Football: LB Poly 12, St. Bonaventure 7
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In today’s world of no-huddle spread passing offenses, Long Beach Poly and Ventura St. Bonaventure hooked up in an old-fashion football game that was decided by line play in the trenches Friday night.
And that battle was won by the Jackrabbits, who used a late first half touchdown pass by Morgan Fennell and a blocked punt by Ryan Willis and a David Skara field goal in the fourth quarter to defeat St. Bonaventure, 12-7, before an estimated crowd of 8,000 at Long Beach Veterans Memorial Stadium.
In a key nonleague battle, the Seraphs made things difficult for Long Beach Poly but the Jackrabbits’ ability to make plays down the stretch proved to be the difference as they improved to 5-0. St. Bonaventure dropped to 4-1.
In the first half, Poly took advantage of some poor tackling by the Seraphs to take a 7-0 lead before halftime. In driving 61 yards in 14 plays, twice Fennell avoided tackles and scrambled for big runs and he also completed a key third down pass to tailback Daveon Barner.
Fennell then capped the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Stanjarivus McKay, which gave the Jackrabbits a touchdown lead with five seconds remaining before intermission.
In the second half, Long Beach Poly controlled most of the third quarter but St. Bonaventure forced the Jackrabbits to turn the ball over on downs for the second time in the game when linebacker Dylan Davis led a strong defensive push in the middle.
St. Bonaventure’s offense then responded with its best drive of the game, sparked by a 56-yard run by Devon Blackledge. The Seraphs tied the score at 7-7 when quarterback Logan Meyer completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Zach Meyer with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter.
The turning point of the game came early in the fourth when the Jackrabbits’ defense stepped up and forced the Seraphs to punt from deep in their own territory. On the next play, Long Beach Poly’s Willis charged in to block the punt to give the Jackrabbits a 9-7 lead.
Long Beach Poly then extended its lead to 12-7 on a 30-yard field goal by David Skara with less than four minutes remaining. But St. Bonaventure’s Nolan Rodarte returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to the Long Beach Poly 35-yard, which gave the Seraphs one last opportunity in the final minutes.
On St. Bonaventure’s ending possession, the Seraphs were faced with fourth down and three from inside the Jackrabbits’ 20-yard line but Meyers’ final pass fell incomplete to give Long Beach Poly the victory.
-- Lonnie White