle ligament injury, is a common medical condition where one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is torn or partially torn. . Ciccone also scored in the first quarter on a 15-yard pass from Norton. He finished with nine catches for 164 yards. Norton completed 18 of 23 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Birmingham was much more disciplined than the last time they played a Southern Section team, a Week 1 loss to Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame . ``They don't just have speed,'' Norton said. ``They are an all-around great team. They have tons of athletes that can play with our wide receivers. We're not really used to that.'' CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Hart's Kevin Ciccone leaps to catch a touchdown pass over Birmingham's Dural dural /du·ral/ (dur´'l) pertaining to the dura mater. dural pertaining to the dura mater. dural ossification see dural ossification. Richardson on Friday night. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: Inside the NUMBERS Compiled by Sean Ceglinsky |
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