The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation.
The Southeastern Conference likes to say ‘It Just Means More’ when it comes to their collegiate sports teams and fan bases. That may be true, but in Long Beach the same must also be true any time Wilson and Long Beach Poly square off.
No matter the sport, the two oldest rivals in Long Beach tend to bring out the best in one another, and Thursday’s Moore League boys’ lacrosse contest was no different.
The Bruins and Jackrabbits went toe-to-toe, shoulder-to-shoulder, and stick-to-stick, with neither team leading by more than one goal. Ultimately, it was the host Bruins who came out on top, securing a 4-3 overtime win thanks to a golden goal from senior Nathon Donavan.
“It’s amazing, unmatched by anything else,” said Donovan of how he felt after scoring his game-winner. “Just the adrenaline, the pure joy, I felt on top of the world–I still feel on top of the world. That’s like out of a movie, you know? It’s what I live for, I’m so happy about it.”
Donovan was one of four different goal scorers for the Bruins on Thursday. Harrison McElwain opened the scoring for Wilson in the first quarter, scoring the Bruins’ only goal of the first half as the teams went to halftime tied up, 1-1.
Warren Wright gave Wilson a lead in the third quarter, and James Carey scored the tying goal with 8:24 left in regulation for the Bruins.
Both goalies were solid, as Noah Bruce made some key stops late in each half for Wilson, and Poly’s Zeth Gonzalez was consistently tough to beat.
The Jackrabbits got on the board in the second quarter on a goal from Nick Johnson, then scored back-to-back goals midway through the third period to take their first and only lead of the afternoon. Mason Peterson scored off an assist from Dan Torres as the Jackrabbits turned a turnover into a quick goal, then less than 90 seconds later it was Lincoln King who buried a shot to put Poly out in front.
In that overtime period, Wilson used its only timeout to set up a play for Donovan. During the timeout, teammates Chris Saucedo and Brock Cruz hyped him up with words of encouragement, and the rest was history from there.
“I just felt it,” said Donovan of that final play. “I got the step on my guy, and I knew I had it. I was just waiting for the perfect look, and I got it.”
Wilson will be at Compton on Tuesday while Poly will be hosting Millikan next Thursday in their next Moore League contest.
