Fontana Defensive in 8-6 Victory

On a night when the forward pass was nearly nonexistent, Fontana High’s defense made enough big plays to give the Steelers an 8-6 victory over Long Beach Poly in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach on Friday night.

With senior quarterback Gary Tessitore completing only two of 15 passes for 25 yards, Fontana’s defense dominated Long Beach Poly during the second half to help send the Steelers into next week’s semifinals against Loyola.

Long Beach Poly (8-4) had its chances, but dropped passes and penalties hurt the Jack-rabbits down the stretch.

“They were everything I thought they would be on defense and maybe a little more,” Fontana Coach Dick Bruich said. “But we play good defense, too.”

Fontana (11-1) held Long Beach Poly sophomore quarterback Robert Toler to only five completions in 22 attempts for 62 yards.

Fontana opened the scoring during the first half on a safety after Long Beach Poly punter Richard Gonzales chased a bad snap into his end zone, where he kicked the ball out of bounds. Fontana added a touchdown on its next possession when Kiu Hifo scored on a 20-yard run, a play set up by a 25-yard run by Darrin Griffin.

During the first half, Tessitore completed only one of 12 passes for 18 yards. It was his two turnovers that led to Long Beach Poly’s first-half points.

Tessitore, who was sacked three times during the first half, set up the Jackrabbits’ first score when he fumbled on Fontana’s 29-yard line. Four plays later, Gonzales made a 33-yard field goal to give Long Beach Poly a 3-0 lead.

Then, after Long Beach Poly’s safety and Hifo’s touchdown run, Tessitore was intercepted by Vince Nelson, leading to a 30-yard field goal by Gonzales before halftime.

On Long Beach Poly’s first possession of the second half, the Jackrabbits drove deep into Fontana territory, but a clipping penalty ended the drive.

Instead of having second and one at Fontana’s eight-yard line, the Jackrabbits were faced with a first and 34 from the 41.