Poly crushes Cabrillo in Moore League play
LONG BEACH ❯❯ Poly senior quarterback Darius Curry threw four first-half touchdowns and the Jackrabbits led by 43 points at halftime Thursday en route to a 50-6 win over host Cabrillo in Moore League play.
Curry, who completed 9 of 14 passes for 231 yards over the first two quarters, connected on a pair of touchdown throws to junior receiver Ezekiel Orozco.
Curry also threw touchdowns to senior receivers Luke Buggs and Jordan Malau'ulu before halftime.
“I was able to find the open man,” Curry said. “It was a good game. All my receivers were locked in, ready to go.”
Poly (7-1, 4-0) will return to action against Compton at Veterans Stadium on Oct. 20.
“Good teams don't take plays off or give away reps and yardage,” Poly coach Stephen Barbee said. “Good teams are able to execute all the time, so that's kind of what we were aiming for this week.”
Cabrillo (2-6, 0-4), which came into the contest without scoring against Poly in the previous seven headto-head meetings including a forfeit, broke through on its final drive when junior running back Antonio Elam followed his offensive line into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown with less than two minutes remaining.
The Jaguars will host Jordan on Oct. 20.
“We just wanted to spread the ball out, try to get the ball to some of our better players,” Cabrillo coach Shane Gonzales said. “We knew it would be tough trying to run the ball on these guys.
“We were trying to look for victories within the game. We talked to the kids this week and I don't even remember the last time Cabrillo had scored on Poly. So we challenged the kids to fight all game and try to put some points on the board.”
The last official occurrence was a 35-6 loss to Poly in 2012. No official score was reported in a 2015 forfeit.
The Jaguars had a chance to get on the board much earlier but were unable to capitalize on a pair of opportunities in Jackrabbits territory in the opening quarter.
Jaguars freshman quarterback Fernando Leanos found senior receiver Rodney Cheathum on a key 28yard reception as Cabrillo marched to the Poly 28yard line.
However, bad snaps were an issue throughout the half and the Jaguars missed on a 46-yard field goal attempt while trailing 7-0.
Three plays later, Curry and Orozco hooked up the first time on a 70-yard score to double Poly's lead to 14-0 with 2:47 left in the first.
“I was able to drop back, see the safeties rotate and hit (Orozco),” Curry said of their connection.
Cabrillo's next drive then got to the Poly 23 after a Leanos 59-yard completion, but issues at the snap again thwarted the drive and Jackrabbits senior linebacker Dylan Williams ended the series with an interception.
Poly capitalized with Curry's third touchdown, a 5-yarder to Malau'ulu, to push the advantage to 21-0 early in the second.
The Jackrabbits' special teams got in on the act on the following Jaguars drive. Sophomore defensive back Deon Jackson came in to block a punt around the Cabrillo 10 and freshman cornerback Donte Wright Jr. scooped up the loose ball and ran in for the score, which extended their lead to 28-0.
“We had come close the last couple weeks and Deon Jackson came and blocked it,” Barbee said. “That was something we had worked on all week.”
Poly then scored two more times over the final 3:21 of the half, with senior running back Joshua Cason scoring on a 14-yard run and Curry capping his performance on a 35-yard touchdown to Orozco with 10 seconds left. The Jackrabbits led 43-0 at halftime.
“He makes quick reads,” Gonzales said of Curry. “He's got a quick release, he's very accurate, he's mobile and he's got playmakers all around.”