South Hills High School Varsity Football Team

One could look at the South Hills High School football team’s 34-31 loss to Charter Oak in overtime on Friday night as a cruel ending to a cruel season.

I’m still not sure what to make of it, but I’m leaning toward it being anything but a cruel ending. A cruel season, yes. A cruel ending, no.

How the Huskies were two fourth-quarter leads away from making it to the CIF-SS Inland Division playoffs is beyond me. How they beat Claremont, then took Charter Oak to overtime is total mystery unless you’re judging heart.

On Friday night, two of what would have been South Hills’ biggest offensive threats were wearing Charter Oak blue.

Several zip codes away, three more Huskies starters were wearing Amat blue in a loss to Alemany.As for the players who didn’t seek greener pastures, South Hills’ best offensive threat and defensive back Jamie Canada was in street clothes, as he’s been all season because of a knee injury. That’s OK, because there still was a hobbled Jamel Hart, a cagey Jordan Gutierrez, a gutty Vince Hernandez, several exhausted linemen and a sharper-than-ever head coach all using heart to try and stun the Valley and reach the playoffs. Raise your hand if you thought in October this motley crew was going to come within a whisker of extending their season to an 11th week. Most teams, when faced with such circumstances, would have packed it in. It appeared the Huskies were doing just that after they dropped five consecutive games earlier this season.

Then something happened. Just when everybody had them dead and buried, they turned to playing with heart. That’s what should happen with a powerhouse program. Pride kicks in when physical skills cannot handle the full load. Why there was a mass exodus this offseason has made less and less sense as the year has progressed. Was the grass really greener? No transferred player won a league title. True, Amat and Charter Oak will be dancing next week while South Hills turns in gear.

The record books will show 3-7 next to the 2010 South Hills team. It won’t say anything about what led to it and how it almost ended with an improbable 11th game. But those who were there know the immeasurable qualities – the ones that numbers can’t describe – were there at the right time, and that made this ending anything but cruel.

Read More: Aram Tolegian - http://www.sgvtribune.com/southhillshighpreps/ci_16602753

Charter Oak High School has won three CIF-Southern Section championships since 2000. The Chargers have also won seven league titles during the past 10 years. They earned only second place Friday night. But no victory seemed more rewarding. Not on this night. Dennis Rufus had 176 yards receiving, including two big receptions in the fourth quarter, and freshman Kurt Scoby scored on a 16-yard run in overtime as host Charter Oak rallied from a 14-point deficit to a 34-31 victory over South Hills to earn a share of second place in the rugged Sierra League. Charter Oak, also getting 285 yards passing and two TDs from Travis Santiago, improved to 6-4 overall and finished in a three-way tie for second with Damien, which beat Claremont, at 3-2.

Claremont, under the Sierra League’s tiebreaker point system that rewards six points for beating the first-place team (Chino Hills) down to one for beating the last-place team, gets the league’s second playoff bid with Charter Oak taking the third by virtue of its head-to-head victory over Damien. The Chargers beat the Spartans two weeks ago. South Hills, which had an outside shot at the playoffs coming into the game, slipped to 3-7 and 2-3.

“There was never a doubt in our mind that we could come back,” Charter Oak coach Lou Farrar said. “We knew we were having trouble moving the football, but we can play seven-on-seven with anybody.

“We just kept hurting ourselves because we’re young. The stress is just killing this old guy. After 43 years, I’m not sure I can take this anymore. But we’re hanging in there, and we’re going to the playoffs.”

But for a while, it didn’t look good for Charter Oak. South Hills, getting 101 yards rushing and two TDs from Jamel Hart and 164 yards passing and two TDs from Vincent Hernandez, could smell the playoffs, taking a 21-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 31-yard pass from Hernandez to Jordan Gutierrez and a 1-yard run by Hart. ”We thought we had control of it,” South Hills coach Steve Bogan said. “We didn’t quite hang on to it. But they have some big athletes and eventually they are going to make a play.”

Charter Oak erased the deficit quickly. Rufus caught a 35-yard pass to the South Hills 3 to set up a Charlie Avila 1-yard run before the senior tied it 21-21 with a 31-yard pass from Santiago with 5:26 to play.

But South Hills was still looking good when Hart scored on a 36-yard run for a 28-21 lead with 3:15 left and when its defense stopped Charter Oak on downs at the Husky 20 with 1:34 to play.

But Charter Oak forced a punt. Rufus then hauled in a 35-yard pass from Santiago to the 3 before Aaren Vaughns forced overtime with a run from the 1 to tie the score 28-28 with 52 seconds left.

“Our quarterback (Santiago) played his guts out again,” Farrar said. “I know people think he’s just a baseball player, but him, Chris Allen (who graduated two years ago), are by far the toughest quarterbacks we’ve ever put on the field. He’s just a competitor.”

South Hills took the first possession in overtime, but managed just a Gutierrez 38-yard field goal for a 31-28 lead.

Scoby needed just two plays to win it. He went nine yards to the 16 before running right on the next play and into the end zone to win it.

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Playing its best defensive game of the season, South Hills High School upset first-place Claremont, 29-14, in a Sierra League game Friday night.

The Huskies (3-6, 2-2) held the high-scoring Wolfpack (7-2, 3-1) to two first-half touchdowns.

“There was no magic,” Huskies coach Steve Bogan said. “There was nothing different. We just told the kids the game plan and they came out and executed.”

Jordan Gutierrez kicked his first of three field goals on the night to put the Huskies on top at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.

The Wolfpack came back to take a 7-3 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Kessler to Aaron Dockery.

In a sign of things to come, the Wolfpack had to overcome three penalties on the drive. They were penalized six times for 65 yards in the first half.

“We didn’t play as sharp as we normally play,” Wolfpack coach Mike Collins said. “All the teams in our league are very good and when you don’t play sharp and make mistakes, you’re in a barn burner.”

Jamel Hart put the Huskies back on top with 10:52 to go in the second quarter. Hart carried 29 times for 165 yards.

The Wolfpack took a 14-13 lead with 8:13 remaining in the first half on another touchdown pass from Kessler to Jackson Reeder.

The Huskies defense took over from there, holding Kessler to 110 yards on 13 of 30 passes and grabbing two interceptions.

“We tried to disrupt what they wanted to do,” Bogan said. “We came up with a couple of ways that our young kids could execute.”

Playing its best defensive game of the season, South Hills High School upset first-place Claremont, 29-14, in a Sierra League game Friday night.The Huskies (3-6, 2-2) held the high-scoring Wolfpack (7-2, 3-1) to two first-half touchdowns.
“There was no magic,” Huskies coach Steve Bogan said. “There was nothing different. We just told the kids the game plan and they came out and executed.”
Jordan Gutierrez kicked his first of three field goals on the night to put the Huskies on top at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter.
The Wolfpack came back to take a 7-3 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Kessler to Aaron Dockery.
In a sign of things to come, the Wolfpack had to overcome three penalties on the drive. They were penalized six times for 65 yards in the first half.
“We didn’t play as sharp as we normally play,” Wolfpack coach Mike Collins said. “All the teams in our league are very good and when you don’t play sharp and make mistakes, you’re in a barn burner.”
Jamel Hart put the Huskies back on top with 10:52 to go in the second quarter. Hart carried 29 times for 165 yards.
The Wolfpack took a 14-13 lead with 8:13 remaining in the first half on another touchdown pass from Kessler to Jackson Reeder.
The Huskies defense took over from there, holding Kessler to 110 yards on 13 of 30 passes and grabbing two interceptions.
“We tried to disrupt what they wanted to do,” Bogan said. “We came up with a couple of ways that our young kids could execute.”

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