Long Beach Poly head coach Raul Lara knew that his team had a challenging schedule set for this season, but he certainly didn’t think it would start like this.

The Jackrabbits had incredible trouble moving the ball on offense and were bullied on defense, in a 37-7 loss to the visiting Mission Viejo Diablos on Friday night at Veterans Stadium. Senior running back Dallas Kessman racked up 145 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries, while Poly didn’t get a break with his backup. Junior Jahleel Pinner rushed 19 times for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Mission Viejo, ranked No. 2 in the current PAC-5 Division poll, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions and didn’t look back. Poly’s possessions in the first half resulted in one blocked punt, two successful punts and two interceptions. The Diablos dominated the game’s time of possession, running 65 plays from scrimmage compared to just 31 for the other side.

Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 7 for now, advanced the ball past midfield only once, on a 92-yard touchdown run by running back Kameron White in the waning moments. Thanks to that run against Mission Viejo’s backups, White finished with 4 rushing attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Chaiyse Hales, normally the first-stringer, saw limited action once Poly fell behind and threw just 1-3 for 12 yards. Trailing big, the Jackrabbits went with Manuel Lara to stretch the field but the junior had no luck, throwing 4-13 for 17 yards and four interceptions.

Coach Lara stressed to his team that this game was the final test of the preseason, and that Poly’s true goals lie ahead in winning the Moore League and eventually CIF. The Jackrabbits open league play next week at Jordan High.

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