The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
Long Beach Poly flag football head coach Rob Shock called his defense the team’s heart and soul, and the heartbeat was strong on Wednesday afternoon at Lakewood High.
The Jackrabbits defense had five sacks and an early Pick-6 by sophomore Bailey Holder, leading the way to an 18-0 victory over their Moore League rivals.
“We’ve got to make plays,” said Shock of his team’s performance. “We were very fortunate, we had Bailey make a nice Pick-6 to open it up, that gave us some room. And then Brooklyn (Richardson), with her scrambling skills really put us in a good position … We’ve got to get better at moving the ball, taking what they give us, and understanding how to adjust the routes during plays. So that’s the biggest thing, and it’s just still growing.”
Holder said the defense was extra motivated for Wednesday’s game, as the Jackrabbits were playing for first-year defensive coordinator Leilani Utupo. She was the Lakewood head coach as recently as last year, and it was a significant return for her to the familiar campus.
“There was definitely more competitiveness here in this game,” said Holder. “Coach Lei has already done so much for us, so just being able to give it back to her, and to be able to produce on the field for her was great. There was a lot more energy in this game.”
Holder has been locked in lately, recording a pair of Pick-6’s against Wilson on Monday afternoon. Wednesday’s exploits now give her three defensive touchdowns on the week as she continues to excel in the Jackrabbit secondary.
“Honestly, just reading the quarterback’s eyes,” said Holder of how she’s been making interceptions and touchdowns so routine lately. “It’s pretty easy to go and pick it if you can just read their eyes. So yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Lakewood’s defense made their fair share of plays also, getting interceptions from Dimiah Williams, Lei’Anna Gaines and Kyrah Feagin. Kayla Brown also collected a pair of sacks for the Lancers, who were effective pulling flags and limiting big plays from the Poly offense.
Jackrabbit QB Brooklyn Richardson had a pair of scores on the day, one via a pass to Ki’ele Ho-Ching to make it 12-0 in the second quarter. Richardson then capped the scoring with a QB scramble just inside the pylon early in the fourth quarter.
Marley Barajas was a big part of Poly’s defensive success, recording three of her team’s sacks on Wednesday.
With injuries on the offensive side of the ball, plus a good number of new players, Shock said the offense is coming along gradually, but he’s glad he can rely on his defense to win games.
“The defense is our heart, and it’s the heartbeat of our team right now, and those girls love playing defense,” said Shock. “They love Coach Lei. They love playing her way. She’s very aggressive with that and teaching the girls, and really wants them to play football and have a real understanding of the game.”
The win improves Long Beach Poly to 7-5 overall and 5-0 in Moore League action. They host El Toro on Thursday evening before a tournament on Saturday.
Lakewood falls to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in league play. They take on Narbonne and Gahr on Saturday and will visit Millikan in their next Moore League contest on Monday.
