HART PASSING TOURNAMENT: MONTANO, CANYON ARE HART-STOPPING DEFENDER KEY AS COWBOYS WIN TOURNEY.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

The Canyon High and Hart players went through postgame handshakes, congratulating each other on a breathtaking game. They might as well have said, ``We'll meet again.''

The Santa Clarita Valley powerhouses likely will face off in many summer-league passing-tournament finals, then in the regular season to decide the Foothill League title and - just maybe - in the Southern Section Div. II final at Edison Field in December.

The potential for many more exciting moments was in the air Saturday as Canyon outlasted Hart of Newhall in a battle of quarterback precision to win the Hart tournament at College of the Canyons.

Canyon quarterback Nate Longshore was the star of the tournament, outgunning top quarterbacks Rudy Carpenter of Westlake in the semifinals and Sean Norton of Hart for the championship.

He led Canyon on scoring drives on all seven full possessions in the 42-36 victory over Hart.

``We know this really means nothing at all,'' Longshore said. ``A 7-on-7 passing tournament is so much different than real football. But, still, we went out there and beat the best team around.''

Longshore has added about 15 pounds of muscle since last season, now filling out at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, giving him the look of a pro quarterback - if not a linebacker.

Norton matched Longshore touchdown for touchdown through the first five possessions for each team.

The Canyon sideline was clamoring for just one stop. Louis Montano is known mostly as Canyon's standout running back, not a position that plays a prominent role in passing tournaments.

But he made the play of the game when he dove to knock down a third-down pass - landing on a water cooler on the sidelines - for the only stop of the game.

``I saw him break out and there I was, beat,'' Montano said. ``I just sprinted and dove, trying to karate-chop it. Once we had that one stop, we knew we had it in the bag.''

Hart had won the last two tournaments it hosted, including beating Canyon by one touchdown in a similar game last year.

Longshore had a similar duel going with Carpenter in the semifinals. Carpenter made his competitive debut for Westlake after transferring from Newbury Park. He took every snap in all but one of nine games.

``It felt great being out there,'' said Carpenter, who went through a long eligibility battle. ``It's a relief to be playing. But now there is a different kind of stress in learning the system and winning games.''

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com