Main Event

The rivalry, if it can be called that, is still in its infancy.

But as sure as Hart and Valencia highs draw student-athletes from many of the same neighborhoods in the burgeoning Santa Clarita Valley, the rivalry between the schools is growing.

Tim Myers has lived in Valencia fewer than three years, has no children of high-school age and no affiliation with either school. But he will attend the Valencia-Hart football game tonight at College of the Canyons “just to see who wins.”

Whether it’s banter in a local barber shop or a stranger’s good-natured jibe directed at a coach, people in the Santa Clarita Valley are talking about the Southern Section Division III final.

Will Hart win its second consecutive section title and finish 14-0? Does Valencia have what it takes to upset one the best teams in the state and become Hart’s true rival?

Many people, like Myers, already have an opinion. Still, Myers needs to see the game for himself.

“I think Hart is probably going to crush them,” Myers said. “They’re a very powerful team. I may be wrong. But I don’t think so.”

For Pat Epstein, whose son Shawn played on Hart’s football team last year, the outcome is not as important as the event itself.

Epstein, like scores of others who are proud to be part of Hart’s 51-year history, continues to support the school though her two children have graduated.

“There’s something magical about the football environment,” Epstein said. “There’s a family unity there that just doesn’t seem to go away once you’re involved in it.”

Hart’s faithful following is a testament to that.

“I’ll tell you what, I’m going to get there early and get my blanket laid down because there will be no seats available,” Epstein said.

Although a capacity crowd is expected, the game tonight lacks the energy and excitement generated by the legendary Canyon-Hart rivalry during its peak in the mid-1980s because of one missing element: equity.

By definition, a rival is a person or thing that can equal or surpass another. Valencia is still short of that standard where Hart is concerned.

Valencia, with only a handful of victories over Hart in any sport, has never come close to beating the Indians in football. In the schools’ four meetings, 17 points is the smallest margin of victory for Hart, which defeated the Vikings, 42-21, six weeks ago in a Foothill League game.

Hart’s dominance is not lost on Valencia Coach Brian Stiman, who laughed while recalling the hand-painted signs that encircled the football field for his team’s game with Hart two years ago. The message: “If you want to be our rival, transfer to Canyon.”

“It was well-deserved,” Stiman said. “It was one of those years where we were 4-1, but hadn’t played anyone.

“Certainly we weren’t anywhere in their caliber. I had probably had delusions of grandeur. I think I was puffing a little too soon.”

Stiman, whose respect for Hart grows with each loss to the Indians, is approaching this game with more humility than ever before.

“I think we give Hart the respect they deserve,” he said. “We realize we have to play a very good game to be in the game.”

Even with running back Manuel White coming off a school-record 305-yard, five-touchdown performance in the semifinals, Valencia is not pounding its chest as it has in the past.

“It’s a real workman-like attitude,” Stiman said. “You wouldn’t even have a clue that we are playing for a [section] title.”

Said Jerry Mike, girls’ basketball coach at Valencia: “[Stiman’s] right. There’s so little buzz [around campus]. There’s not even a sign [posted].”

But there’s plenty of buzz elsewhere, like at the Experts ‘N Hair barber shop owned and operated by Henry Ferrer, who has been in business for 19 years on Lyons Avenue, a few blocks from Hart.

Ferrer, 65, who said his customers have included most of the prolific Hart quarterbacks from Jim Bonds to current star Kyle Matter, has supported Hart athletics since 1985 and misses few Indian home football games.

Ferrer lives in Palmdale, but his heart lies in the Santa Clarita Valley, where for two decades he has watched boys grow into men. Many of his longtime customers now bring their sons for haircuts.

Through the years the faces may change, but the topic of conversation stays the same at the barber shop, where the walls are covered with Hart and Valencia athletic posters and schedules.

And most everyone who sits in Ferrer’s chair knows something about local football. If they don’t, they soon learn.

“Some day you’ll be playing [at Hart] too, right?” Ferrer asks his preteen customer, who nods and smiles sheepishly.

Ferrer pulls for Hart because his two grandchildren attended the Newhall school.

But he doesn’t play favorites when it comes to business. Through paid advertising, Ferrer supports Hart and Valencia sports. Several of his clients play football for Valencia.

While the rivalry is rooted in good sportsmanship between players who grew up competing in the same youth leagues, Coach Mike Herrington of Hart acknowledges he is not always the most popular guy in town. Not since Valencia opened in 1994.

“If I’m wearing my Hart jacket, I get a few dirty looks,” Herrington said. “That’s when I think to myself, ‘That must be a Valencia fan.’ It’s like they think I’m evil.”

Neither Herrington nor Stiman can venture out into the community without being recognized by someone who will offer praise or critical comments.

Stiman hasn’t left his house this week for fear of running into someone who will blurt out, “Big game this week, but I think Hart is going to beat you.”

“We haven’t developed that deep-rooted following that’s been [with Hart] for years,” Stiman said.

Time will tell if Valencia will become Hart’s true rival. The Vikings haven’t achieved it, but that could change before midnight tonight.

“Right now Valencia is still the new kid on the block, but it’s establishing itself as a football power,” said Harry Welch, Valencia’s offensive coordinator and the former head coach at Canyon.

“It’s a healthy, competitive rivalry. I don’t know how long it’s going to last, but I think it’s something to cherish now.”