Article by Julio Nievas
After a 30-point loss to Mission Viejo last week at Veterans Stadium, Long Beach Poly’s (3-2) defense rebounded by stifling Jordan High School (1-3) in a 41-8 blowout victory on Friday.
Jordan was suffocated by the Poly defense throughout the whole game. In the third quarter, Poly only had two possessions on offense compared to Jordan’s four thanks to Poly’s defense led by defensive back Kameron Jackson.
“We stepped it up a notch in the second half,” Jackson said regarding the defense. “We looked a little shaky in the first, but we stepped it up.”
Jackson intercepted the ball in the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown, opening the second half with a score for Poly after one play by Jordan.
“I missed some coverage on a deep ball from them, but I made up for it,” Jackson said. “I read the quarterback all the way and it felt real good to get a touchdown.”
The University of Washington-bound defensive back was also praised by Poly’s head coach Raul Lara, who gathered the team in midfield after the game to prepare for next week’s showdown against Lakewood.
“There’s a reason why he’s going to Washington,” Lara said. “He’s one of our best players on the field, he makes the plays.”
Though the defense impressed Lara, he was not feeling the same with the offense.
“We only had 17 snaps tonight,” Lara said. “There wasn’t a flow on offense and we can’t have that going forward. The defense was great, but we have some problems on offense.”
The Panther’s offense never had a flow. Poly only allowed one play that produced 15 yards or more in the second half. The Panthers had three turnovers in the second half and almost four, had they not recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
The Poly offense was led by junior quarterback Myles Mendez, who threw a 30-yard pass to junior receiver Josiah Blandin to start the fourth quarter. Mendez threw for two touchdowns.
Poly will play at Veterans Stadium next week to face defending Moore League champions, Lakewood High School (5-0) at 7 p.m.