Josh Love leads Long Beach Poly past Crenshaw, 54-14

For years, people have wondered what Long Beach Poly might be like if it had a top quarterback to get the ball to its many athletic, fast playmakers.

Jackrabbits fans are going to be excited after the season-opening performance turned in by Josh Love, who completed 15 of 18 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in a 54-14 victory over Crenshaw on Saturday at Mission Viejo. He also ran for two touchdowns.

He looked comfortable and confident running Poly’s new up-tempo passing attack. He has plenty of weapons. Running back Jeremy Calhoun ran for one touchdown and caught a 77-yard swing pass for another touchdown.

Crenshaw, the defending City Section Division I champion, was overmatched but should be fine in City Section competition. The Cougars have a future standout in freshman receiver Rayshawn Williams, who caught a 38-yard touchdown pass.

Poly’s defense received six sacks from Joseph Wicker.

Birmingham strong

There was no hiding the challenge for Lake Balboa Birmingham on Friday night. Two former players, Alex Manu, 18, and Isaiah Hastings, 19, were killed in a car crash last week. Eldridge Salguero, the older brother of running back Sterling Salguero, was hospitalized in critical condition.

The Patriots lost to Newbury Park, 42-14, but Coach Jim Rose couldn’t have been more proud of his players doing their best under trying circumstances.

“I feel for Sterling, and really, all of the players on this team, the whole community. The incident has hit everyone hard,” Rose said. “We’re trying to use the situation as a teaching moment, and Sterling is doing a good job of being strong for his teammates.”

Salguero changed his jersey to No. 1 in honor of his brother and pointed up toward the sky after scoring on a 50-yard run in the third quarter.

“What else can you say about these kids? They have so much pride and spirit,” Rose said. “If you take Sterling, for example, he could have zoned out. But he didn’t. Instead, he did a great job on the field when he had some troubling things going on off the field.”

Top performances

In a 63-48 loss to Chino Hills, Newhall Hart quarterback Brady White set a school record with 537 yards passing and had six touchdowns. Receiver Trent Irwin caught 10 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown. Irwin suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.

After sitting out the entire 2013 season because of jaw surgery, junior running back Leo Lambert III of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame made a triumphant return, rushing for 306 yards in 20 carries and scoring three touchdowns in a 70-34 win over Manhattan Beach Mira Costa.

Rick Wade, a defensive end committed to UCLA, had 13 tackles in Santa Margarita’s 26-21 win over La Puente Bishop Amat.