Trojans Are No. 1 Team for Iacenda

NEWHALL —  Hart High running back Ted Iacenda, the leading scorer in Southern Section history, announced Friday that he has made a commitment to USC.

Iacenda, a 6-foot-1, 220-pound senior who scored 99 touchdowns and 604 points in three varsity seasons, said he wanted to stay in California.

He chose the Trojans over Stanford and UCLA, in part, because the USC players he met during a recruiting visit said they weren’t satisfied with winning the Rose Bowl. They want a national championship.

“That was something that I liked,” Iacenda said. “All the players I talked to wanted nothing but No. 1. [Stanford and UCLA] didn’t really go into it.”

Iacenda will have a chance to start at fullback next season. UCLA and Stanford, however, told Iacenda he could compete for a starting position at running back. At that position at Hart, he gained 4,057 yards rushing and 1,805 receiving.

Iacenda said the Trojans will add running plays for the fullback, who primarily has blocked and caught passes the past two seasons.

“I really felt comfortable there, more so than at UCLA,” he said. “I knew I was going to stay in California.”

Iacenda would not say whether Coach Terry Donahue’s resignation and the hiring of Bob Toledo at UCLA affected his decision. The Bruins, who won seven consecutive bowl games in the 1980s, have a 26-20 record over the past four seasons. Iacenda wouldn’t say if he saw one program rising and the other falling.

“I’m not a person that’s going to talk about that,” he said. “I have respect for both programs.”

Iacenda was the last of the region’s three marquee backs to commit. Sylmar’s Durell Price chose Ohio State, and Antelope Valley’s Jermaine Lewis picked UCLA.

In each of the last two seasons, Iacenda was chosen section Division II player of the year, sharing the honor with Lewis in 1995.

Iacenda was also a two-time selection for the All-Southern Section team, a 25-member squad from all 11 divisions.

During the 1995 season, he rushed for 1,869 yards, caught 29 passes for 497 yards and scored 39 touchdowns.

In Hart’s 35-28 victory over Antelope Valley in the section championship game last month, he rushed for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns.