POWERS SOLID IN SCRIMMAGES.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

The local high school football season began - sort of - with opening scrimmages Friday, and, as expected, state powers Hart, Valencia and Canyon all were effective.

Hart buried host South Bakersfield, scoring six touchdowns and not yielding a score; Valencia outscored visiting St. Francis of La Canada Flintridge 3-1; and Canyon defeated visiting Palmdale 4-2.

Hart's Tyler Lyon looked sharp, completing touchdown passes to Troy Yudin and Taylor Embree. Other highlights included long touchdown runs by Delano Howell and Robbie Casselberry.

``We did well. We came out fired up and took care of business,'' said Lyon, who has received eight Division I college scholarship offers. ``I'm looking forward to the season. I can't wait.''

Returning standout Shane Vereen helped Valencia begin with a bang by returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown on the first play against St. Francis - the teams decided to start with a series of special-teams plays - and the junior running back also broke off a couple of long runs.

At Canyon, Austin Civita opened the scoring with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Richie Wirthlin, and Canyon's first-string defense - led by linebackers Tyler Hawkins and Nick Jurado and defensive lineman Garrett Leary - held Palmdale to one first down through the first 12-play series.

Canyon running back J.J. DiLuigi, coming off a 2,000-yard JV season, appears to be a rising star, breaking off several nice runs and demonstrating impressive power. Ben Longshore, a junior who is competing with Civita for the starting quarterback position, passed for a touchdown and ran for another.

--Bad news for Manuel White, the former Valencia football standout and Foothill League's all-time leading rusher. A rookie fullback for the Washington Redskins after signing for a reported $1.8 million over four years as a fourth-round pick from UCLA, White broke his fibula in the final preseason game Thursday and was placed on injured reserve Friday, ending his season.

--A couple of former College of the Canyons standouts playing Division II college football in Texas, quarterback Cory Miles (Texas A&M-Kingsville) and receiver Ramon Perry (West Texas A&M), turned in impressive opening performances.

Miles, who set a Canyons single-season passing-yardage record last year, completed 9 of 12 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown and ran for a touchdown in a 60-6 victory over Texas College. Perry, who played one season at Canyons before transferring to Pierce College, scored on a 41-yard touchdown pass and had a 13-yard run in a 90-21 victory (yes, 90 points) over New Mexico Highlands.

--Among the more inspirational Foothill League football stories is the continued rise of Burbank's all-purpose standout Robert Linda.

According to Burbank coach Greg Sobiech, Linda is a former gang member who was facing a year behind bars on a criminal charge when Sobiech testified as a character witness for him in a Pasadena court.

``I told the court to give the kid one more chance because he was worth it, and thank God the judge believed me,'' Sobiech said. It's an incredible story.''

Linda responded by catching 29 passes - nine for touchdowns - and averaging 35 yards per punt as a sophomore last season. This year Sobiech believes Linda will develop into one of the league's top cornerbacks. More important, Linda has remained trouble-free, and he earned a 3.1 grade-point average last semester.

--A Saugus High girls' volleyball alumni tournament is scheduled for Thursday evening, and all former players are invited. Information: [phone].

--The Santa Clarita United 15-under girls' soccer team has won three tournaments in a row. It beat a team from Palmdale 3-0 in the championship match of the Santa Barbara Summer Cup last weekend.

Santa Clarita outscored opponents 11-2 in four tournament games in Santa Barbara. The members are Rose Greasley, Alexis Elder, Syndee Woods, Annie Randall, Montana Martinez, Kristina Dyroy, Nikki Penn, Shelby Searcey, Stevie Berke, Josie Rosales, Angela Jewett, Lindsey Powell, Christina Terracciano, Shannon Suarez, Ashley Kramer and Ryane Woods. The coach is Calvin Cross, and Lisa Suarez is his assistant.