TURKEY AND WIND SPRINTS.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON Community Sports

At Hart High, morning football practice is as much a Thanksgiving tradition as eating turkey, visiting relatives or counting blessings.

The team has started Thanksgiving Day with a brisk workout in preparation for a playoff game every season since coach Mike Herrington signed on 15 years ago, and the young men will be out there again Thursday morning.

Former players and parents, many in town only for the weekend, will reunite on the sidelines, an annual celebration on the Newhall campus.

``It's always a good thing practicing on Thanksgiving because that means we're still alive in the playoffs,'' said quarterback Sean Norton, who hopes to carry Hart (8-3) to a victory at annual power Chino (8-3) in the Southern Section Div. II quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Norton has participated with his family in Hart's Thanksgiving every year since he was 11 - first in support of his brother, Jake, a former Hart receiver, then as a quarterback beginning in 2001.

``To me, Thanksgiving practice is just all part of being involved with Hart football. It's our life,'' said Norton's mother, Chris.

Norton's best friend, receiver Kevin Ciccone, also has been coming to Thanksgiving practice for almost as long as he can remember. His brother, Chris, is a former receiver.

``It's really a cool tradition,'' Ciccone said. ``There's definitely a different feel, a buzz in the air. It's not like normal practice.''

Herrington keeps things light and usually calls it a day after an hour or so. Afterward, he always makes the same speech, warning his players - especially the big boys - not to overindulge at the dinner table.

``Thirteen years ago, we had a defensive lineman eat so much he got sick the next night,'' Herrington said. ``So ever since then, I tell them to pace themselves - and to save some leftovers for Saturday.''

School principal Gary Fuller calls it ``a great tradition.''

``For the team, for the school, for all of us, it's a very positive tradition and chance for old friends to get together,'' Fuller said.

And Fuller said Herrington doesn't charge overtime to work on a holiday, either.

``Oh gosh, no,'' Fuller said. ``If we paid the football coaches by the hour or what they're really worth, we'd be broke.''

--A year ago, Valencia High's football team was eliminated from the playoffs by San Clemente in the first round. The teams will get together again in the Div. II quarterfinals Friday at College of the Canyons, yet Valencia coach Brian Stiman promises revenge is not a factor.

``I don't think you have thoughts like that when it's from one year to the next,'' Stiman said. ``Maybe if we had played them early this season, and it was rematch Friday, that would be different. But between this year and last year, it's really two different teams.''

San Clemente is seeded third (only the top four teams are seeded in Southern Section brackets this season), so unseeded Valencia - which opened with a 42-6 road victory at Claremont last week - is technically an underdog. But many give Valencia an edge because the Foothill League is so competitive this season, plus Valencia quarterback Michael Herrick has passed for 2,998 yards and accounted for 31 TDs - one of the finest sophomore seasons in regional history.

Valencia has won four of its past five with the only loss to Hart, and San Clemente has won eight of its past nine with the lone defeat to national power Mission Viejo. Calpreps.com, a respected and thorough prep football Web site, favors Valencia by nine points.

--When Canyon High football standout Kevin Barto broke his leg before the season opener, the search was on for a replacement because not only was Barto a returning tight end and defensive lineman, he was also one of the league's most promising kickers and punters.

``We looked everywhere for kickers - not just on our team but on the junior varsity, the freshman team, the soccer team, everywhere,'' coach Harry Welch said.

Cameron White has proved an accurate place-kicker, especially on extra points. But he's had difficulty placing his kickoffs into the end zone, and there was still the matter of figuring out who would do the punting - either quarterback Nate Longshore or defensive back Drew Peterson.

Peterson got the nod and developed slowly - partly because Canyon's offense was so prolific he didn't get many opportunities - but has established himself as one of the league's best punters, improving his average to 34.9 yards heading into Friday's Div. II playoff quarterfinal against visiting Damien of La Verne.

And finally, Canyon has discovered a kickoff specialist in Chris Chalmers, a junior from the JV soccer team of all places. He booted four kickoffs into the end zone during last week's first-round victory over Capistrano Valley.