The562’s football coverage for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson coach Raudric Curtis never lost faith.
He put a tough schedule together for his defending Moore League champion Bruins, knowing they’d be tested and pushed. They were all of that and more during an 0-5 start, and faced another challenge on Friday as they traveled to face undefeated 5-0 Compton, their former Moore League rival newly departed to start their own league. Proving that the challenging start will pay dividends for the Bruins, Wilson pulled away early and didn’t look back in a 41-7 victory.
“It’s how you work through those tough games,” said Curtis. “If you’re losing and you’re falling apart then it could be counterproductive. But our coaching staff and our leadership really challenged our team after every loss. And believe it or not, we played better in each subsequent game, even though they were tough games…seeing it on film the last four or five weeks really allowed us to be playing our best ball now, and I really believe we’ve earned some confidence going into the remainder of our schedule.”
The Bruins got big performances from their star players. Jemel Grigsby had an interception on defense and three total touchdowns on offense, two on the ground and one as a receiver, with nearly 200 yards of total offense. Running mate Kyle Harris had a kickoff return for a touchdown as well as a receiving touchdown.
“Everything is coming together and we’re getting healthy for the first time,” said Curtis. “So Jemel and Kyle are really starting to press and show their athleticism.”
The first half was all Wilson, as the Bruins were able to lock down an explosive Compton offense while pushing the host team around with a potent run game as well.
The Bruins held the Tarbabes to three-and-out on their opening drive and then powered downfield with some big runs by Jemel Grigsby and quarterback Logan Trafas, with Trafas hitting receiver Kyle Harris for a 15-yard score to cap it. Compton’s first play of the next drive was a pass intercepted by Grigsby, which put the Bruins immediately back in business.
They took advantage quickly as Trafas hit Harris, then picked up a big chunk himself on the ground before handing it off to Grigsby, who was the deserving touchdown-scorer after the nice interception.
That gave the Bruins a commanding 14-0 lead just midway through the first quarter, and they were able to protect it the rest of the half thanks to an interception by Cahmarr Davis and sacks by Deandre Parks and Ashton Stokes. The Bruins were the recipient of a short punt by Compton which kicker Armando Navarro was able to convert into a 29-yard field goal.
The Bruins got 41 yards through the air and a touchdown from Trafas in the first half, plus 101 yards on the ground between Grigsby and Trafas’ designed runs. Compton meanwhile struggled to get the offense in motion as QB Donnie Johnson III didn’t have much time to pass, and star running back Edward Rivera was limited to just 20 yards on seven carries in the first half, a far cry from the stat-stuffing performances he’s had this season so far.
In the second half, the Bruins immediately got back in the end zone as Trafas hit Grigsby for a 14-yard touchdown.
“We knew this was going to be the outcome since day one, since August 21st,” said Grigsby. “It was a tough preseason, but this was going to be the (result). We started making plays.”
Wilson would add a field goal to go up 27-0 midway through the third, But Compton answered with its only touchdown drive of the night. QB Donnie Johnson III had some big runs and a completion to Jay’Rome Norwood on the drive, then handed it off to Rivera for the touchdown run.
Wilson immediately took the momentum back, however, as Harris returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown that put the game out of reach. Grigsby added his third touchdown in the fourth quarter to make it 41-7.
Curtis said his Bruins put the game at the highest level of importance.
“There’s the technical reality of them being in the Hub City League, and then there’s the streets,” he said. “It was Long Beach versus Compton, it’s the old Moore League family rivalry. They wanted this game bad, we wanted this game bad—we treated this like our first Moore League game.”
Wilson (1-5) will open Moore League play next week against Jordan while Compton (5-1) will open up Hub City League play as they host Dominguez for Homecoming.
