The road doesn’t get any easier for the Long Beach Poly football team (0-1) after a season-opening loss to Leuzinger last week. The Jackrabbits travel to Lincoln Friday night hoping to improve on their offensive performance in last week’s 14-3 defeat to the Olympians; Friday’s game is slated for 7pm.
The Hornets have a lot of Poly parallels and connections. The two schools are both historic inner-city public powerhouses with loads of championships and NFL products–Lincoln boasts a pair of NFL Hall of Famers among its alums.
They also share a principal as well. Mel Collins was co-principal of Poly with Shawn Ashley during much of the 90s and 2000s heyday for the schools–Collins then departed Long Beach for San Diego to be the principal at Lincoln.
The game Friday night at 7pm is sure to be a sold out show–Lincoln is opening a new stadium with the game, after a full year of practicing and playing on the road during their state championship 2024 season. The Hornets boast plenty of talent, which was on display last week during a 57-29 win over Punahou, the perennial Hawaii power. The Hornets are led by QB Jordan Roa, with a rushing attack led by Rashad Robinson and three-star RB Junior Curtis. Courtney Thompson and Dareyen Bridges are the top pass-catcher for Lincoln.
Poly will return to Long Beach to Veterans Memorial Stadium to host Tustin next week at 7pm.
