Hart Slows Johnson, Stops Saugus, 41-21

VALENCIA — Saugus High knew it would need a big night from running back Chris Johnson to upset Hart in the 1993 Foothill League opener.

How important was the senior who came in leading league backs in rushing with 835 yards?

Johnson was shaken up in the second quarter after a four-yard gain on third down and had to come out. The Centurions faced fourth down and one yard to go at the Hart 17. Saugus handed off to Joseph Gonzalez, who was stopped for no gain.

Hart, leading, 14-7, took over and scored in four plays. The Indians went on to blow out Saugus, 41-21, in front of more than 8,000 at College of the Canyons.

What would have happened had Johnson, a bruising runner who finished with 158 yards in 25 carries, carried the ball? Saugus, which had marched 46 yards in 14 plays with Johnson carrying the load before being stopped, might have tied it with a touchdown.

This much is known, the Centurions (4-2) collapsed after that fourth-and-one play. And their defense--looking intimidated by Hart’s size and speed--retreated.

On first down, Ted Iacenda ripped off a 21-yard gain on his first carry of the game. Hart quarterback Mike Kocicka (13 of 17, 319 yards, four touchdowns) hit John McLaughlin (three catches, 76 yards) for 18 yards, then found Mark Mahone (five catches, 152 yards) in the flat and Mahone scampered 33 yards to the five. Iacenda ran it in on the next play. Hart (5-1) took a 21-7 lead with 1 minute 45 seconds left in the half and wasn’t finished.

Saugus receiver Jeff Larsen slipped and fell, and Todd Renfro stepped up to intercept quarterback Greg Marquez’s pass. Kocicka then threw a pass that Saugus’ Matt Gillis should have intercepted, but he dropped it.

On the next play, Cameron Perry--running a post pattern--made a sliding catch of Kocicka’s pass in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left.

“We’ve got good football players--I don’t know if I did a good job this week,” Saugus Coach Jack Bowman said. “We made it too easy for them.”

The Saugus defense, which allowed 459 total yards, looked shaky from the outset. After David Steinman sacked Kocicka on Hart’s first play, McLaughlin ran 22 yards on a reverse.

Kocicka was sacked again, then hit McLaughlin with a short pass that the senior turned into a 21-yard gain. Four plays later, Kocicka threw a 37-yard bullet that McLaughlin caught for Hart’s first touchdown.