Banning Scores 3 Times in First Quarter, Then Cruises to 45-10 Victory Over Poly

Banning High’s potent offense and dominating defense overwhelmed Poly in a first-round City Section 4-A Division playoff game at Gardena High on Friday.

Banning tailback Shayzar Hawkins and quarterback Andre Faavi-Tua’au accounted for 273 of the Pilots’ 306 rushing yards to pace a 45-10 rout of Poly. Hawkins, a 5-foot-11 senior, rushed for 174 yards in 20 carries and scored on runs of six, 25 and 41 yards.

The third-seeded Pilots (10-1), whose only blemish this season was a highly publicized forfeit loss to top-seeded Dorsey in Pacific League play, jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, and then coasted the rest of the way to advance to the quarterfinals. Poly, the 3-A Division champion last year, finished 8-3.

Banning looked sharp in the first quarter, scoring on its first three possessions, a total of nine plays.

Then the Pilots got lackadaisical and turned the ball over four times. Poly converted two fumbles into a touchdown on an eight-yard pass from Lance Garcia to Michael Vreeland and a Mike Sierra 30-yard field goal.

“We got out to a real early, quick lead and then we kind of let down a bit,” Banning Coach Joe Dominguez said.

Banning’s defense, however, more than made up for the Pilots’ miscues on offense. Banning yielded just 62 yards to Poly in the first half and 222 overall. The Parrots, previously averaging 346 yards, came into the contest featuring the most productive offensive attack in the Valley-area’s City Section.

But Poly’s Jermaine Pledger, who has rushed for 1,314 yards this year, was nursing an ankle injury and carried the ball just four times for 15 yards. Junior running back Ronald Botley tried to take up the slack but managed just 52 yards in 18 carries.

Faavi-Tua’au and finished five of nine for 84 yards.