On the opening drive of Friday’s Moore League title bout between Poly and Jordan, the Panthers gave Poly their best shot. Then, the Jackrabbits took a deep breath and hit back with their best three-punch combo, earning a 29-13 victory and their first 10-0 season since 2000. They’ll take their state-record 79-game league win streak into the first round of CIF playoffs next week, where they’ll be joined by tonight’s opponent, who earned second place in league with a 7-3 record.
The story for the Panthers on that incredible opening drive was John Timu. “In my opinion, he’s the MVP of the Moore League,” said Poly head coach Raul Lara after the game. “Coming into the game, we knew he’d give us fits. Obviously, on that first drive, he did.” Those fits came in the form of two crucial conversions, the first a 23-yard aerial strike on third-and-fifteen, the second a 14-yard scamper on fourth-and-four. Timu’s versatility spurred the 80-yard, four minute drive capped off by a Tevita Palu touchdown run, giving Jordan a 7-0 lead.
To say the Poly sideline was panicked would be an overstatement—but there was certainly concern. After all, Poly was allowing less than a touchdown a game coming into the contest, and usually not on sustained drives the way the Panthers got it. Poly wasn’t used to playing from behind, but Lara proved he could stick to his guns, deciding to come out running.
That decision ended up being a winning strategy, as Melvin Richardson exploded through what he described as a “very very very big hole” to go untouched for a 60-yard touchdown on Poly’s first play from scrimmage. The two-point conversion gave Poly the lead at 8-7, less than twenty seconds after the Panther’s TD. On Jordan’s second drive, Timu looked like he was going to go on the prowl again, marching his team downfield using both his feet and his arm—he picked up another crucial conversion with a twelve yard run on third-and-eight. But on third and ten, he heaved the ball into the end zone, and had the pass broken up by Poly’s Lazarri Middleton. Then, on Poly’s next drive, Richardson broke a 55-yard touchdown, pulling away to 15-7.
Once more, Timu led a long drive down the field, but the Panthers came up short, failing to convert on fourth-and-long from the Poly 25—then the ‘Rabbits took the ball and QB Morgan Fennell did the marching, going 5-5 for 68 yards and an 18-yard touchdown on the drive to take the decisive 22-7 lead. It was a change in Fennell’s game from the last few weeks, when he’s heaved long balls down the field and completed about half of them. Tonight he was a mid-range passer, picking apart the tight Panthers D. Fennell finished 7-9 with 80 yards and a touchdown (the two incompletions were a hail-mary to end the first half and a bad drop by receiver Jordan Johnson).
Poly took the not-exactly-comfortable fifteen-point lead into halftime, and decided to come out with a new look, perhaps to give whoever they play in the playoffs next week something extra to watch on film. For the entire first drive of the second half, the ‘Rabbits split Morgan Fennell out at receiver, and snapped the ball to Cory Westbrook, the recently-returned-from-injury runningback. Flanking him were Richardson and Daveon “Burner” Barner, Poly’s feature backs. Utilizing the surprising formation, Poly went 49 yards for their final score of the game, a thirteen-yard bolt by Richardson, his third of the night. He finished with 8 carries for 147 yards and the three touchdowns, part of a 268-yard team rushing attack.
In addition to praising the opposing team’s quarterback after the game (Timu finished with nearly 200 yards of individual offense), Lara seemed pleased to have gotten his first 10-0 season as head coach, and was optimistic about moving into the playoffs. “Now it’s a whole new season,” he said. “Our run game is so powerful, I’m feeling good.”
Jordan coach Scott Meyer implored his team not to be down about the loss. “I’m proud of our offense—they moved the ball very well against one of the best defenses in all of CIF. I don’t think this loss will hurt us—I think we’ll be up going into the playoffs.” Both teams have plenty to take away from the end of the regular season—Jordan has their first playoff birth in a while, and the knowledge that they can go toe-to-toe with anybody. Poly has yet another league title, and an undefeated season that they hope to keep going through CIF and into state.