For 10 weeks, the Hart defense has been the force that has kept Hart in the game, week after week. Tonight, the defense had some struggles but the offense came through with Lyon and several of the receivers having their best games of the year. And I hope thats the last we'll seen of the winged-T!

What a game! I got my $8 worth.

Here's the play-by-play account.

As most know, Hart's kicker, who has been having a very could year, was suspended along with two other starters. Hart inserted the JV kicker for the kickoff who does not have near the leg (the suspended player usually puts it in the end zone). The opening kickoff went to about the 13 and was returned to the 24. On the first play, the Glendora runner ran for about 3 yard and fumbled (I didn't see it but Luna(?) popped out of the pile with the ball.

Hart took over on the Glendora 28: first play, a 28-yard TD pass to Yudin. Hart 7-0 at 11:43.

The next Hart kickoff went to about the 28 and the Glendora return man zipped up the middle for a 39-yard return to the Hart 43. Here, at least for me, is where the surprises started. Glendora came out in a wing-T: run for -1, run for 3, run for 13 (QB flushed), run for 0, run for 17 on a reverse/counter, run for 4, run for 3 down to the Hart 4 then an offsides put it at the 1, then a holding moved it out to the 12 when an incomplete made it 4th down. A 29-yard field goal attempt missed.

This is where we found out about the Glenora kick off guy. During the course of the evening he put every kickoff in almost exactly the same spot, about 7 yards deep in the endzone (Hart had zero return yards for the entire night).

Hart at the 20: incomplete (knocked down), run by Wheeler on a draw for -2 (and every kid on the Glendora sideline was screaming "draw." We could hear 'em all the way across the field and up high in the stands; SACK for -4 and punt. Burton , a DE who missed 6 games, punted with a cast on his hand.

Glendora : run for 1, run for 6, run for 24 on another counter/reverse, penalty for procedure, run for 5, run on a counter/reverse for 13, run for 6 down to the 1 and then run for the TD. 7-7 at 2:19 of the first.

Hart at the 20: incomplete, pass to Yudin for 8, run by Casselberry for 3, pass to Yudin for 7, pass to Wheeler for 4 [End of Quarter], run by Casselberry for 21 on a terrific block by Embree, pass to Casselberry for 18, run by Casselberry on a great fake pass by Lyon, run by Casselberry for 2 and run by Lyon for 2 and the TD. Hart 14-7 at 10:49.

Glendora got about a 10-yard return on another short kick and started at the 31: counter/reverse for 7, run for 4, run for 6, run for 7, run for 4, run for 7, run for 30 and the TD. Tied 14-14 at 7:17 left in the half.

Hart at the 20: run by Lyon for 5, pass to Vairo for 11, run on a draw by Casselberry for 1, SACK for -5, incomplete (looked like the receiver stopped on a long route) and punt.

Glendora at the 27: run for 5, pass for 11 (first completion), run for 0, incomplete (tipped by Reyes), pass back across the field for 30 (everyone on Hart was going the other way), run for 10, run for 4, run for -1 (a fumble was saved by a quick whistle), pass for 14 and a TD.  Glendora 20-14 at 1:19. It looked like the extra point was partially blocked but missed in any event.

Hart at the 20: run by Lyon for 5, pass to Wheeler for 11, pass to Wheeler for 14, SPIKE, incomplete, incomplete, pass to Yudin for 50 and the TD. The PAT missed. Tied at 20-20 with :09 seconds left in the half.

Glendora : run for 5 and halftime.

Lyon had a great first half, throwing 9 of 15 for 151 yards and two TDs. Casselberry had 42 yards on 5 carries, Lyon 3 yards on 5 carries including 2 sacks and a TD and Wheeler had 1 for -2. Yudin had 4 catches for 93 yards, Wheeler 3 for 29, Casselberry 1 for 18 and Vairo 1 for 11.

Hart started the second half at the 20: pass to Wheeler for 22, pass to Yudin for 16, incomplete, pass to Yudin for 14 [at some point in here, Yudin came up limping and clearly was unable to run or cut but remained in the game], run by Casselberry for 5 (the run was much longer but a holding rendered the whole play a net -5), incomplete, pass to Embree for 11, run by Casselberry for 6, run by Casselberry for 2, pass to Wheeler for 5, run by Lyon for 3, and run by Casselberry for 8 and the TD. Once again the PAT missed. Hart 26-20 at 6:51.

Hart tried an onside kick and was within a whisker of getting it when the ball went out of bounds. Glendora at the 49: run for 4, run for 2, run for -1 with the QB in the shotgun and punt (the first one of the night for Glendora ).

Hart: incomplete, pass to Vairo for 11, pass to Wheeler for 13 [the perfect call - Wheeler was on a short crossing route with the Glendora LB in that area blitzing], pass to Embree for 6, SACK for -7 (no chance on this one with 7 rushers and no hot route), pass to Wheeler for 4 and punt.

Glendora at the 15: another counter for 12, run for 2, incomplete, run for 3 [END OF QUARTER] and punt.

Hart at 21: pass to Vairo for 44, run by Casselberry for -5, pass to Vairo for 3, incomplete (a deliberate throw out of bounds) and punt.

Glendora at 11: long pass incomplete (tipped by Wheeler or otherwise a TD), pass for 19, run for 34, run for 1, incomplete, incomplete, incomplete on fourth down.

Hart at the 35: run by Casselberry for 12, run by Casselberry for 2, run by Lyon (flush) for 1, penalty for delay, incomplete and punt.

Glendora: run for 7, -8 on a holding (net 2 on the run), pass for 53 yards as Wheeler slipped, run for 13, run for 2, run for 4 and run by the QB for a TD. The PAT was good. Glendora 27-26 with 3:10 to go.

Hart, where else, at the 20: pass to Embree for 7, run by Casselberry for 10, pass to Embree for 16, incomplete, penalty for holding and -12 (long pass nullified), incomplete, pass to Embree for 15, and then on fourth down and the entire season at stake, pass to Wheeler for 14 and the first down;, run by Lyon for 10, run by Casselberry for 2, run by Casselberry for 12 down to the 6-yard line, run by Casselberry for 0 and then on a very determined run, Lyon scored from the 6. Hart went for two and failed.  Hart 32-27 with :27 seconds left.

I think the Hart kickoff was supposed to be some sort of squib. Sarkissian (the MLB) kicked it pretty long and flat and it was returned to the 38: incomplete (15 seconds), pass for 6 (6 seconds and the last time out for Glendora) then a pass down the middle that was caught, tossed around between 2 or 3 players and eventually fumbled by the guy who caught it in the first place and recovered by Luna for a 1-yard gain and the game was over.

Second half stats: Lyon was 15 of 22 for 201 yards. He had 5 carries for 13 yards, a TD and a sack. Casselberry had 11 carries for 54 yards and a TD. Yudin had two catches for 30 yards (and clearly was unable to do anything after the second catch), Wheeler had 5 catches for 58, Embree had 5 for 55 and Vairo had 3 for 58.

Comments: Hart had a REALLY tough week. First, the Indians lost to Canyon by shooting themselves in the foot when it appeared they had an almost sure win. Then they lost not only the kicker but two other senior starters due to some inappropriate conduct off-field. The defense, which really wasn't directly affected by the loss of personnel, had a tough game, unable to cope with the winged-T. Indeed, in my view, the Glendora coach made a huge tactical error when he went away from that formation. Hart was doing better but had not yet solved the puzzle.

The offense has struggled mightily in some games this year but came through in the clutch tonight. Certainly this was Lyon 's best game of the season and maybe the best of his career against a quality opponent. The offense gave him a huge amount of time. He was sacked three times but in two of those instances he had 7 or 8 seconds.

I noted in my pre-game post that Lyon seems to function extremely well in hurry up situations. He proved that here again tonight, scoring TDs on 80-yard drives at the end of each half. In the first half drive he was 4-6 and 80 yards. The drive took 1:10. In the 4th quarter drive, he also was 4 of 6 (including one flat-out drop) for 42 yards. He also had two carries for 16 yards and the TD. He did the same thing against Canyon last week. He also did the same thing against Valencia and against Loyola last year (three times in that game!).

What the Hart coaches need to do is figure out how to replicate that sort of pressure throughout the game.

This week: Work out the kicking kinks. Get Yudin healthy. Get Howell healthy (he didn't play). Re-establish the defensive prowess. Next week: Los Osos at COC.