Rancho Verde Mustangs football ran wild in its playoff opener with the Hart Hawks.
The Mustangs beat the Hawks 47-34 behind a wave of power and stealthy running.
Rancho running backs George Campbell and Jimmy Cruz each rushed for well over 100 yards behind the stout Mustangs offensive line.
Cruz added a pair of touchdowns and while the running backs and line did all the heavy lifting, senior Amarion Orange handled the scoring.
“They are a big, physical and well-coached team,” said Hawks coach Jake Goossen-Brown. “We knew we had to come out and play well in order to be successful tonight. And I mean, we were right there. We fought til the bitter end. A play or two here and there and it’s a whole different ballgame.”
Orange killed Hart with four touchdowns on the day, three from quarterback CJ Thompson and one via an 85-yard kickoff return to the house.
Both teams took time to find their footing and found success on offense after some halftime adjustments. Rancho led 14-7 at the half and entered the third quarter up 41-27.
Hart came out flat and looked nothing like the Hawks team that averaged over 36 points per game this season.
The Hawks couldn’t find much momentum before sparking the second quarter thanks to a trick play. Running back Zach Rogozik took the handoff to the right but launched a pass down the field to receiver Parker Maxwell, who reeled in the 31-yard pass despite being smothered in coverage.
“We went and figured out what we could do better,” Goossen-Brown said. “We went back to things that worked for us and tried to get the ball to our play makers hands. We have some great guys, and we were able to get them all the touches that that they needed to get there and they made a big plays.”
Maxwell was steady all night and finished with seven catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
Hart later scored on the drive after quarterback Jacob Pasiano scrambled for an 11-yard rushing touchdown.
Paisano scored all five touchdowns for Hart, with four through the air and two to running back Zach Rogozik and running one.
“Jacob’s a great player,” Goossen-Brown said. “He’s smart, he’s a good quarterback. We’re different when he’s leading us. He’s only gonna go up from here. His stock is rising every day.”
Rogozik totaled over 150 yards on offense.
Hart nearly scored just before halftime but ran into a brick wall of a goal line stand from Rancho Verde. The Mustangs tripped Paisano for a loss with 15 seconds left in the first half. The Hart offense rushed and just clocked the ball with one tick left.
The Hawks elected to kick their fifth field goal of the season, a 19-yard field goal, but just missed as the team went into halftime down 14-7.
Rancho Verde flexed its huge offensive line early with a steady run attack.
Mustangs sophomore Azion Givens set his offense up in great field position after a sensational one-handed interception of Paisano. Rancho then turned to running back Jimmy Cruz, who took eight-straight rushes, six of which were for 5 or more yards, on the ensuing drive to put the Mustangs up 7-0.
After just four passes so far in the half, Rancho made it most daring throw. Quarterback CJ Thompson threw an end zone fade to Amarion Orange in single coverage. Orange reeled in the tough grab to put Rancho Verde up 14-0.
Rancho Verde now advances to the second round of the Division 6 playoffs and will face Glendora.
Hart ends its spectacular first season under Goossen-Brown with eight wins but the first postseason win for the coach will have to wait.
The Hawks will graduate another talented senior class including Rogozik, Maxwell and Oliver Welch.
“I am so grateful and lucky to have this group of seniors that we did because, I’m new, I’m not from the area, I’m not a Hart alumni, I’m not from the program,” Gooseen-Brown said. “For me to come in and for them to accept me, and to give me an opportunity to get them to the to do things that we wanted to do. I’m lucky that they gave me the opportunity and trusted me and I trusted them. They did a great job, and they’re proud of the accomplishments they had this year.”
Hart will have big shoes to fill with the seniors departing but returns a huge junior class giving Hawks fans a ton to be excited about in 2025.
“(2024) was a good good start,” Goossen-Brown said. “Hopefully we build, keep growing and only get better from here.”
