There’s no better way to end your high school football career than with a win on senior night and taking down your rivals. Just ask Hart football after the Hawks dominated the Cowboys with a 57-0 win on Friday at Canyon High School.
“This is a special group of seniors. A lot of these guys have been three-year varsity players, and they’ve been here with me since day one,” Hart coach Jake Goossen-Brown said in an interview with The Signal. “It was great to be able to celebrate them.”
In the win, Matix Frithsmith led the Hawks (8-1, 5-0) to a win under the lights as the senior running back recorded 208 yards on the ground on 13 carries along with four touchdowns.
And while Frithsmith had success in the run game, the all-around athlete also contributed to the pass game as a receiver as he caught four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.
With Frithsmith playing all over the offense, the Hawks returned Camren Ketner to a full-time playing role after the junior quarterback was sidelined for multiple weeks due to injury.
In Friday’s win, Ketner tossed for 190 yards through the air, along with two touchdowns on seven for eight pass attempts.
Goossen-Brown credited Hart’s success to the team’s offensive linemen such as Matai Kaisa, Valentino Cederholm, Trevor Tristan, Hector Ruiz, and Angel Naroiso, who protected their quarterback and running backs.
“They do a really good job and Matix Frithsmith, and anyone wouldn’t be able to do the things they did without the offense line blocking,” he said.
In the receiving group, junior receiver Silas Tucker recorded two receptions and caught 70 yards along with a touchdown. And in the ground game, Tucker tallied one carry but exploded for a 58-yard run for a touchdown.
As for Canyon (1-9, 0-6), the Cowboys officially ended their season with a loss and are 1-9 in the season. In Foothill League play, the Cowboys ended the season 0-6.
The Hawks recorded their eighth win of the season and improved to 8-1. And in Foothill League play, the Hawks remained unbeaten in league play with a 5-0 record.
With Hart unbeaten in Foothill League play through five games, the Hawks set themselves up for a winner-takes-all tilt for the Foothill League against the Valencia Vikings, who are also 5-0 in Foothill League play.
Both teams have clinched their spot in the playoffs with an automatic berth regardless of next week’s outcome.
But for the Hart, the Hawks are in search of their first Foothill League title since 2007 and have everything to play for on Friday at College of the Canyons against the Vikings with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
For Goossen-Brown, Friday’s matchup with the Vikings has been set up for a thriller. The third-year head coach is looking to use every practice and film session to prepare his team to be the best possible version of themselves.
“We’re just going to play Hart football and try to treat it like every other week,” he said. “Our goal every week is to be 1-0. So, it’s the same mindset, the same goal, now it’s time to do our job and play Hart football.”
