Category: Sports

  • Girls Water Polo Sinks Millikan Rams

    Girls Water Polo Sinks Millikan Rams

    The Poly girls water polo team played very strongly against Millikan High School, beating them 13-12. Before the game, the team knew they were playing a tough opponent. The girls came out strong, but the Rams took the lead, and entered halftime with an 8-6 lead. The Jackrabbits played a stronger second half, and outscored the Rams 7-4. This close game ended with Poly on top, 13-12.

    “It was a great game. I know we played the best we could, they were just better than I expected them to be,” said sophomore Carina Monaco.

  • Boys Soccer Kicks It Over Compton

    Boys Soccer Kicks It Over Compton

    Boys soccer hosted Compton on January 10, and were able to come out with a 2-1 victory. Both goals were scored by junior Cole McCarthy in the first and second half. Unfortunately, the boys let a goal get past their defense when Compton scored their only goal at the last minute. The boys are fifth in Moore League (1-2-1) right behind the Wilson Bruins.

  • Wilson Bruins Take Down Girls Water Polo

    The Poly girl’s water polo team entered Moore League competition. On Thursday, January 16 the girls played Wilson high school, losing 17-7. The previous week, the team played the Mission Viejo Diablos, and lost, 7-6.

    The girls played the Wilson Bruins. The Bruins are the toughest competition for the Jackrabbits in the Moore League.

     “If we put our minds into it, we can win,” said sophomore Taylor Martin. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, the Bruins were too tough of a match. [pullquote align=”left” speaker=”Taylor Martin”]We kept playing hard throughout the entire game. Next year we can definitely bring it.[/pullquote]

    Going into halftime, the score was in favor of Wilson: 8-4.

    “We didn’t give up,” said sophomore Carina Monaco. Monaco scored one point in the game. The girls on the team agreed that their team played really well against  a tough opponent.

    The Jackrabbits also played Mission Viejo, the previous Thursday. The Diablos took the early lead going into halftime 5-2. The Jackrabbits started to make a comeback in the second half, shutting out the Diablos in the fourth quarter.

    Two scores were made by freshman Julia Mangandi and senior Taylor Dorsey. Senior goalie Sinclair Taylor had six saves throughout the game.

    “We kept playing hard throughout the entire game,” said Martin. “Next year we can definitely bring it.”

    The next Moore League game is against Lakewood, followed by Jordan and Millikan.

     “We play them as if they’re Wilson” said sophomore Kamren Phillips.

    The team is relatively young, with three underclassman starting. For many, this is their first year starting in varsity positions. Freshmen Julia Mangandi and Bayla Foreman, sophomore Carina Monaco and sophomore Taylor Martin are all starting.

  • Boys Basketball Dunks Compton On The Court

    The boys basketball team (13-6, 4-0) beat Compton in a nail-biting 70-68 victory on Wednesday, January 15 to extend their Moore League winning streak to 54 games, including past seasons. Senior Kameron Murrell scored 23 points, senior Chris Sullivan scored 15 points, and junior KJ Feagin scored 14 points in a game that came down to the last 0.9 seconds.

    “Compton was a really fast-paced team, so our game plan was to slow them down and get them to play a half court set,” said Murrell.

    Poly did more than shut them down in the first quarter, where they quickly gained the lead with an And-one from junior Jordan Dallas, and back-to-back three-pointers from Murrell. Senior Jeff Calhoun’s steal that led to a crowd-roaring dunk from Sullivan ended the quarter with Poly leading 28-16.

    In the second quarter, Compton stopped Poly’s momentum. The boys tried to push the lead with And-one plays from Murrell and Sullivan, but the quarter belonged to Compton with the score at halftime being 40-32.

    “Throughout the whole year, we’ve had really tough third quarters. Teams we’ve played throughout the year have come back during the third quarter,” said Murrell. An And-one play from Compton and a technical foul called on Poly swayed the game in Compton’s direction. Poly responded with another three from Murrell (he would finish with five threes), baskets from Feagin and Sullivan and a defensive stop. Compton still owned the third quarter though it still ended 56-51, Jackrabbits.

    Compton surged ahead, and with 4:20 minutes left in the last quarter, took the lead for the first time, 60-59. The game came down to the last 28 seconds when, with Poly leading 66-62, Compton fouled Feagin. Feagin showed robotic poise when he sunk both free throws.

    “I thought, just gotta make the shot and put us in a position to win,” said Feagin.

    [pullquote align=”center” speaker=”KJ Feagin”]I thought, just gotta make the shot and put us in a position to win.[/pullquote]

    That should’ve sealed the deal, but Compton made a four point play with 13.3 seconds left. Compton again fouled Feagin, who sunk two more free throws. After Compton scored a quick basket, Poly held possession of the ball on an inbound play with 2.8 seconds to go and led by two points. The ball was inbounded to Murrell, whose momentum carried him out of bounds, his feet just millimeters off the line.

    “I was just trying to hold myself until time ran out. We had to regroup as a team. It was kind of like the Millikan game,” said Murrell. The week before, Poly beat Millikan 72-70 when Millikan missed a tip-in with 1.6 seconds to go.

    At 0.9 seconds, flashbacks from the Millikan game occurred when Compton missed the tip-in from the inbounds play for the Poly win.

    Unfortunately, that effort alone will not earn Poly a win at Compton’s home court. In addition to the spirited fans, Poly will face an improved team on February 5th.

    “They’ll be more comfortable with us, and probably attack us more,” said Calhoun.

    In the meantime, the boys will try to extend their winning streak against the Lancers at Lakewood high school today.

  • Girls Basketball Dominates Moore League Teams

    The girls basketball team (13-1, 4-0) has beaten every Moore League team by at least 45 points this year. They blew out Compton (96-10) last Wednesday, January 15. Freshman Danae Miller and senior Arica Carter scored 22 and 14 points respectively. On Friday, January 10 and Monday, January 13, Poly also routed Jordan and Cabrillo with scores of 90-17 and 81-31, respectively. However, the most remarkable game was the 75-30 crushing of the second-best Moore League team, Millikan, on Wednesday, January 8.

    “I think as a team we really played well, we came out and jumped on top of them early, and it sent them back to where they couldn’t respond,” said head coach Carl Buggs.

    With their new senior transfers Lajahna Drummer and Emoni Jackson eligible to play, Poly’s defense nearly had a first half shutout when the second quarter ended 38-6, Poly. Poly, now subbing up to five players at a time, continued to pull away even with their bench playing most of the minutes.

    The girls basketball team has won CIF and State titles, but has never won national championships. Poly has the talent to win a national championship, but they are not at full strength.

    “One of the things we’re faced with is we’re really banged up. We have five kids hurt, and three kids who also cannot play because of team academic standards,” said Coach Buggs.

    Poly will try to build their chemistry today, January 21 at Lakewood.

  • Girls H2O Polo Blasts Tournament Out of the Water

    Girls H2O Polo Blasts Tournament Out of the Water

    Poly’s girls Frosh/Soph water polo team won the Canyon Water Polo Tournament hosted by Canyon High School in Anaheim, California.  The competition pitted 18 schools against each other through six three-team brackets.  The girls blasted their way through the primary bracket on Friday, January 3 against Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Santiago, and Rosary.  They continued their winning streak on to Saturday, January 4 to win in a 8-3 match against Esparanza High School.

  • Wrestling Gets Rammed By Millikan

    The Jackrabbits wrestled Millikan on Thursday night, January 9 as their first home match of the season.  Poly was blown out, 45-23.

    Poly did not have a 106- pound wrestler, which put Millikan already ahead by six points.  Despite their lead, the Jackrabbits looked to come out strong with back to back wins from juniors Enrique Luna and Chris Lavery:  a pin from Luna and a win by points from Lavery.   

    “I felt pretty pumped after my pin,” said Luna. “And then after Lavery’s win, I kind of thought we had a chance to beat Millikan.”

    From there, however, Millikan was able to pin in the 126-, 132- and 138- pound categories.  The three in a row pins gave the Rams 18 points.  Senior Clancy Baker, one of Poly’s returning starters, broke the pin streak by winning in the 145- pound category, 7-4.

    After Baker’s win, the Rams were able to pin two more Jackrabbits and put 12 more points to their score.  Senior Sazar Barnes, another returning starter, broke that pin streak with an 8-5 win.  Poly then suffered their first and only loss by points in the 182 pound category.  Junior Malik Livingston and senior Dominic Price won their matches, 6-5 and 11-5, respectively.  The night was ended with a Millikan pin to seal a Poly loss, 23-45.

    “I wanted to beat Millikan,” said Barnes. “But there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’ and I can’t wrestle 14 guys.  I’ll just have to wait for individual finals.”

    Overall, Poly won six out of 14 matches.  All five returning starters won their matches. All of the eight matches the Jackrabbits lost were by first year Varsity wrestlers, seven of those losses were pins which gave Millikan 40 points.

    “Millikan came out like they wanted to wrestle,” said coach Mike Hughes.  “Now, we have to practice hard for second place in Moore League.”

    Poly then faced Wilson last Thursday January 16th and lost (39-38).  The specifics of this match could not be reported due to time restraints.  Their next match will be on January 23 at Lakewood.

  • Lara Leaves Behind A Legacy

    [pullquote align=”right” speaker=”Senior, John “Juju” Smith”]It was an honor and experience playing for one of the best Poly coaches.[/pullquote]

    After thirteen years as Poly’s head football coach, Raul Lara announced his resignation on the Friday after the team’s last game.

    “[It was] a decision a lot of people didn’t know,” said athletic director Rob Shock.

    Over his tenure as head coach, Lara acquired five CIF Championships, more than any other coach in Poly history. These championships were in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, and most recently in 2012.

    Lara has had long standing ties with the Poly Jackrabbits. After playing football for Poly, he graduated in 1984 and enrolled at UC Santa Barbara. During his college years Lara volunteered as an assistant coach to the Jackrabbits.

    Coach Lara became head coach in 2001, and won a CIF title in his first year. Not only has he been the head coach for the Jackrabbits, but he also has had a full-time job as a probation officer in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall. Lara willingly put in many hours of work as a coach for a yearly stipend of around $5,000.

    Many of the seniors on this year’s football team have gotten to know Lara over their four years at Poly. Jason “Pops” Fao got to know him especially well because he was a four-year varsity starter.

    Not only did Lara win championships, but he also instilled values into his players, Lara encouraged them to be people of character.

    “He said to always remember where you came from,” said Fao.

    “He taught us to play together” said senior lineman Gasetoto “Gmac” Schuster

    Fao also said “I’m going to miss him. He was a good coach.”

    “It was an honor and experience playing for one of the best Poly coaches,” said senior receiver John “Juju” Smith

    Schuster said Lara was, “Like a father figure to me.”

    Defensive coordinator Jeff Turley will serve as the interim head coach for the time being.

    Athletic director Rob Shock is accepting applications for the vacant head coaching position until January 7, 2014. After that, the formal interview process will start.

  • Jackrabbits Take a Titanic Loss

    The Poly girls water polo team lost against the Tesoro Titans on Tuesday, December 10 with a score of 14-6. The first quarter kick started with a sprint win by sophomore Taylor Martin, but Tesoro stole the ball immediately after and scored. They scored again two minutes later. Fueled by envy that Tesoro was up by two, freshman Julia Mangandi received the ball from a lob pass by senior Courtney Hagle and scored. Within two minutes, freshman Bayla Forman scored, tying the score 2-2.

    The second quarter sprint was taken by Tesoro, but not for long. Although Martin lost the sprint, the Jackrabbits were able to steal the ball back and manage a shot from sophomore Carina Monaco. The rest of the quarter consisted of shots by Tesoro.

    “We knew this was a tough team to play against because they are very well-ranked. We also have a young team, but we have been improving each game,” said Coach Bill Brightenburg.

    The third quarter started with a sprint win by the Titans and ended with multiple goals by them as well. Poly’s defense during the third quarter was strong. Martin managed to steal the ball and score for Poly, leaving the score 13-4, Tesoro. Poly was down by nine going into the last quarter, and the girls tried their best to stay in the game. Tesoro won the opening sprint, but Mangandi scored again. She then proceeded to score another goal. The Titans were slowing down but managed to score a last shot. The game ended with a score of 14-6, Tesoro.

    “We tried our hardest, but I’m sad the score didn’t show it. Honestly, we need to  work on conditioning because Tesoro whipped our butts with the sprints,” said Mangandi.

    The girls played Marina high school on Tuesday and Huntington Beach but the specifics of this game could not be reported due to press time constraints. The girls will play Carlsbad this afternoon.

  • Football Gets Shut Down

    The Poly football team’s season ended in a semifinal appearance against Mater Dei on November 29. Poly fell to the Monarchs 30-0, on their home turf at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.

    The Jackrabbits were wearing their gray uniforms, which were unveiled at last year’s semifinal appearance against St. John Bosco. Poly could not get any drives going in the first half. A rare sight for Jackrabbit fans was when Monarch running back Justin Allen had a 75-yard run and scored. This brought the score to 6-0. After some more stalled Poly drives, the Monarchs kept scoring, and eventually brought the score to 20-0 at halftime.

    After halftime, the Jackrabbits had some inspiration, coming from senior reciever Christian Pabico’s 48-yard catch. Unfortunately, this drive would stall on the next play, when Poly fumbled the ball, giving it back to the Monarchs. Senior reciever John “JuJu” Smith was in double coverage the entire game. During the game, Smith caught the ball three times for 14 yards gain. In the second half, Smith converted to the running back position, which seemed effective. But fumbles and stalled drives shot any chance of the Jackrabbits scoring. The closest the Jackrabbits got t scoring was a pass to Pabico in the end zone. In the end, the Jackrabbits lost 30-0.

    Although the Jackrabbits were shut out, the season’s end is a great time to remember the seniors that have helped this team over the years. Lineman Jason “Pops” Fao was a four year varsity starter, and helped keep the Jackrabbit’s playoff hopes alive during the Orange Lutheran game, when he sacked the Lancer quarterback in the final minutes. Alongside Fao for most of the time was Gasetoto “Gmac” Schuster, who played on the offensive and defensive lines. Saualii “Serge” Fao also played on the offensive and defensive lines. Another senior who helped create the strong lines was Drew Ho. Caleb Turner helped stop the opposing running games while playing at middle linebacker. In addition, Rodney “Bama” Shorter played at defensive end. Elijah Moody played at safety and defensive back. Demetric Woodard played at defensive back as well. Imani Mitchell started at defensive tackle. Quarterback Tai Tiedemann started at quarterback for two years, helping the Jackrabbits to a PAC-5 title last year. Though Christian Pabico was only at Poly for his senior year, he caught many sideline touchdown passes, and was named one of the Moore League’s offensive players of the year. John “Juju” Smith made many memorable plays for the Jackrabbits. Smith was named the Moore League Player of the Year.

    Despite many seniors leaving, there are still quite a few returners to next year’s team. The junior class is returning linebacker Omari Lyles, running backs Jeremy Calhoun and James Brooks, cornerbacks Iman “Biggie” Marshall and Justin Calhoun, defensive tackle Joseph Wicker, lineman Justin Canada and quarterback Josh Love. The sophomore class is also returning a few starters. Cornerbacks Micah Croom and Jackie Jones will be playing on next year’s team, with another year of expierence.

  • Girls Soccer Starts Season Off Strong

    Girls Soccer Starts Season Off Strong

    Girls soccer is staying strong through December, bouncing back from a big loss against Mater Dei on November 26. They have two wins, three ties, and only one loss since December 3. The team, overwhelmed with new players, is going strong and found its way to the championship round for the Aliso Cup Tournament.

    As part of the  Aliso Cup Tournament, the girls played two games on Saturday, December 14. Poly was able to come out with a 1-1 tie against Marina High School, and 1-0 victory over Royal High School. The girls first faced Marina, tying 1-1 after senior Hayley Brown netted an assisted goal from sophomore Hannah Deighton. Later, the girls went up against Royal High School. Junior Sydney Ellis scored the game’s only goal on fellow junior Sydney Rockett’s throw-in assist. With Ellis’ goal, the girls found their way to the championship round of the Aliso Cup President’s Bracket against the defending champions Upland High School.

    The girls faced Upland on Monday, December 16 and came out with a 1-1 tie and the Aliso Cup President Championship title.

    On December 12, Poly hosted Chino Hills in a 2-1 Aliso Cup loss. Neither Poly nor Chino Hills were able to score in the first half, but Lady Jackrabbits took the lead during the second half on an assisted goal by sophomore Elleni Bekele. Unfortunately, Chino Hills soon countered with two goals in the 46th and 61st minute, taking the game from Poly 2-1.

    “It was a good game. They were a stronger team, but we could have communicated better and put more pressure on them,” said De La Funete.

    On December 9, the girls got a thrilling 2-1 victory over Trabuco Hills, in their first game of the Aliso Cup Tournament. Poly was at a standstill in a 1-1 tie after sophomore Artrea William’s assisted goal in the 54th  minute. As the game came to a close, Junior Selena Cuara was able to come through with an unassisted goal at the 78th minute, pushing Poly to a 2-1 victory.

    On December 5, the girls visited Edison High School, but where not able to get past the Chargers, tying 0-0. Even though the girls were not able to score, they did not slack on their defense. Sophomore Tori Gonzales kept the defensive pressure throughout the game against the Chargers, with five shots on the goal. Both goalies, sophmore Kayala Rivas and senior Alexis De La Fuente, were able to stay strong with two saves each.

    “It was a tough game,” said Gonzales, “We had to keep the pressure to secure at least the tie.”

    In their first game of the month, the girls faced Downey High School on Tuesday, December 3. Poly started off shaky, with goalie Kayla Rivas giving up a goal in the first half. It seemed like a lost game for the Lady Jackrabbits, until junior Sydney Rockett scored on an assist by freshmen Sarah Pilster, tying the game 1-1 in the last three minutes.

    “We have great speed, and a great attitude,” said head coach Teresa Collins. “We just need to get the new girls varsity ready.”

    The girls had their first Moore League game against Cabrillo on December 18. They then played another Moore League game against Millikan the next day on December 19.

  • Soccer Kicks Off Preseason

    Girls soccer kicked off their preseason tying their scrimmage game 1-1 against Saint Joseph High School on Tuesday, November 19th.

    Even though the team played with only two varsity veterans, they were able to keep up with Saint Joseph, scoring a penalty kick during the first half and tying the game 1-1.Earned by sophomore Hannah Deighton, the penalty was an easy way to score and allowed senior captain Morgan McCullough to score a goal for Poly.

    “It was just a scrimmage game,” said head coach Teresa Collins, “This game just dictates what we do in practice, all leading us up to our first real preseason games.”

    This year, varsity soccer is short on experience, having lost fourteen girls from last season. This year’s roster features two starting freshman, eight sophomores, eight juniors and six seniors, but only nine of which are girls with varsity experience.

    “I’m looking forward to playing more games. with this team,” said McCullough, “the new varsity players outnumber the returners and I’m excited to see what this team is made of.”

    Last season, the Lady Jackrabbits where not able to clench the Moore League Championship losing the title to the Wilson Bruins, but this year they come back with the exact same goal – win Moore League and CIF.

    “It is my first season playing at varsity level. I am so glad to be part of this team and I’m excited for this season.” said sophomore Saorise Parkin.