Party Like It’s 99-9

In a historic homecoming football me, the Poly Jackrabbits outmatched the Compton Tarbabes, winning by a huge

margin of 99-9. Here is a recap of the game, reported by quarter.

All Poly fans and teammates were surprised when Compton had the early upper lead. On the opening kickoff, the

Tarbabes returned the ball for 90 yards, putting them in a great scoring position. Aided by two Poly penalties, Compton

scored an easy touchdown. In less than 30 seconds, Compton was up 6-0. After this, however, the rest of the game would be in Poly’s

favor. 2 minutes after Compton scored, Poly answered back, when senior Justin Calhoun caught a pass and ran 23 yards. This put

the Jackrabbits up 7-6. The team would score four more times this quarter, making the score 35-6.

The second quarter still featured Poly’s starter players, who were effective at scoring. James Brooks had ten rushes for 136 yards.

Even Poly’s defense scored, when junior linebacker Jason Nettles had a touchdown from a pick-six interception. However, penalties

continued to affect Poly. A punt return by senior Iman “Biggie” Marshall was called back, because of roughing the kicker.

The Poly coaches were not satisfied with Poly’s performance in the first half. Compton’s 9 points scored is more than the

entire Moore League scored on Poly last season. As punishment, the team performed wind sprints. During the entire second half, a

running clock was in place, to prevent an even larger blowout. The Poly Jackrabbits could not be stopped, however. Junior

Dae’John Logan started the third quarter with a kickoff return for a touchdown. Additionally, the team put in secondary players, who

continued to score on the ground. Sophomore quarterback Cameron McDonald received play time. McDonald showed off his quick

feet by running a touchdown in himself. In total, three touchdowns were scored in the third quarter, putting Poly up 84-9.

Contrary to other blowout games, the fans stayed until the end, curious if the Jackrabbits could score over 100 points. Junior

Jackie Jones had an interception, which he ran in for a touchdown. This put the score at 91-9. The team came close, placing the

score 99 points on a two-point conversion. On the point after attempt, junior backup quarterback Tavaka Salanoa mishandled the

ball, and out of instinct ran in for two points. There are many interesting statistics that resulted during the game. Kicker Chile

Gomez was 13/13 on points after touchdowns. In addition, all 75 Poly players suited up competed for Poly. A score of 99-9 is the

most Poly has put up, since 1925 when they scored 105 points. Reflecting on the game, Poly realized they committed too many

penalties. During Moore League games, these penalties won’t determine a win or loss. But during the postseason games, penalties

are critical, and could eliminate the team from the playoffs. “We need to stop getting penalties. No more penalties. No more stupid stuff,” said

senior Quarterback Josh Love.

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