Hart Hears Rumblings After Routs : Prep football: Burroughs, Alemany coaches accuse high-powered Indians of running up the score.

No one will dispute that the Hart High football team is good--make that very good. The undefeated Indians are the dominant team in the area this season, earning the No. 1 ranking in The Times’ regional poll.

Hart (8-0) has yet to be challenged, having outscored its opponents, 300-44. At times, the Indians look unstoppable.

Therein lies the problem.

Burroughs co-Coach Jay Gudzin and Alemany Coach Pat Degnan have accused Hart coaches of trying to embarrass their teams by running up scores. Hart defeated Burroughs last week in a Foothill League game, 50-3, and shut out Alemany, 43-0, in a nonleague game Oct. 2.

Gudzin was angered that Hart, already leading, 40-0, called time out with seven seconds remaining in the first half to score another touchdown. Gudzin refused to shake hands with Hart Coach Mike Herrington after the game.

“To do what they did just shows a lack of coaching, a lack of a human quality,” Gudzin said. “You just don’t do that to kids. They knew that they had us outclassed, that they have better athletes than we do.

“That was just unethical.”

Degnan’s ire was raised because Hart attempted an onside kick late in the game and tried to block Alemany’s punt attempts in the fourth quarter.

“What goes around, comes around,” Degnan said. “I’ve got thick enough skin that it doesn’t bother me. But to do that to the kids, well, I have a problem with that.”

Herrington is puzzled by the accusations. He admits his philosophy calls for his charges to score as much as possible in the first half, but he regularly removes starters early in the third quarter of blowouts.

Neither standout quarterback Davis Delmatoff nor tailback Deriek Charles played in the second half against Burroughs. Herrington said the players were removed in the third quarter against Alemany.

“I’m not going to apologize for having my kids work hard,” Herrington said. “Am I not supposed to enjoy our victories? Am I supposed to just worry about other coaches’ feelings and not let my kids play?”

However, Herrington concedes that Hart’s style of play might contribute to some of the negative perceptions. The Indians employ the run-and-shoot offense, which requires quarterbacks to throw often.

“We’re not going to change our offense just to make other people happy,” Herrington said. “We don’t try to embarrass people, but we do try to win.”

Saugus Coach Jack Bowman, whose team lost to Hart, 42-13, said the Indians played with class against the Centurions.

“I have a lot of respect for Mike and the program he runs,” Bowman said. “I think he does a good job of teaching his kids to play hard.”