Football: Beware of Long Beach Poly

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How come after Long Beach Poly’s 80-game league winning streak has come to a close, I’m more convinced than ever that a new one is about to begin?

The Poly team that lost to Lakewood, 21-14, Friday night finally showed me some potential and talent, with numerous sophomores and juniors stepping up to make contributions and convince me that despite a 2-4 record, this team will be heard from in the Pac-5 Division playoffs.

Let’s talk about talent. How about the performance of 6-foot-4 sophomore receiver Josiah Blandin. He made four catches for 74 yards, each one seemingly harder than the last. Junior tight end Earnest Pettway is another talent in the making. Then there was sophomore linebacker Salamo Fiso, who was banging heads and banging bodies.

In defeat, Poly earned my respect, and there’s going to be some playoff opponent in deep trouble facing the Jackrabbits down the road come November.

-- Eric Sondheimer