Norton and Ciccone Fresno State bound

Newhall (Calif.) Hart quarterback Sean Norton (5-11, 185, 4.7) led his team to the Southern Section Division II championship after starting out of the block losing three straight games. Norton and his teammates rebounded in convincing fashion winning 11 straight including what some thought was an upset win over Mission Viejo.

Norton has made it a habit overcoming the odds. Many thought that Norton was too small or to this or that to earn a D-I ride.

Norton once again proved the experts wrong. He took a trip to Fresno State this weekend and he committed to Pat Hill and his Bulldogs.

“Yes he committed,” Norton said. “He’s excited about it.”

“Pat Hill thinks that Sean reminds him of Boise State quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie,” Norton’s father said. “He passed on Dinwiddie and he said he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.”

Dinwiddie according to Mr. Norton was a three-time WAC Offensive Player of the Year.

While Hill may think that Norton reminds him of Dinwiddie there are others who think Norton reminds them of former Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei great Billy Blanton who went on had a nice career for San Diego State and former Oregon State walk-on turned record breaker Jonathan Smith.

That puts Norton in very good company. All are overachievers who get the job done.

Norton is use to comparisons as well. The quarterback tradition at Hart is a rich one indeed. Hart has had an all-CIF signal-caller dating back to 1985. Norton has thrived and has lived up to expectations.

Norton was CIF co-Offensive Player of the Year and was League Offensive Player of the Year as a junior after throwing for 3,984 yards, 35 touchdowns. He’s makes great decisions, Norton only threw six picks as a junior hitting on 65.8% of his passes.

In 2003, Norton has thrown for 4,067 yards, 44 touchdowns against only 13 interceptions while hitting on 65.6% of his passes.

It is said that big time players show up for big time games. Norton was awesome in the championship game. He hit on 20 of 24 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns against Mission Viejo.

How is that for a clutch performance?

In an earlier interview Hart head coach Mike Herrington said this about his star quarterback, “Sean is very competitive and he has great leadership qualities. He understands the concepts of the offense and has good football sense.”

“The only drawback Sean has is his height,” Herrington said. “He more than makes up for that with athleticism and a strong arm. Sean can make all the throws.”

Fresno State is getting a player with the drive to succeed and knows how to win.

The Bulldogs also offered Norton’s Newhall (Calif.) Hart battery mate Kevin Ciccone (5-11, 175, 4.6).

Ciccone just made play after play after play his whole career at Hart. The Bulldogs lost out on a couple of other wide receiver prospects and offered Ciccone with the open scholie.

Ciccone is another one of those over achievers that usually make the folks that take a chance on him look like an Einstein.

In 2003 Ciccone, had 80 receptions for 1,382 yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 17.3 yards per catch.