Hart’s Football Tradition Comes to Pass

The way Hart High churns out gifted quarterbacks, it would appear that the Indians possess a high-tech cloning machine.

“I don’t know how they do it,” Schurr Coach Ken Davis said, trying to explain Hart’s quarterback tradition. “Maybe they clone them. Maybe they got some sort of outer-space person up there who can do that.”

Davis’ comments are understandable. Hart is favored to win its seventh Foothill League football title in the past 10 seasons, this time behind a highly regarded passing offense triggered by senior quarterback Ryan Connors.

Connors completed 187 of 345 passes for 2,833 yards and 24 touchdowns last year while leading Hart to the semifinal round of the Southern Section Division III playoffs.

Mobile (4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash), strong (290 pounds in the bench press) and armed with a quick release, Connors is the latest in a seemingly endless parade of talented quarterbacks to roll off Hart’s assembly line.

Before Connors, there was Rob Westervelt, who threw for a combined 4,194 yards and 45 touchdowns in 1988 and ’89.

Darren Renfro preceded Westervelt, throwing for 2,808 yards and 26 touchdowns with only six interceptions in 1987.

And before Renfro’s stint, there was Jim Bonds’ two-year reign. Bonds matched Renfro’s minuscule interception total in 1986 when he passed for 2,309 yards and 31 touchdowns to lead the Indians to the Northwestern Conference title and earn player-of-the-year honors.

Hart Coach Mike Herrington, who is entering his 11th season with the program and his third at the helm, said there are several reasons for the Indians’ passing success.

“We’ve had some good assistant coaches over the years that have worked well with our quarterbacks. We have a system that is good for quarterbacks, and we’ve just had some good kids come through here,” he said.

“I mean, we got four years of varsity ball out of the Bonds family alone.”

Tom Bonds, Jim’s older brother, was Hart’s quarterback in 1982 and ‘83, a year in which the Indians won the Coastal Conference title.

“Hart does a super job,” Davis said. “They’re in an area that’s undergoing a lot of growth and I think they do a fantastic job of developing their young kids. They groom their quarterbacks from the time they’re freshmen and it shows in their success.”

Jim Bonds is a prime example.

He threw for a combined 31 touchdowns with only six interceptions during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and Hart went 9-1 and 10-0 at the freshman and junior-varsity levels, respectively.

There is more to Hart’s aerial attack than gifted quarterbacks.

Receivers--whether they’re wide receivers, tight ends or running backs--also play a big part in dissecting defenses, and Hart has had its share of good ones.

Brian Allen (62 receptions for 818 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1988), Chris Hite (62 for 896 yards, 15 touchdowns in ‘86) and Craig Whitten (61 for 581 yards, five touchdowns in ‘87) were Hart’s leading receivers in years past, and senior Doug Distaso and junior Davis Delmatoff, both wide receivers, will lead this year’s group.

Distaso had 26 receptions for 448 yards and five touchdowns last year and was an all-league second-team selection.

“We’ve got a good group of receivers,” Herrington said. “We’re in good shape in that area.”

Hart will receive a strong test from Alhambra and Burroughs, each of which will have 18 of 22 starters returning.

Defending champion Schurr has won two of the past three league titles, but Davis said an inexperienced Spartan team will be hard-pressed to finish third in the standings and claim the league’s final berth in the playoffs.

Davis knows that Hart will be tough to overcome.

“It’s not a real thrill to play them every year,” Davis said. “Hopefully, next time we talk, we’ll be talking about something more pleasant.”

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

FINAL 1990 STANDINGS PROJECTED FINISH Schurr 7-3-1, 5-0 Hart Hart 9-4, 4-1 Alhambra Alhambra 4-7, 3-2 Burroughs Burroughs 2-8, 2-3 Schurr Burbank 2-8, 1-4 Burbank San Gabriel 0-10, 0-5 San Gabriel

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Player School Pos. Ht Wt Class Danny Cervantes Schurr OL/DL 6-1 260 Sr. Ryan Connors Hart QB 6-0 180 Sr. Arath DeLaTorre Alhambra WR/DB 5-11 180 Sr. Doug Distaso Hart WR 6-1 180 Sr. Ben Goldwasser Burroughs RB/LB 6-0 195 Sr. Mike Lyneis Burbank WR/DB 6-0 185 Sr. Sean McCarthy Hart OL 6-3 250 Sr. Sean McDermott Burroughs RB 5-10 170 Jr. Manny Ruedaflores Alhambra DB 5-10 175 Sr. Moses Valverdi San Gabriel RB/LB 6-0 195 Jr.