Long Beach Poly Doesn’t Skip a Beat in Pounding Griffins

Touted as one of the most highly anticipated high school games in the history of the Long Beach region between the area’s top two programs, the Southern Section Division I semifinal between Los Alamitos and Long Beach Poly drew about 12,000 Friday night to Long Beach Veterans Stadium.

Turns out the hype was better than the game.

Long Beach Poly--bigger, faster and quicker--used both big plays and punishing drives en route to a 35-9 drubbing of the Griffins.

The top-seed Jackrabbits will face Mater Dei in the title game next Saturday at Edison Field. It is the third consecutive season the teams have met in the Division I final.

Mater Dei won, 33-26, last season at Edison Field after Poly won, 28-25, in 1997 at the Coliseum.

“I don’t know what all the hype was about,” said Poly sophomore running back Hershel Dennis, who had 139 yards and four touchdowns in 14 carries. “It was pretty easy.”

Dennis burst through a gaping hole on the Jackrabbits’ second play from scrimmage for a 71-yard touchdown that set the game’s tone, and raced 99 yards on a kickoff return late in the first half that gave Poly a 21-6 halftime lead.

He also scored on one and four-yard runs, the latter with 11:31 left in the game.

The Jackrabbit defense limited Los Alamitos to a field goal in the second half, despite several Griffin drives deep into Poly territory.

“I thought we had a better chance than this,” Los ALamitos Coach John Barnes said. “But when your offensive line and your defensive line are getting handled by bigger, more physical players, there’s not much you can do.”

Poly’s huge offensive line, which includes Seth Tago (6 feet 2, 290 pounds), Mitchell Mason (6-2, 270) and Paueli Tamasoa (6-1, 250), moved the Los Alamitos defense around like a bulldozer moving dirt.

Their dominance helped spring Dennis for the 71-yard touchdown and was instrumental in a 16-play, 68-yard touchdown drive later in the first quarter.

“A lot of people were looking at us like we couldn’t do anything because we lost a lot of seniors from last year,” said Poly defensive lineman William Kofe, who hounded Los Alamitos quarterback Mike Sanford all night. “We proved everybody wrong.”

Sanford, who completed 12 of 34 passes for 114 yards, was in awe of Poly’s speed.

“I definitely couldn’t believe how fast they closed on the ball,” Sanford said. “That’s not something you can practice against scout teams or get used to on film.”

Los Alamitos looked dismal in gaining only 10 yards in the first quarter but clawed back to within 14-6 on second-quarter field goals of 37 and 25 yards by Chris Kluwe.

But on the kickoff after the second field goal, Dennis broke through the wedge, took off to the left sideline and simply outran the Los Alamitos coverage for 99 yards.

The Griffins blew several opportunities, including interceptions by Paul Publico that gave them possession at the Jackrabbits’ 29 twice. They scored only three points off those turnovers.