TEN YEARS LATER, HART'S '95 TITLE STILL SPECIAL.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

NEWHALL - Oh, the memories.

Thursday marks the 10-year anniversary of Hart High's 1995 Southern Section football championship, a thrilling 35-28 Div. II victory at Antelope Valley that served as coach Mike Herrington's first of six Southern Section titles.

The odds were stacked against Hart on that cold December night in Lancaster, as defending champion Antelope Valley had returned nearly every key starter from the previous season, which included a resounding 36-15 victory over Hart in the 1994 final at College of the Canyons.

No one thought Hart could defeat the Antelopes - not even Herrington, who admitted afterward he was a bit shocked to win - but the Indians came back from a seven-point halftime deficit in a thrilling game that wasn't decided until Antelope Valley receiver Trymon Redick bobbled away a fourth-down pass in the end zone with just over one minute remaining.

``Everyone froze and just watched that last play in the end zone. The place was packed but you could have heard a pin drop when that ball was in the air,'' said Hart's star running back Ted Iacenda, who 10 years later can close his eyes and remember how the air smelled that night. ``The ball bounced off one or two of our guys first, then went through the A.V. guy's hands and hit the ground. When it dropped, the Hart side went wild and the Antelope Valley side was in shock. I still get chills just thinking about it.''

That evening was Iacenda's finest moment. He rushed for 167 yards, scored three touchdowns to set a state career record of 99, and came through with a terrific performance as a defensive lineman.

``Obviously, it was an amazing night. The stars aligned for a bunch of kids who supposedly didn't have a chance,'' Iacenda said. ``I just went through an old scrapbook of the season that I hadn't seen in a long time, and rifling through all the articles and pictures brought back so many memories. It was very emotional, and it's fun talking about it.''

In the preceding 36-15 loss to Antelope Valley in 1994, Iacenda, then a junior, was held to 51 yards and fumbled twice, as previously undefeated Hart fell behind 29-0 at halftime.

The next morning, the Antelope Valley Press called Iacenda a ``goat.''

Iacenda waited a year to avenge that loss.

``We knew we were good in 1994 and had won every game by at least two touchdowns, but I think we took that last game for granted,'' Iacenda said. ``I saved every newspaper clipping from that 1994 loss and put them in a plastic bag. On the first day of practice the next year, I brought them out and showed everybody to remind them.''

In 1995, among the key returning players for Antelope Valley were running back Jermaine Lewis and returning All-Southern Section honorees Michael Deagon (offensive lineman), Tony Walker (safety), Sean Cartaya (linebacker) and Caleb Smith (defensive lineman).

``No one gave us a chance because Antelope Valley was just so good and so fast and explosive,'' recalled Dean Herrington, Hart's offensive coordinator at the time. ``The only team that Antelope Valley had lost to was Long Beach Poly, who was No. 2 in the state that year. We just decided we were going to ride Ted Iacenda. He had so much athletic ability and drive. He was a very driven person, and that night he was like a man among boys.''

As the playoffs approached, Hart's top offensive players, Iacenda and quarterback Steve McKeon, began playing defense full-time. In the championship victory, McKeon made several touchdown-saving tackles on Lewis, who still managed to rush for 268 yards.

The 1995 season was Hart's seventh year under Herrington and his brothers (Rick remains the defensive coordinator, while Dean left in 2001), and, just like today, the Indians loved to pass the football. But against Antelope Valley in the final, McKeon attempted just 10 passes (completing eight for 167 yards) while Hart continually fed the football to Iacenda, who carried 31 times and scored the tying touchdown on a 45-yard, fourth-down run in the third quarter.

Marc Zimmerman, a linebacker who's now a Saugus assistant, was Hart's key defensive player.

``I just remember that game as the most amazing night of my high school career,'' Zimmerman said. ``The crowd was deafening. It was an amazing experience.''

Zimmerman believes a couple of difficult regular-season losses to St. Louis of Honolulu and Loyola of Los Angeles provided Hart with more resolve than the previous year.

``I think we felt like the more experienced team because we knew what it was like to be down and to have to fight the whole game,'' Zimmerman said. ``The year before, we were 13-0 coming in against Antelope Valley, and it was our game to lose - and that's what we wound up doing. The next year, it was a 180-degree flip.''

Zimmerman, who remains Hart's career leader with 14 interceptions, tipped the pass on the final play.

``Marc was the heart and soul and the brains of our defense. He was like a coach on the field,'' Iacenda said. ``He's the one who lined us up on the field, and when he told you to do something, it was a no-brainer - you just did it.''

Hart's other top players included receivers Cody Joyce and J.B. Nelson, linebackers Todd Hourigan and Casey Keltner, linemen Mike Wambolt, C.J. Port and Shawn Keyes, safety Todd Renfro and kicker Kevin McLaughlin.

After playing at USC and New Mexico, Iacenda joined Dean Herrington as a College of the Canyons assistant four years ago. The two are close friends, and recently they watched game film of that 1995 victory.

``When we watched it again, I was damn near crying,'' Iacenda said. ``Everytime Dean and I talk about Hart's all-time greatest wins, it always gets us fired up when we remember 1995.''

That first title sparked a dynasty, as Hart won five more championships over the following eight seasons, including four in a row from 1998 to 2001.

``I'd like to think our 1995 team kind of taught the lower classes how to finish. I remember Kyle Boller and all those guys were freshmen that year, and they were the next group to win it,'' Iacenda said.

Said Zimmerman: ``I guess you could say the Herringtons were right on the verge that year of becoming legendary coaches. You definitely could see Hart was a program on the rise.''

Now in their late 20s, the members of Hart's 1995 team have gone their separate ways. They're businessmen and teachers and policemen and bankers, but they all share a special memory of doing what so many thought could not be done. For these Hart Indians, the impossible dream wasn't so impossible after all.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ted Iacenda, left, and Marc Zimmerman still like to reflect on Hart's 1995 Southern Section title win that they were a part of against Antelope Valley.

(2) Hart's Ted Iacenda runs with the ball during his playing days. He was a big part of Hart's 1995 Div. II championship team.

David Crane/Staff Photographer