Photo by John Fajardo
In the Moore League opener, two teams searching for an identity entered Vet’s Stadium—Poly (2-3, 1-0) emerged feeling like the pieces were finally starting to come together, while Jordan (1-3, 0-1) showed they still have work to do to overcome several key injuries, in a 31-0 Jackrabbit victory.
Jordan’s strategy in the first half was as obvious as it was effective: chew the clock, and keep Poly’s offense off the field to prevent new quarterback Chris Leachman from establishing a rhythm. Jordan kept the ball for over 18 of the first 24 minutes, with drives of six and a half minutes, two and a half, and ten minutes. And they moved the ball well, gaining 134 yards and driving into Poly’s red zone twice—but failing to gain points either time, thanks to a field goal block by Poly’s Ryan Goforth, and a wide-left attempt.
Poly’s offense certainly didn’t slip into any kind of rhythm, however, at least for the first 22 minutes. Leachman didn’t get a chance early, as Poly tried to establish the run on the first two of their three first-half drives. On the second, they drove to the red zone but were turned away on a fourth-and-one. But the ‘Rabbits—who had considered using the hurry-up offense as a way to get the ball rolling—got the spark they needed when they let Leachman loose in the two-minute offense.
After a touchback from the Panther field goal attempt, Poly took the ball with 1:37 left in the half. Leachman was 5/6 for 63 yards on the drive, with two well-chosen dumps to running back Michael Simmons, a sideline toss to TE Earnest Pettway, a bullet to sophomore Randall Goforth, and a 22-yard toss over the middle that Goforth made a dive for, landing in the end zone to give Poly a 7-0 lead, and their first offensive points in two weeks. Leachman finished 14/22 for 203 yards and two TDs, and the senior looked very comfortable in his new role. “I was impressed with his composure,” said Poly coach Raul Lara. “He sat in the pocket and did a good job looking downfield.”
The second half was a combination of Poly seizing opportunities, making defensive adjustments to shut down Jordan’s option runs, and the undermanned Panthers squad getting worn out. Jordan couldn’t maintain possession long enough to execute their game plan—they had six drives in the second half, three of them ending in interceptions (two of which were pulled down by Aric Bundage and one by Fiso Salamo off a tip), one in a lost fumble, and one with a bad punt snap rolling back to their own two.
The Panthers gained just 43 yards, along with the 5 turnovers, which gives the Poly defense something to hang their hat on: in the second half of their last two games, they’ve allowed less than 100 yards total while taking the ball away nine times. That kind of defensive effort makes it easy for an offense to put the pieces together, and Poly did that by putting up 24 points. Leachman tossed another touchdown—to Kaelin Clay in the corner—and punched in a TD on the sneak. The only thing not working for Poly, strangely, was the run game, as they gained just 75 yards total on the game.
Despite the second-half effort, Lara knows his team isn’t done working yet. “Our defense had a real hard time stopping them in the first half. To me, we have a long way to go still—with a pretty big game coming up.” His quarterback may not have taken a lot of varsity reps this season, but he was a well-trained vet when it came to talking to the media, giving everyone but himself the credit. “The line was blocking great, and all of our receivers were making great plays to get to the ball. I’m glad we won, but I think I have a lot of work to do before we play Lakewood next week.”
Jordan coach Scott Meyer’s team will travel to play Oaks Christian, and says his goal is simple: “We just need to get better. I thought we got a lot better tonight. We played good defense, but they just wore us down.”