In the most significant meeting of the two teams in a decade, Long Beach Poly proved it’s still a cut above its Moore League competition in a Homecoming clash with Compton on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Jackrabbits quieted what had been a very effective Compton offensive attack and dominated in a 35-0 victory.
“I’ve coached against the double wing many times and they run it really well,” said Poly coach Stephen Barbee. “But We can match them size for size and that’s going to close a lot of options.”
Poly held Compton to 45 rushing yards in the first half.
“They bottled us up,” said Compton coach Calvin Bryant. “They’re the class of the league right now like I said before the game. They shut us down.”
The Jackrabbits’ power rushing attack continued to run wild, with Elijah Juarez rushing 15 times for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Poly also got a first-half touchdown from Daylen Fuller, who led the team in tackles with 10.5, also notching the score at fullback and a recovered fumble late in the game.
“It’s a hard game to prepare for because you have to be mentally focused,” he said. “With their offense there’s a few keys you can follow and then you just have to make the tackle.”
In the second half Poly went up 35-0 on a 15-yard touchdown run from Keyonta Lanier and then shut it down, with only one other drive in the second half due to a fourth-quarter running clock. Compton got the ball with 35 seconds left in the third quarter and spent the next eight minutes driving downfield, appearing destined for the end zone before a fumble at Poly’s 15-yard line bounced to Fuller and more or less ended the game.
Poly’s offense showed a little more versatility as CJ Montes started 3-4 for 80 yards, and the Jackrabbits also got 278 total yards on the ground, to Compton’s 90. The Jackrabbits averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
“We’re trying to use the league schedule to refine the things we’re good at,” said Barbee. “We didn’t really have an offensive identity the first four weeks of the season and now our offense has come into its own.”
Poly (6-2, 4-0) finishes its regular season at Jordan and Lakewood the next two weeks. Compton (5-2, 1-2) will host Lakewood next week then travel to Cabrillo and Wilson–the Tarbabes likely need to win out to make the playoffs, where they could do some damage.
