First priority: First place in the Moore League

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Compton Coach Calvin Bryant had some advice for his players going into tonight’s key Moore League game against visiting Long Beach Poly: Keep your eyes on the prize.

The teams are tied for first place, and Bryant would like to see the Tarbabes (8-0, 4-0), not the Jackrabbits (7-1, 4-0), alone at the top tomorrow morning.

‘It’s definitely a big game, an opportunity for us to get a jump on first place in the league, and that’s the most important thing,’ he said.

Perennial powerhouse Poly is ranked sixth in the Southland by The Times and has won all 26 league titles since 1980. The Jackrabbits also have 16 Southern Section divisional championships.

‘Poly is definitely the school that everbody looks at as the top school in our area, so just to.play with them is going to be tough,’ Bryant said.

‘It’s going to be on a big stage for us. Everybody’s going to be there, everybody’s talking about it at school. But our guys have to go in and block out all the other stuff and just play well.’

They need to do it for the entire game, too.

Last season, Compton was within 7-3 in the fourth quarter until an interception and fumbled snap led to Poly’s last two touchdowns in the final minutes of a 20-3 victory at Veterans Stadium..

-- Lauren Peterson