Long Beach Poly found itself in an unfortunately familiar situation last week, when a positive COVID-19 test in the Cabrillo program canceled their game with the Jaguars, scheduled for this Friday. Poly had games canceled in the Spring due to positive tests, and their season opener against Leuzinger was delayed because of positive tests in Poly’s program.
The game was one that had concerned local officials as a potential safety concern. Poly is ranked No. 40 in the CalPreps CIF-SS rankings, while Cabrillo is No. 342. The Jackrabbits recently defeated Wilson 45-6–that’s a Bruins team that defeated the Jaguars 54-0.
The Jackrabbits have added a game on Friday that will surely be more competitive, and possibly more helpful to their CIF-SS championship goals. Poly will be traveling to San Bernardino for a 7 p.m. game at Aquinas, in a game that’s serving as Aquinas’ homecoming.
“We’re really fortunate that it worked out for both of us to pick the game up,” said Poly coach Stephen Barbee. “Nobody wants to miss a game right now and I think this is a game that will help us get better.”
The Falcons (3-3, 1-0) are ranked No. 100 on the CalPreps list, and recently lost a game to Upland 7-6–Upland is No. 41 in the CalPreps rankings, right on par with Poly. Aquinas looks a lot like Poly in that they feature a lot of young talent, some of whom carry Division 1 scholarship offers.
Both teams have CIF-SS championship hopes, and will benefit from a more competitive game than they’re likely to see in their leagues. Poly’s dominance in the Moore League is well-documented, but the Falcons are in a similar spot, having won their last two league games by a combined score of 108-0.
We’ll have a full preview of the game later this week.
