It’s the 2007 CIF semifinals, and Poly is locked into a defensive slugfest with Orange Lutheran.  Late in the first half, Poly is up 2-0, and the Lancers are facing a 4^th-and-goal from the one-foot line.  They’re going for it.  Quarterback Bobby Wheatley turns and hands the ball to his running back, who’s heading left—he has room.  Then Poly linebacker Kenny Tuiloma spots a gap between the O. Lu left guard and tackle, and he explodes through it, wrapping up the running back and slamming him to the turf, literally inches away from what would have been a game-winning touchdown.  Poly wins the game, and next week, the CIF championship.  Tuiloma is credited with a solo tackle.

It’s the Wednesday before the 2008 CIF championship game, against Tesoro, and Poly’s linebackers are gathered after practice—present are Tuiloma (#15), Matt Jones (#44), middle backer George Daily-Lyles (#55), and honorary starter Mac Iosia.  All four players are focused to the point of edginess, bristling with intensity.  Jones has a simple explanation for it.  “Championship week,” he says.

“It’s always intense championship week,” adds Daily-Lyles.  That Poly seniors have multiple championship week experiences is a testament to the team’s consistency and depth—few positions have been more consistent than the team’s linebacking corps, which this year returns all three starters from last year’s championship team.  The trio of Tuiloma, Jones, and Daily-Lyles expect a lot from themselves—last year’s defense was the stuff of legends, and they’re the only unit that didn’t graduate its big names (all four Poly DBs signed D-1 scholarships and DT Jurrell Casey is at USC).

“A lot falls on us,” says Tuiloma.  “Since the offseason, we’ve tried to be the heart of this team.”

Tuiloma gets his team pumped for the Lakewood game, as Daily-Lyles and Jones look on

It’s the first round of the 2008 CIF playoffs, and Matt Jones has been sick all day, throwing up before that night’s game against the Bishop Amat Lancers.  He suits up anyway and in the second half, with Poly down 10-7, Jones hits Lancers receiver Nick Lenhart, then puts a hand between his body and the ball, ripping it out for a fumble, which he recovers himself, running it 16 yards downfield to the Amat 7-yard line.  Three plays later, Poly scores, and takes a 14-10 lead, eventually going on to win.

“That’s Poly football,” said Poly defensive coordinator Jeff Turley after the game.  “Guys always amaze you.”  What’s truly amazing about this group of linebackers over the last two years is their consistency.  The three combined for 206 tackles, five sacks, two picks, a blocked punt, and two forced fumbles in 2007—when they decided it was their turn to step up this year, they did it in a big way, notching 357 tackles, 12 sacks, a pick, and two more forced fumbles. 

That consistency comes from a love of hitting—Poly’s ability to knock opponents out of their cleats is a hallmark of the team, and a crucial component to winning games where they don’t have a significant size advantage.  Says Poly starting QB Morgan Fennell, “I can’t tell you how many times people see George [who is less than six feet tall] and ask, ‘Is that really your middle linebacker?’  And I say, ‘Yeah.  Just wait till he hits you.'” 

Hit you they will—with a ferocity that has spurred on the entire defense, and led Poly head coach Raul Lara, who runs the team’s offense, to admit, “I hate practicing against those guys.”

Daily-Lyles celebrates his fumble recovery in the Lakewood game

It’s last week, a CIF semifinal game against the Lakewood Lancers, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, with the score tied 10-10.  The game may belong to whoever makes the next big play.  The first play of the quarter Lakewood completes a 31-yard pass that moves them into the red zone.  On the next play, Poly pressure forces a fumble in the exchange between Lancers QB Jesse Scroggins and his running back—George Daily-Lyles is on the ball before anybody else realizes its not in Jerry Stone’s hands.  Lakewood doesn’t score on that drive or for the rest of the quarter, and Poly goes on to win the game.

Which is how we got here, to the always-intense championship week.  With the size of Tesoro’s offensive line (Daily-Lyles can rattle off their average height and weight by memory), the ‘backers know their speed, their consistency, and their playmaking ability are all going to be critical.  Their expectations for themselves don’t even end with the plays they’re on the field for.  “We’ve got to get our offense up too,” says Tuiloma.  Daily-Lyles agreed.  “We make big plays, and the team gets hyped, or we pump them up and they make big plays.  It all goes hand in hand.”

For the last two years, tight playoff wins have gone hand in hand with big plays from these linebackers—which isn’t to take credit away from a defensive backfield that has grown more impressive each week this season, or a formidable pass rush led by DE Iuta Tepa.  But these three, along with Iosia, have combined for 563 tackles, 17 sacks, 3 picks, and four forced fumbles in two years—and their per-game averages get bigger in the playoffs. 

There isn’t a stat for game-saving tackles, or season-saving forced fumbles, or momentum-changing fumble recoveries—but there ought to be.  This trio might be at the top of the national leaderboard.  Since there isn’t, there’s no telling how many game-changing plays they’ve made—but you can be sure they’d like to add at least one more, this Saturday at Angel Stadium against Tesoro.