First, the good news: the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits will officially be playing for the State Championship this Saturday at the Home Depot Center, at 8pm.  They were named the top team in the southern region, fit to play in the Open Division, which pits the top team from the south against the top team from the north.

Now, the less-good news: they won’t be playing De La Salle.  The second Poly finished their game against Tesoro on Saturday, winning their 18^th CIF Championship, people were already buzzing about the potential rematch between the Jackrabbits and the Spartans.  But, though the Spartans won their CIF section in convincing fashion last week, they were not named the top team from the north, and so will compete in the Division One championship against Corona-Centennial.  Poly’s opponent will be the Grant Pacers, a team from the Sacramento region.

“I know them,” said Poly coach Raul Lara.  “We were trying to hook up a game with them a few years ago.  They’re just like us—a lot of great athletes there.” 

As to why Grant was chosen over De La Salle to represent the north—the ten CIF commissioners who voted on it looked at the team’s undefeated record, as well as strength of schedule, and determined they were more fit than the defending state champion Spartans.  The move came as a surprise to many media outlets, including this one, who had predicted a Poly/De La Salle showdown.  CIF executive director Marie Ishida implied on the CIF website that it was in fact the strength of schedule that tipped the balance, as Grant played the state champions from Utah and Idaho.

Lara was not among those disappointed or surprised to see that De La Salle didn’t get the top bid—especially since it was for essentially the same reason Poly didn’t get to go to State last year, (their nonleague loss to Birmingham early in the season).  “I know a lot of people thought it was going to be De La Salle, but we’re not upset that it’s not.  We’re very excited to be playing for the state championship.” 

Of course, stay tuned to the site all week—starting on Tuesday, we’ll give you scouting reports on Grant, more features on the Poly program, as well as break down some keys to victory.  You don’t want to miss any of this—this is State!