Roundup: Long Beach Poly dominant in win over Cabrillo

Although the game wasn’t against a Division 1 opponent, Poly coach Antonio Pierce loved what he saw from his team in a technically sound, efficient 77-0 drubbing of Cabrillo.

“We wanted a week of good, smart, penalty-free physical football,” said Pierce. “We wanted a team win where we performed in all aspects of the game and that’s what we got. No disrespect to the Moore League but we’re the top dogs and we should show that every Friday.”

There was no doubt who the top dog was in the crosstown rivalry from early on, as Poly led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. The clock ran for the entire second half but in the first 24 minutes alone, the Jackrabbits ran for 181 yards on 25 carries, while quarterback Nolan McDonald was 4 of 6 for 63 yards and three touchdowns.

Poly’s defense allowed just 44 yards in the first half, and nine players had either a sack, interception or fumble recovery. Josh Brown had a sack and an interception returned for a touchdown while Kejuan Markham had a pair of interceptions.

The Jackrabbits (3-2, 2-0) will host Compton next week.

–Mike Guardabascio

Mayfair 48, Cerritos 13 >> Mayfair coach Derek Bedell is a whiz when it comes to simplifying matters.

“We divide our season into three parts,” Bedell said. “We have our preseason, our league and the playoffs.”

The Monsoons took some early heavy lumps, but Phase II of the season got off to a splendid start as Mayfair upended Cerritos in a Suburban League game played at Gahr High School. The Monsoons improved to 2-3 overall. Cerritos also is 2-3 but the Dons now are 0-2 in league play.

Mayfair looked like a brand new team after a bye week that came on the heels of a 42-7 loss to Valley Christian.

The Monsoons’ interior blocking was crisp and powerful, which provided nice ruing space for backs Traveon Anderson and Abrie Sumlin. Anderson scored twice on runs of 3 and 31 yards. Sumlin had touchdown runs of 5, 9 and 22 yards.

“Good, bad, good bad,” Cerritos co-head coach Barry Thomas said when asked to assess his team’s defensive performance this year. “When we’re physical we’ve had a lot of success. But when the other team’s been more physical than us, well ...”

Bedell was disappointed in his team’s performance two weeks ago against Valley Christian, but the Monsoons responded with a solid week of practice, several players returned from minor injuries and playmaker Kai Emmsley switched from wide receiver to quarterback. Emmsley directed the offense with precision and scored on a 19-yard touchdown run.

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“The bye week went well,” Bedell said. “We took it to refocus our season. It’s a new season for us. A program reset.”

Cerritos has spun through a roller coaster season thus far. But it’s understandable with the Dons switching from the double-wing offense they ran last year to a spread offense. Unlike some typical spread offensive teams, Cerritos is not pass oriented.

“We take what’s there,” Dons co-head coach Daniel Mesa said.

However, unlike in its lopsided 41-0 nonleague victory over Beverly Hills, Cerritos could not unleash its ground game against a determined Mayfair defense.

Cerritos’ best highlight of the night came when two-way stalwart Ryder Eddy intercepted a pass off a deflection and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown 29 seconds before the end of the first half. It shaved Mayfair’s lead to 14-7 and appeared to have given Cerritos a momentum injection.

But the second half was a Cerritos nightmare and a Mayfair onslaught. Eddy provided one more thrill with a 49-yard touchdown reception with 7:01 left in the game.

–Art Thompson III