Poly ready for a title fight in Division 2
LONG BEACH ❯❯ Before the start of this season, the Long Beach Poly football team had three goals.
It wanted to win a Moore League championship, a CIF Southern Section championship and a CIF state championship.
After going undefeated in Moore League play to cap a 9-1 regular season, the Jackrabbits have set their sights on winning the program's 21st CIF-SS title, this time in the Division 2 playoffs, and then perhaps win the ever-elusive CIF state title.
“It's a lot of fun to be able to play in November,” Poly coach Stephen Barbee said. “There's something special about it.”
Even with those lofty goals, Barbee is not one to look ahead or past his team's first-round opponent, Vista Murrieta (6-4), Friday at Veterans Stadium at 7 p.m.
“It's going to be a very good game,” Barbee said. “They're very well coached. On special teams they do a lot of cool things so we're going to have to really be on our game to be able to stop them.”
“We have to come out ready and smack them in their mouth first,” Long Beach Poly senior linebacker Isaac Johnson added.
Last season, Poly suffered a 52-42 loss to Los Alamitos in the Division 1 quarterfinals. That result has been motivation all season for Poly seniors like Johnson, the team's second-leading tackler (44 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss), and receiver Jordan Malau'ulu (Fresno State commit), the team's leader with 43 receptions for 569 yards and seven touchdowns.
“I'm very excited to get back from last year's loss,” Johnson said. “We're looking to do better than last year so this year for sure we're going all the way.”
“I remember we should have had that (Los Alamitos) game,” Malau'ulu said. “I'm not going to lie.”
Barbee said Johnson and Malau'ulu have turned that experience into being dependable senior leaders.
“He's consistent,” Barbee said about Johnson, who in addition to playing linebacker has also spent time playing safety. “He's a pretty quiet young man. He's been at the top of the team in tackles for the past two years. He's on every special team. He can do a lot of different things.”
“(Johnson) leads with his actions,” Barbee continued. “He does everything for us.”
Barbee on Malau'ulu: “He is a huge possession receiver. Every day the energy that he brings really brings the team along, to be quite honest. He finds excitement in everything from let's do a couple more sprints to just celebrating his teammates. He's so inclusive. He makes sure in our team meetings he's sitting next to the team managers and really makes everybody feel a part of the family that we have here at Long Beach Poly.”
Malau'ulu plays alongside several other talented receivers, like seniors Luke Buggs and Charles Clinton, junior Ezekiel Orozco, and sophomore Kamarie Smith, so he knows the importance of staying engaged and being ready when your number is called.
“Be patient because the ball is not going to come to you every single time,” Malu'ulu said. “But when it does come to you, you have to take that for a drive. You have to make sure they know, that's why we have to guard him. That's why we have to press up and then once they start double teaming, it opens the lane for somebody else.”
Meanwhile, Malau'ulu's outlook is something that Barbee believes permeates the energy and effort necessary to win championships.
“It's 100% infectious,” Barbee said. “You see him going and getting excited and hooting and hollering, how can you not start to feel that way too.”
That shared mentality has Johnson ready to win Friday.
“We don't want to be first-round exits,” Johnson added. “We're for sure not going to be a first-round exit so I think everybody is upping the tempo for playoffs, so we're for sure going to get it done.”