VALENCIA – “I’m just a little guy. All of them out there, they’re making these holes, making these gaps, you know. I put a couple moves on some guys every now and then but at the end of the day it’s really because of them.”
That was a portion of what Hart’s 5-foot-6 senior running back, Zack Rogosik, said after he scored seven total touchdowns in a dominant performance as the Hawks beat Canyon 61-40 in a Foothill League game Thursday night.
Hart (7-1, 4-0) came into the game looking to stay undefeated in league. Although Canyon (3-5, 1-3) was able to keep the game close for just over two quarters, Hart’s running game was too much for the Cowboys to contain.
Hart led 22-21 going into halftime – with Canyon quarterback Sebastian Martinez earning two touchdowns on quarterback sneaks and Evan Watts catching a touchdown from the signal-caller early – but the Hawks took control in the second half on their way to a crucial win.
Hart was able to extend its lead to 35-21 in the first four minutes of the third quarter after 56- and 10-yard touchdowns from Rogozik.
Following that, Canyon responded with another sneak touchdown from Martinez to cut the deficit to a 35-27, but that was as close as Canyon would get on the night after Rogozik’s heroics became the story of the contest.
“He is a hell of a player,” first year Hart head coach Jake Goossen-Brown said postgame.
“He is phenomenal. I’m lucky to have him out there in the backfield making plays for us because he really carried us out there tonight. So it’s awesome to have him back there. He’s a good player, great leader, works hard every day.”
Rogozik’s performance was crucial given that Hart starting quarterback Jacob Paisano was out due to an injury that Goossen-Brown described as “day-to-day.”
The standouts for Canyon on the night were Martinez and Watts.
Canyon’s quarterback ran for four scores while Watts caught a touchdown and made his presence felt on defense with multiple athletic tackles from his defensive end spot.
Hart now has even bigger things to look forward to, with a game against traditional Foothill League power Valencia next week. That matchup will essentially decide the league title.
“I think we’re just gonna have to keep it rolling,” Rogozik said about Hart’s upcoming matchup. “We’re gonna take what works and we’re gonna apply that to next week and whatever didn’t work, we can either work on it or just roll with what works. And I think we’re gonna do that and we’ll see what happens next week.”
But for Hart’s small-in-stature but big-on-production running back, he thanked his teammates when it came to the here and now.
“That was crazy. I mean I gotta thank the big boys up front,” Rogozik said.
And ahead of what looks like the biggest game of their season, the senior could very well make his presence felt.
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