CANYON COUNTRY — Hart football started slow against Castaic on Friday night, but the Hawks were able to right the ship after a difficult first quarter to shut out an overmatched Coyotes team 49-0 in Foothill League action.
Hart took a 7-0 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter after running back/receiver Matix Frithsmith ran through a wide-open hole for a 27-yard touchdown, but the Hawks weren’t able to add to their lead in the rest of the frame after they missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.
“We just settled in. I think we came out a little flat,” Hart head coach Jake Goossen-Brown said of his team’s opening quarter. “I just told ‘em to go out and believe in who they were and show ‘em like what we’re capable of and being the guys they are. We have good football players, they just gotta go out and play.”
The Hawks were able to increase their lead to 14-0 when Frithsmith found the end zone for a second time early in the second quarter — this score coming in the receiving game as quarterback Jacob Paisano found an open Frithsmith in the slot for a 9-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-6.
Hart’s defense came up big for them on the night, and it was a forced three-and-out after a Hart turnover that allowed them to tack on another score late in the second.
After a long run from Paisano and a Castaic personal foul put the ball in the red zone, the quarterback found running back Josh Rogozik open for a short pass, and the junior made a defender miss and ran 17 yards to put Hart up 21-0 with 2:55 remaining in the half.
Frithsmith added his third total touchdown of the half with an 8-yard rushing score to put Hart up 28-0 one play after Paisano found receiver Josh Wagner open to set up a 1st-and-goal, and the Hawks never relented on the night.
“He’s a huge impact on our offense; he makes our offense go. … It makes it easy to have a guy like him that helps to pick us all up.” Goossen-Brown said postgame about the versatile junior.”
As for Frithsmith himself, he gave credit to Hart’s coaching staff postgame for his success after he added a fourth touchdown in the second half, his final one coming on a 40-yard pass from Paisano in the third quarter.
“My coaches really just put me in the best spots to make the best plays,” he said.
Frithsmith’s versatility has been a key part of his game in his two years on varsity, and for him, the mentality is the same, no matter if his plays are coming through the air or on the ground.
“If I have the ball in my hands,” Frithsmith said. “I just wanna score. Just make people miss, get open and score.
“I wanna run hard all the time. If I’m running my routes, I wanna run those hard or if I have the ball on the ground, I wanna run through people [and] make them miss.”
Goossen-Brown credited his defense as well after the win, as they held Castaic to their fourth shutout in the past five games.
“It was great to see ‘em flying around and settling into what we’re doing. … We have a strong defensive line with Gabe Degl’Innocenti, Waymon Moore, and Josh Whitson leading in sacks, so that helps to free up the linebackers to make plays. So having a strong D-line has really helped us out,” he said.
Next up on the schedule for Hart (6-2, 4-0 Foothill League) is a road game against Canyon on Friday, Oct. 17. Castaic (0-7, 0-3 Foothill League) will head home to play West Ranch on the same night.