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.
The Long Beach Poly football team is back in the CIF Southern Section semifinals for the first time since 2021, thanks to a rain-soaked win over longtime playoff foe Edison. In a rematch of the 2001 Pac-5 Division championship the Jackrabbits jumped out to a quick lead and were able to stay in control of the game in a 31-21 victory.
“The kids have been fighting all year,” said Poly coach Travon Patterson. “It’s all starting to come together, it feels great to get to the semifinals but we gotta take care of business.”
The Jackrabbits led 21-0 which effectively changed the game as it forced a run-heavy Edison offense to throw the ball, playing into the strength of Poly’s defense.
“We knew they had a great run game and we wanted to put points on the board early to get them away from what they’re comfortable doing,” said Patterson.
Poly got great games from many of its stars, including QB Trevor Scott who was 10/14 for 147 yards and two touchdowns, plus 79 yards rushing and two more scores.
“He’s a mature young guy, he has great composure,” said Patterson. “I love the way he plays the game, nothing’s too big for him right now and he’s just a sophomore. We’re looking forward to seeing him continue to grow.”
Scott said he was confident his playmakers would be open for him downfield on Friday, and he saw the game clearly—and was also comfortable and confident switching into a game manager role when the rain started falling and Poly put the ball on the ground (Jeron Johnson, Elijah Dawson, Scott and Steven Hunter combined for 209 yards and two scores on the ground).
“I just played my game,” said Scott. “I’m just trying to stay confident and relaxed. I trust my guys, I’m going to choose my guys over everybody, over anybody in the whole world really. We’re just trying to play for the city and bring back the old Poly for real.”
The Jackrabbits got out to an impressive start, halting Edison’s first drive as Sevelino Taliauli got a second down tackle for a loss and a third down pass breakup to force the Chargers to punt. Poly easily drove the field with QB Trevor Scott finding JuJu Johnson and Zion Anderson, and then hitting Landon Perkins for a 36-yard touchdown that included a great block by Johnson.
Edison was able to drive the ball better their second time with it thanks in part to a personal foul flag on Poly, but the defense forced a turnover on downs as Donte Wright Jr. punished a would-be receiver to dislodge the ball on fourth down. Poly once again quickly went the other way with Scott hitting Zion Anderson and Toa Cagnolatti before hitting a streaking Johnson for a 35-yard score to make it 14-0.
After a quick three-and out, the Jackrabbits got the ball back and drove to the Edison 24 with the rain falling hard, ultimately turning it over on downs after a couple of rain-assisted drops. Edison’s next possession went three and out, and Kasim Shepherd came off the edge to block their punt, setting Poly up with a short porch. Scott did it himself this time on a well-designed counter run that saw him jog untouched into the end zone for a 21-0 lead.
Really Poly’s only mistake of the first half came on the ensuing kickoff, as the ball landed in the hands of Blaise Burnwell, the Colorado State-committed kick returner for the Chargers. He found a seam and ran it back to cut the lead to 21-7. It looked like Poly’s JuJu Johnson would answer as he ran the ensuing kickoff back to the crib, but it was called back on a block in the back penalty.
The Jackrabbits received the ball to start the second half and, with the rain continuing to pour down, they switched to a run heavy approach. Steven Hunter and Johnson powered the ball down the three yard line but couldn’t punch it in, so the Jackrabbits settled for a field goal by Jonas Mendoza that made it 24-7—importantly, they also ran 5:39 off the clock on the drive.
The Chargers would respond quickly with their first touchdown drive of the night, capped by a six-yard touchdown run from their do-everything guy on offense, running back Samuel Edmisten. That cut the lead to 24-14, and the Chargers elected to go for an onside—it was whistled dead after only traveling seven yards, and Poly was awarded the ball over the protestations of the Edison coaching staff and fans.
The Jackrabbits then handed the ball to Johnson who plowed his way down field with runs of 22 and 24 yards, setting up a second rushing touchdown by Scott to put Poly up 31-14.
Edison answered with a trick play, as Edmisten got it on a swing pass and then threw it downfield for a 35-yard score that cut the Poly lead to 31-21 early in the fourth quarter.
The Jackrabbits did a great job of smothering the game the rest of the way, as their next drive only reached midfield before punting, but did drain almost half the quarter out.
The Poly defense forced a turnover on downs on the next drive as Wright broke up another pass. Poly took another two minutes off the clock on their next drive but had to punt it away again. Edison ran two minutes off the clock getting the ball to midfield, but a sack by Elijah Day forced their third turnover on downs of the night, giving it back to the Poly offense for a kneeldown.
“I was super tired at the end of the game but I was telling myself you have to still put 100% in and that’s what I did,” said Day, a standout sophomore. “I was able to get a sack and then got even more timed from screaming and celebrating. We just have so much pride over Poly and we’re really a team this year.”
Long Beach Poly (8-4) will host Great Oak in the semifinals next week.
