Rogozik score four for Hart to lead Hawks to 2-0 start to league play; DePerno runs for 250-plus yards, 3 touchdowns for West Ranch
Hart senior Zach Rogozik was all over the field on Friday, recording four total touchdowns to lead the Hawks to a 2-0 start to Foothill League play.
“It’s a great start,” said Hart head coach Jake Goossen-Brown. “It’s like I said, all these kids, they’ve been working their butts off since January and to see the payoff coming out now that we’ve been in league, you know, and doing a good job, you know, hopefully we keep building and just get better from here.”
Rogozik recorded three rushing touchdowns and 50 yards to go along with 121 receiving yards and a score to lead the Hawks (5-1, 2-0) to a 48-27 victory over the West Ranch Wildcats (2-3, 0-1) at Canyon High School’s Harry Welch Stadium.
West Ranch senior Luke DePerno was just as dominant in the losing effort, running for 265 yards and three touchdowns. He scored twice in the fourth quarter to make it a two-score game, but Rogozik answered with a late touchdown to seal the victory for Hart.
“He’s a very good player. He does a good job and he’s tough,” Goossen-Brown said of DePerno. “He’s a hard-nosed runner. He’s an old-school guy and I wish him the best of luck in future.”
Hart junior quarterback Jacob Paisano threw for 300 yards, completing 24 of his 29 passes with three touchdowns. He hit Rogozik for a 39-yard completion on the second play of the Hawk’s first drive before Rogozik opened the scoring with a 5-yard run.
Paisano added two runs for 53 yards and escaped from pressure multiple times before finding receivers to extend drives.
“He’s a great athlete, you know, and he can make up for a lot of things,” Goossen-Brown said. “We talked earlier this week and said the difference-maker was going to be his legs and what he does with his legs, because he’s a pretty good athlete as well and I think people forget that. So, we knew that his legs were going to be a key factor and how successful we were on offense.”
An all-action player for the Hawks, Rogozik was responsible for many of Hart’s drives resulting in touchdowns.
Hart also got some scoring from its defense as junior Owen Pontius recovered a fumble for a touchdown.
The Wildcats’ defense got in on the action as well with senior Kyler Garrity scoring on a pick six on the first play of the second half to make it a one-score game. He had one of two interceptions on the night for West Ranch, the other coming from senior Charlie Samuelson in the end zone to end the first half and keep it a two-score game at the time.
The Wildcats were able to move the ball down the field often, but penalties throughout the game kept them from finishing drives. West Ranch was called for 14 penalties for 93 yards, many of them false starts.
Hart senior Parker Maxwell had nine catches for 84 yards. He grabbed a 25-yard touchdown pass on the first play of Hart’s second drive for his seventh score of the year. He now has 49 receptions for 709 yards through six games.
“He’s a phenomenal receiver,” Goossen-Brown said. “He does a great job and I think he’s got a big future.”
While it was a night of celebration for Hart, two key players exited the game early due to apparent injuries. Paisano did not return to the game after the third quarter, with sophomore Matix Frithsmith taking over at quarterback, while senior Nate Mata exited in the third quarter after a heavy hit.
Their status is unknown for future games. Goossen-Brown said he will know more once they get checked out by doctors.
Frithsmith ran for 33 yards in the game and recorded three catches for 42 yards prior to Paisano’s departure. Mata had four catches for 30 yards and four runs for 22 yards before exiting the contest.
Hart senior Oliver Welch had two catches for 24 yards.
West Ranch found offense hard to come by when DePerno wasn’t running the ball. Junior quarterback Cooper Jackson threw for 113 yards but completed just 17 of 32 passes with the one interception.
Junior Aidan Lynch led the Wildcats with 41 receiving yards on three catches. Senior Andrew Hamilton had six catches for 21 yards, and sophomore Charlie Samuelson had three catches for 28 yards.
Hart will take on the Castaic Coyotes next week in the third week of league play.
West Ranch will face the Saugus Centurions next week.