LOCAL COACHES ARE TOP CANDIDATES FOR HART SOFTBALL JOB.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON

Two of the leading candidates for the vacant Hart High softball coach job are former Canyon coach Krista Humphreys and Littlerock coach Sarah Adams, according to a source.

A decision is expected soon, although the opening remains posted on the district Web site. Hart is on break this week, and co-athletic director Linda Peckham was not available for comment.

Cathy Giordano, who led Hart to the playoffs in all seven seasons she was coach, retired three weeks ago.

--Canyon is the only area Foothill League football team practicing this week. The Cowboys' players have already taken their mandatory three-week break.

``I think it's an advantage because we get to play all the way through to the beginning of the season,'' linebacker Tyler Hawkins said. ``We don't have to worry about getting back into shape once school starts.''

There was a near-record heat wave in Santa Clarita the past week, so Canyon's three-hour practices in the afternoon sun have been brutal.

``This is football. It's been really fun, but it's been really challenging and intense at the same time,'' Hawkins said. ``I've been here for three years, so I'm used to it.''

Harry Welch, Canyon's hard-nosed head coach, was traveling in France last week, so assistant Scott Blade took over. According to Hawkins, Welch's absence didn't make things any lighter.

``Coach Blade is just like Welch,'' Hawkins said. ``I can see why - because he played for coach Welch at Canyon and has been an assistant for years.''

Quarterbacks Austin Civita and Ben Longshore continue to compete for a starting position, and they've been alternating every series through a successful string of passing-league performances. Civita, a senior, was a varsity backup last year. Longshore, a junior, led the junior varsity to an undefeated season last year. He's the brother of former Canyon quarterback Nate Longshore, who is at Cal.

``It's really close between the two of them,'' Hawkins said. ``I don't think there's competition like that for any other position.''

--After a year off from baseball while recovering from shoulder surgery, former Hart standout Chris Giordano has signed with Chico State, an annual Division II power that reached the College World Series last season.

Giordano, a catcher, played two seasons at Riverside Community College, then worked as a Riverside assistant for a season while rehabbing his shoulder.

It's been a good week for Giordano. He won $11,000 in a Las Vegas poker tournament, finishing first among 65 contestants.

--Christina Ross, a former Valencia High softball standout who was the No. 1 pitcher at Kansas as a freshman last season, has transferred to San Diego State.

``I'm really excited. Hopefully, I'll have fun,'' Ross said. ``I like the location, and I've got a lot of family in San Diego.''

Ross, a left-hander who shares Valencia's all-time win record with 49, will be immediately eligible. She preferred not to say why she left Kansas, denying a report she had problems with roommates.

``I just don't want to discuss the reasons,'' she said. ``Things just added up.''

--In other recruiting news, College of the Canyons second baseman Matt Reimers has committed to play baseball at Cal Poly Pomona, where he'll join former Canyons teammate Kyle Boggio. Another Canyons standout, pitcher Chris Palma, is close to committing to Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., and pitcher Adam Geery and infielder Mike Alvarado are weighing offers from Hawaii Pacific.

--The William S. Hart PONY baseball team lost 6-0 to East Long Beach in the second round of the Mustang Regionals (10-under) Saturday in Lynwood. Hart followed with victories over Walnut and Santa Monica, but it needs three successive victories to advance to the West Zone tournament in Chino Hills, the last stop before the annual World Series in Irving, Texas.

Hart has qualified for the Mustang World Series three years in a row.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Tyler Westbrook cools off in the water during freshman football practice Monday at Canyon High. With temperatures still scorching, practices haven't been easier despite the absense of head coach Harry Welsh.

(2) The sun bears down on players working out during the freshman football practice Monday at Canyon High, where temperatures were in the mid-90s.

David Crane/Staff Photographer