Poly puts the hurt on Compton

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Compton is still feeling the effects of its 42-14 loss to Long Beach Poly on Friday.

The Tarbabes will play Lakewood for second place in the Moore League on Friday likely without the services of 1,000-yard rushers Donald Green and Curry Williams, a scenario that would appear to leave Compton’s wing-T offense without an engine. Green, No. 23, is pictured at right playing against Poly.

‘When you lose the game and guys get hurt, too, that’s a sad thing because it affects not just that game but the next one too,’ Compton Coach Calvin Bryant said. ‘But that’s what happens when you go against a dominant team.’

Green, a senior who has averaged nearly 200 yards a game and rushed for a team-leading 1,796 yards and 17 touchdowns in 139 carries this season, suffered a couple of broken ribs in the third quarter of the game against Poly.

His injury came after Williams, a junior who has run for 1,122 yards and 15 touchdowns in 88 carries, had left the game in the first half with an injured right hand.

Williams told Bryant he thought the hand had been fractured, but no break showed up on X-rays taken Monday, the coach said.

Still, both running backs, as well as junior two-way lineman Justin Brown, are likely to sit out against Lakewood. Brown suffered an injured knee against Poly, and, although he has been walking around on it, Bryant would rather he be 100% for the playoffs, which begin next week.

‘We’re hurting but we’re not going to take any chances,’ he said. ‘We have to go out there and try to survive. We’re just hoping guys heal up fast and that we’ll be ready for the playoffs.’

Backup running backs Byron Walker, a junior, and Jensen Watson, a senior, are likely to get more carries in the absence of the starters, and sophomore Terrance Holzendorf has been brought up this week from the junior varsity team.

Compton (8-1, 4-1) and Lakewood (6-3, 4-1) will be playing for a runner-up finish in the league behind Poly when the teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Lakewood.

‘We’re scraping around but, hopefully, we’ll find a way to get things done,’ Bryant said. ‘We’re going to have to dig down deep this week.’

-- Lauren Peterson

-- Image by Lori Shepler/Los Angeles Times