Football fans across Southern California will be watching intently as Long Beach Poly visits Serra’s newly-opened stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. The friendly rivalry between the Jackrabbits and Serra has produced some of the region’s most predictably exciting games over the last decade.
Last Spring, the Jackrabbits defeated Serra 27-21 in overtime. The Cavaliers won the previous four games between the two teams dating back to 2012–winning by three, four, four, and eight points. With five consecutive one-score games, it’s no wonder Poly head coach Stephen Barbee is expecting another classic.
“It’s gonna be a Poly Serra game, you know,” said Barbee. “They have athletes, we have athletes, they’re a good team, we’re a good team. They got a great coaching staff, we got one as well. So it’s going to be who can dictate their game plan and make big plays?”
There will be Division 1 talent all over the field, as Serra boasts senior Maalik Murphy at quarterback, a Texas commit. The Cavs also feature junior Rodrick Pleasant, a four-star skill player with Pac-12 and SEC offers.
The Jackrabbits are a young team with a strong sophomore class, including a trio of impact transfers recently cleared to play in Friday’s game in QB Darius Curry, WR Jason Robinson Jr., and LB Dylan Williams.
The Jackrabbits will need senior QB Shea Kuykendall and Curry to manage a turnover-free game, and to be comfortable handing off to junior running back Devin Samples and sophomore Josh “Noodles” Cason. Poly’s biggest advantage over Serra last year was up front, and they’ll need to rely on great line play again this week if they want to duplicate the result.
The game will be livestreamed by Bally Sports (formerly Fox Sports) and can be viewed at this link (https://www.ballysports.com/watch/live/prep-zone-long-beach-poly-at-serra).
Previous Poly/Serra Games
2020: Poly 27, Serra 21 OT
2019: Serra 27, Poly 24
2018: Serra 29, Poly 25
2017: Serra 24, Poly 20
2012: Serra 20, Poly 12
