The562’s coverage of football and Long Beach Poly Athletics for the 2026-27 school year is sponsored by Former Jackrabbits Wendell “WoWo” Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser.
Long Beach Poly will go on the road to try and make history at Jordan on Friday, as the Jackrabbits seek to become the first team in Moore League history to go the entire league schedule without giving up a point.
Poly (5-4, 3-0) has outscored Lakewood, Wilson and Millikan by a combined score of 141-0 over the last month, and is now 48 minutes of shutout football against the Panthers (0-9, 0-3) away from setting an unbeatable record. Two teams in league history (Millikan in 1973 and Poly in 2013) have allowed six points to their league opponents; it’s worth noting that the Moore League had six teams in ‘73 and seven teams in ‘13, while there are only five this year with the departure of Compton and Cabrillo.
The Jackrabbits are certainly aware of their shot at history as it was a topic of discussion during a dominant defensive effort against Millikan last week, which saw the Jackrabbits defense take the ball away from the Rams six times, in addition to four sacks.
Poly’s defense is led by defensive linemen Elijah Day, Sammy Timu and Sevelino Taliauli, linebacker Dez Howard, and an incredibly deep defensive backfield that includes multiple Division 1-offered players like Tae Wright (Miami commit), JuJu Johnson (UCLA), Toa Cagnolatti, Kasim Shepherd, Emmanuel Beaver and others.
Jordan’s offense was held scoreless by Lakewood last week and put up just 22 points in two games against Wilson and Millikan. The Panthers do have offensive talent including QB Caydyn Hampton and receiver Samajay Jackson, a basketball star who’s one of the top athletes in the city all-around. Jackson leads the Panthers in total touchdowns so far this season.
Poly’s offense has gotten rolling in the Moore League scoring 141 points in three games, and they’ll look to continue a strong, balanced attack. QB Trevor Scott has 925 yards passing on a 74.2% completion rate with 11 touchdowns and no turnovers, with Jayden Coley (667 receiving yards, six touchdowns) and Zion Anderson (651 receiving yards, seven touchdowns) leading their passcatchers.
Running the ball, Jeron Johnson has 744 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead a talented Jackrabbit backfield.
Playoff brackets will be released Sunday by the CIF Southern Section.
