Hart had given up only 35 first-half...

Hart had given up only 35 first-half points in its first seven games before allowing Valencia 21 in the first half Thursday night. No cause for alarm.

“We’ve been known to get a little loud [at halftime], but we went in there very calmly and told them, ‘You’ve been doing great stuff on defense, keep it up,’ ” said Rick Herrington, Hart’s defensive coordinator. “We just stressed, ‘Don’t let them get big plays.’ ”

The big plays in the second half belonged solely to Hart, a 42-21 winner.

Hart, which has outscored opponents, 80-3, in the third quarter this year, shut out Valencia in the second half.