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.
After a historically dominant Moore League run that saw the Long Beach Poly football team outscore its opponents 199-0, the Jackrabbits are ready for the playoffs. Poly (6-4, 4-0) is hitting the road for a CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoff game at Norco on Friday night at 7pm.
No. 15 Poly will be underdogs in the game at No. 2 Norco, which is predicted by HSRatings to win the game 31-27 over the Jackrabbits.
“We’re all excited, obviously the boys are excited to have the opportunity to play this year after they didn’t get the opportunity last season,” said Poly coach Travon Patterson. “They’ve been locked in at practice all week.”
Norco (7-3, 3-2) only lost to Division 1 and 2 programs in Santa Margarita, Chaparral and Corona Centennial this year. The Cougars feature some top-end talent including BYU commit Blake Wong who leads them with eight touchdown receptions, part of a three-headed receiving corps alongside Konnor Calderon and Tegan Ogas, all seniors. Trevor Schneider and Lee White lead the way as running backs in a balanced offense that’s about 50/50 run to pass.
A big question for the Cougars is who will be throwing the ball, as senior QB Julian Medina has been out with injury for the last month, paving the way for sophomore Dylan Hansen.
“You don’t know who’s going to play so you just prepare to play your defense,” said Patterson.
The Norco defense is led by linebacker Henderson Carter V, a 6’ 200 pound linebacker with offers from Cal and other schools; fellow linebackers Austin Williams and Tony Gonzales are the other leading tacklers. Titan Toscano is a standout defensive lineman, while eight different Cougars have at least one interception.
For the Jackrabbits, the team is looking healthy and they’ve been clicking for the last month. The real question is how they’ll handle a road playoff environment and a much better level of competition than what they’ve seen in the Moore League their last four games.
Poly’s offense has been humming with sophomore QB Trevor Scott, who’s thrown for 1,120 yards with 16 touchdowns and one interception, at a .701 completion rate. Jayden Coley and Zion Anderson have been Poly’s two top receivers, with 1400 yards and 17 touchdowns. Jeron Johnson has been Poly’s most productive back with 876 yards and 11 touchdowns, backed up by Elijah “Bubba” Dawson who has 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Up front, Poly’s defense is led by Elijah Day, Sammy Timu and Sevelino Taliauli, who have combined for 35 tackles for a loss and eight sacks. The Jackrabbits defense also has 13 interceptions, with 14 pass breakups and three blocked field goals as well. The Jackrabbits have gotten consistent special teams play from kicker/punter Jonas Mendoza.
Should Poly advance, they’ll host the winner of Oak Hills and Edison on Nov. 13 in the quarterfinals.
