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.
The second half of Long Beach Poly’s CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinal against Glendora on Tuesday was like a bad dream that kept getting worse.
It was a battle of defenses after a scoreless first half—but one ultimately won by Glendora in the second. The Tartans opened the half with a pick-six, sparking a nightmare stretch of five consecutive interceptions for the Jackrabbits. During the return of one of those turnovers, Poly star Ki’ele Ho-Ching went down with an injury, adding to the heartbreak of a 19-0 loss.
“We got complacent and we didn’t play anywhere near our potential,” said Poly coach Rob Shock. “That’s a great team over there. They’re consistent, they pull flags and they’re good at what they do. It’s not the outcome we wanted and I appreciate my girls. As always, I’ll take the responsibility and say that I didn’t prepare them the way they should’ve been.”
After the game, Shock was visibly emotional—not just over the loss, but more importantly over the health of Ho-Ching. Ho-Ching was injured during an interception in the second half while pulling the defender’s flag and fell to the ground, grimacing in pain while holding her knee. The senior softball and flag football star was carted off the field with her leg in a brace.
“I pray to God that nothing is critical, but I give that girl all my praise and glory,” Shock said. “She’s an amazing young lady. Obviously, you can see my emotions over it—you can see me struggling and it’s because she really gave me everything she had. She gave me everything.”
Poly came up with a defensive stand in a goal-to-go situation on Glendora’s opening drive, which took the first nine minutes off the clock. The Jackrabbits helped shut down a flurry of short Glendora passes and runs, with great flag pulls from players like Ho-Ching and Sophia Hernandez. Poly forced the Tartans to punts on their next two drives before halftime.
Offensively the Jackrabbits were stymied by Glendora’s zone 2 coverage, which threw off Poly’s timing on throws into tight windows and forced quarterback scrambles. Aside from a few nice catches across the middle by Ho-Ching and Janelle Morris, the Jackrabbits couldn’t find any rhythm and were forced to punt on each of their three first-half drives, plagued by short runs and dropped passes.
All momentum shifted Glendora’s way in the second half, when Maddie Finkbiner took an interception back for a touchdown on Poly’s opening drive. Finkbiner found another interception off a tipped ball on the next possession, before Glendora capitalized with a touchdown pass from Rylee Franks to Emily Husung.
Glendora continued with interceptions on each of their next three defensive series, including one by Olivia Martin and a pair of picks from senior Ronnie Herrmann. The Tartans added a score between two of those interceptions on a touchdown pass from Franks to Herrmann.
“The picks made the difference,” Shock said. “In the first half we dropped too many balls, and then the picks made the difference in the second half. That pick-six changed the energy, and all the energy completely went the other way.”
It’s the second year in a row since the CIF began holding flag football playoffs that Poly has reached at least the quarterfinals. The Jackrabbits will retain a bulk of their young talent next season, after finishing the year with a 14-12 record and their third straight Moore League title.
Glendora will move on to face La Serna in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs.
