The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
You could write a book about what the Long Beach Poly football team has gone through over the last couple of weeks. Transfers ruled ineligible, an offensive coordinator leaving the team, and injuries taking down several starting linemen, linebackers and the team’s starting quarterback left the Jackrabbits reeling. While there’s a lot more story left to write on the 2025 season, this week’s chapter had a happy ending for Poly as they survived a Moore League grudge match with reigning league champion Millikan, 24-22.
“It was a team effort and a complete team win,” said Poly coach Justin Utupo. “We needed to lean on our next man up and, tonight, or next woman up. Everybody stepped up and delivered when their number was called.”
The team’s quarterback for the night, Legend Galeai, has played defensive end all season. Middle linebacker Harry Johnson had been lining up exclusively at running back prior to Friday’s game. Running back Steven “Budda” Hunter had been a defensive back. All three had big plays in their new roles, and backup kicker Zadie Kuykendall stepped in for the injured Jonas Mendoza at halftime and drilled an extra point as well.
Utupo said that with the team’s offensive coordinator stepping down, he and associate head coach Travon Patterson had a matter of a few days to put a new QB under center with new running backs behind him and teach everyone the offense, and then also call the game themselves.
“It’s next player up and it’s also next coach up, it was all hands on deck this week,” said Utupo. “When you go through adversity, as much as this team has, you can go one of two ways. You can tank or you can rise and continue to move forward. Each game this team comes closer and closer together–that’s what matters at this time in the season.”
The win keeps Poly undefeated alongside Wilson atop the Moore League with the city’s oldest rivals set to renew The Big Game next week at Vets, a rivalry that has dated back nearly a century. For Millikan, a second league loss means they’ll need to win out including a huge game against their historic rivals Lakewood next week at home.
The game opened with Galeai’s only bad play of the game, as the snap on Poly’s first drive caught him unawares and squired back past him to the Poly 17, where Millikan’s Jesse Laumasima fell on it. Poly’s defense held the Rams to a field goal, but still spotted the Rams three points to start the game on the turnover.
The Jackrabbits then went on a run-heavy drive that featured Hunter and Elijah “Bubba” Dawson, who combined for nearly 150 yards rushing and a touchdown in the game. Galeai also hit Kamarie Smith, Kymere Smith, and Jayden Coley before ultimately throwing a three-yard touchdown to Jaden Hernandez on a play-action goal line play.
The Rams’ next drive featured a big passing conversion by Jonah Tuaniga, but stalled out at midfield. They punted to Poly, and the Jackrabbits quickly got down the field after a big completion from Galeai to Zion Anderson; Dawson then whirled his way into the end zone to make it 14-3 Poly. The Rams got the ball back with a minute left and chose to be aggressive–the decision backfired as defensive tackle Savion Day intercepted the ball on the Millikan 24 with eight seconds left. Day played every offensive and defensive snap on the line, and said Poly needed the win after losing to Millikan last year–their first Moore League loss in 15 seasons.
“Everyone from last year knows how much it is to hold a grudge,” he said. “It keeps you going, you just remember that feeling and you can’t let yourself get tired, you’re just thinking, ‘I want to win, I want to win.’ It was a bad feeling in my stomach for a whole year.”
Day credited his teammates and coaches for building the stamina to allow several players to play both ways in the game, including himself, Hernandez, Hunter and others.
Poly capitalized on Day’s interception with a 34-yard Jonas Mendoza field goal that made it 17-3 at halftime, with Mendoza injured on that play by a hit to the helmet. He went down and ended up being taken off the field in an ambulance.
During halftime, the large crowd of 6,000 (including huge student sections from both schools) enjoyed a set by DJ Mustard presented by NIke’s Rivalry Series, which brought the energy up and created some new special memories at Long Beach’s iconic Veterans Memorial Stadium, which is slated for demolition in a few months.
In the second half, the Jackrabbits received the kickoff and proceeded to take control of the game--or so it appeared. They went on a dominant seven-minute touchdown drive that saw Galeai hit Hernandez for 23 yards as well as more big runs from Hunter and Dawson. Jayden Coley ended up taking in a score from one yard out and then Kuykendall drilled her extra point to make it 24-3 Poly with 4:54 left in the third quarter.
Kuykendall made history as just the second female player in Poly’s 110 year history of varsity football to score a point, and is one of the first in Long Beach history. A soccer and flag football player as well, she said she was worried for her friend but happy to contribute.
“First and foremost I was really worried about Jonas,” she said. “I hope he’s okay, we are a tight knit group. I do try to always stay ready even when I know I’m not getting in the game, I still stay ready.”
Millikan with their backs against the wall started working the ball to running back Samson Khan, as Tuaniga was able to find him for a five-yard touchdown that gave the Rams their first touchdown and cut the lead to 24-10 just before the end of the third quarter. Poly would move the ball to midfield but then punt it away with 9:41 left in the game.
The Rams had no quit, and Tuaniga came alive slinging it to Khan, who ended up with a 48-yard score that cut the lead to 24-16 after a bobbled extra point attempt.
Poly followed that up with their worst offensive drive of the night, as the entire team looked gassed and they only moved it to their own 23 before punting it back to Millikan with 3:55 left in the game.
The Rams slowed things down, trying to make sure Poly wouldn’t get the ball back with much time left in the event that Millikan tied it up. They did end up driving to Poly territory after a huge run by Khan, who finished with more than 150 yards of total offense. Tuaniga hit Jude Nelson for a five-yard touchdown on a well-designed bootleg, bringing the Rams within two with a minute left.
They went for the two-point conversion, but Tuaniga’s pass to Nelson was broken up by Cal commit Deon Jackson, giving Poly the ball back leading 24-22. The Jackrabbits got a first down on a run by Dawson and were able to kneel it out.
It was a fantastic effort from the Rams, whose 19 unanswered points nearly took control of the game back from the Jackrabbits, as well as by Poly, which navigated a ton of chaos in the week leading up to the game.
“I found out on Monday I was moving to quarterback,” said Galeai with a “can you believe it” smile. Asked if he’d been hoping to get reps there after starring at defensive end, he laughed. “Not really, but coach Toops told me to step up for the team so I had to do it for them.”
Galeai finished 11/14 with 125 yards and a touchdown in an impressive performance.
The Jackrabbits (4-3, 3-0) did not get a lot of back-patting from Utupo after the game, as he pointed out that if they give up long unanswered scoring runs they won’t beat league undefeated Wilson next week, much less add a 22nd CIF-SS title to the trophy case. Poly will host the Bruins Friday at 7pm.
Tuaniga turned it up for the Rams in the second half after a sluggish first half, going 9/19 for 130 yards and three touchdown passes as well as the interception. The Rams (2-6, 2-2) will host Lakewood in a game they must win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
