Hart High School brings football home in win over Birmingham

NEWHALL — Jake Goossen-Brown is in his first year as head coach of the Hart football team but when he walked onto Fiscus Field on Friday night, he was home.

“This is where we practice, where we come out every day,” he said. “I told the kids before the game: You’ve done everything here. You made great plays on this field. You made bad plays, but you’ve learned from it. You’ve done up-downs. You’ve done everything on this field.”

The Hawks hosted Birmingham and earned a 35-9 win on Friday night at Hart High School for the first game on campus in over 50 years. Hart had played all of its home games at College of the Canyons starting in 1974, but a series of small miracles led them home.

The Hawks were originally scheduled to travel to Eisenhower, but poor air quality due to a wildfire near Rialto rendered their stadium unsafe to play in. The Eagles originally agreed to play at Hart, but had to pull out due to lack of practice time and the game was canceled.

Goossen-Brown and the Hart administration were scrambling. Birmingham’s schedule was in flux was well, but for different reasons. The Patriots were unable to find a Week 0 opponent and two games had already fallen through for their Friday night game.

Hart and Birmingham were an imperfect, perfect fit for each other. The game was confirmed on Wednesday evening.

“We’ve done a lot of seven-on-seven games on this field so to finally play a real game, it’s kind of weird,” Patriots coach Jim Rose said. “But we’ve already agreed to play a game next year again.”

On top of the logistical changes, Hart had to quickly pivot and prepare for a new opponent. Extra meetings were added on to the regular practice schedule, but the Hawks offense still executed on Friday night.

Quarterback Jacob Paisano threw three touchdown passes in the game, connecting twice with Parker Maxwell and once with Zach Rogo. Paisano also scored on a 5-yard quarterback keeper and Nate Mata rushed for a 10-yard touchdown as Hart pulled away.

“We found out we weren’t going to have a game and it was mixed emotions,” Paisano said. “Thirty minutes later, we have a game — and at home too.”

Fiscus Field, named after a late, beloved school employee, proved to be a tough playing environment for Birmingham. Bleachers were relocated from the soccer field and additional stadium seating that could accommodate up to 500 people was installed behind the end zone and was overflowing with Hart’s student section.

The Hart Boys, the leaders of the student section, directed their legion with the usual signs, flags and spears — but the crowd somehow appeared much bigger and much louder than it usually does when it’s stationed in the College of the Canyons stands.

“You can hear the students a lot more when they’re this close to us,” Paisano said.

In addition to the extra seating, custodial workers and security staff had to be paid for overtime. Special parking was reserved for those working the game and at the concession stands.

“Everyone was on board on our part,” Hart principal Jason D’Autremont said. “There were some things we had to massage with the district to make sure that we could do it. But we had backing from our superintendent and from our director of facilities making sure we could pull this off and it was safe.”

Hart alumnus and former coach Mike Herrington had played on Hart’s field back in 1973 as a JV football player. The field back then was dimly lit and grass but was well-kept, mostly due to the fact that players never actually practiced on it — it was reserved for games.

“The lights back then were so bad,” Herrington recalled as he looked towards the new field on Friday night. “There was no money in the district.”

When Goossen-Brown took over as head coach, previous coach Rick Herrington encouraged him to hold on to Hart tradition but also carve his own path. With Friday’s home game, he accomplished both.

The bleachers on Hart’s sideline are in the same location as they were in the early 70s. The metal seats and scaffolding are new, but the framework of the stands is still the same as it was when Mike Herrington lined up on the field.

Home is a feeling and on Friday night, it was deep in the bones of a football field.

Hart vs. Birmingham at Hart High School is underway. The student section looks much bigger here than it does at COC. pic.twitter.com/XM0tjuryLf

— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) September 14, 2024