Late-game heroics are always memorable, but they just mean a little more when they happen in the postseason. The Long Beach Poly flag football team went unbeaten in Moore League play and found themselves in a tough battle with Esperanza in the CIF-SS quarterfinals back in October, and they needed some magic to keep their season alive.
After an Esperanza touchdown gave the visitors a 20-7 lead over Poly with less than 11 minutes to play, Poly head coach Rob Shock made the move to put superstay Aaya McLyn in at quarterback. That proved to be a wise move as she helped lead a thrilling comeback for the Jackrabbits with the clock running.
On that initial drive, McLyn connected with Makayla Quesada to cut the deficit to 20-13 with 8 minutes left to go. Following a defensive stop, McLyn connected with Brooklyn Richardson for a score, but Poly still trailed 20-19 after an unsuccessful conversion attempt. With the clock running under 3 minutes, Poly would need things to go perfectly to complete their comeback.
The Jackrabbits remained locked in defensively, and kept Esperanza from gaining a first down on three consecutive plays while burning all three of their timeouts to stop the clock. That set up a decisive 4th & 2 situation with 1:38 remaining. A stop would keep Poly’s comeback hopes alive, and a first down would end the game in Esperanza’s favor.
Esperanza tried to run it with QB Ellie Frazier, but Poly linebacker Alex Valente was ready to make the play, storming through to pull her flag for a loss and give the ball back to the Poly offense.
“That was Long Beach Poly’s life on the line right there,” said Shock of Valente’s heroic stop. “The girls stepped up, they rose to the level of competition … I can’t wait to see the video, but Alex’s tenacity and her intensity to get that flag, I could see it from back here that she was not going to let that girl turn that corner. And I’m so proud of her, so proud of her for making that play.”
With less than a minute left, McLyn fired her third TD toss in an electric 8-minute span, linking up with Janelle Morris over an Esperanza defender, making it a 25-20 Poly lead with just 49 seconds to play.
A Neffy Williams interception sealed the win to send Poly to the CIF semifinals, and also secured the year’s best comeback in Long Beach sports.
