The562’s coverage of football in 2024-25 is sponsored by The Terry Donahue Memorial California Showcase.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.
The Long Beach Poly football team has had a rollercoaster of a 2024 regular season, and were looking for a smooth finish in their finale on the road against Compton. The Jackrabbits got exactly that as they played a complete game in all three phases shutting out their hosts and scoring on every offensive possession to wrap up the regular season with a 58-0 win.
“We put together more of a complete game,” said Poly coach Stephen Barbee. “We’ve had spurts throughout the year but we’ve had three great weeks of practice and we feel ready for the playoffs. A lot of people not only got touches tonight but were making plays. Offensive line did really well, the whole defensive unit played really well.”
The Jackrabbits halted Compton on the game’s opening drive then scored on a run heavy drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from QB Deuce Jefferson to receiver Ezekiel Orozco. After a Compton three and out, Jefferson hit Kamarie Smith for a 15-yard score. Compton’s next drive came up short as well, with Poly RB Trista Ventura taking in the next score to make it 21-0.
Compton running back Nate Willard led his team into Poly territory after that, but QB Anthony Hernandez-Lopez was intercepted by Poly safety Tracy Jones III with less than 90 seconds until halftime. Jefferson guided Poly into Compton territory and then kicker Logan Herrejon made a 35-yard kick to make it 24-0 at halftime.
In the second half, Smith took a short pass 40 yards to paydirt, making three defenders miss. After that, Compton got inside the Poly 10 on a long run by Willard, but were pushed back by a bad snap and a swarming Poly defense. The Jackrabbits got the ball back on a turnover on downs and went up 38-0 on a touchdown from Jefferson to Kymere Smith.
Poly’s defense put up another three and out, at which point Ventura took in his second score. After another three and out, it was Corey Hudson who ran in a 31-yard score for Poly to make it 52-0. JuJu Johnson recovered a fumbled return by Compton which set up a Harry Johnson touchdown run to end the game at 58-0.
Smith had a nice night with five catches for 86 yards and two scores.
“I feel like we’ve gotten way better from the first couple of games we lost,” said Smith. “We’re still on a mission. We’ve got to keep everyone accountable, coach Barbee will hold us accountable. We’re going to keep going on the mission.”
Jefferson had 174 yards passing and four touchdowns for Poly, while Ventura ran for 127 yards and two scores in a balanced offensive attack. Willard had 16 carries for 95 yards for Compton.
Long Beach Poly (5-5) will await Sunday’s release of the CIF-SS playoff brackets, which you can find updated live on The562.org. Compton (3-7) will return a strong core in 2025, when they’ll also hope to open a new football stadium on their brand new campus.
