From LBPOSTSports.com: So many components of Poly’s game against Grant High in the CIF Open Division State Championship last night resembled Poly’s first four playoff games that it’s probably going to be a long time before some Jackrabbits fans can accept that this time, Poly didn’t pull off the comeback, losing 25-20 before several thousand fans at the Home Depot Center.  After all, Poly outscored their opponent in the second half, got a few crucial turnovers, and had a 50+-yard fourth quarter touchdown run by Melvin Richardson to give them the lead.  But somehow it was the Grant High Pacers who ended up celebrating on the field.

The ‘Rabbits got off to a slow start, certainly not unusual in a playoffs that has seen them go down by ten in every single contest—they mustered just 103 yards in the first half, including just six on the ground.  The Pacers, so much like Poly in many ways, could not have started hotter.  On the very first play of their second drive, quarterback Kipeli Koniseti found Darvin McCauley for a 54-yard touchdown, giving the Pacers a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.  The ‘Rabbits didn’t get a chance to respond, as Jordan Johnson fumbled the kickoff return, giving Grant the ball twice in a row.  The Pacers expanded their lead to 13-0 (with a missed extra point attempt) early in the second, after Koniseti pounded it up the middle from two yards out.  The senior quarterback gave Poly fits all night, with 272 total yards passing and rushing.

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