Poly Outruns Bishop Amat in Semifinal

With rain falling and all-star defensive backs on both teams, the Long Beach Poly and La Puente Bishop Amat running games played a key role in their Southern Section Division I semifinal Friday night at Veterans Stadium.

Poly got 230 yards from Larry Croom and ran to a 38-12 victory.

Mike Wagner had 173 yards in 33 carries for Bishop Amat.

The teams combined for 417 yards on the ground, while Poly quarterback Chris Lewis was held to 151 yards passing, with only 24 yards in the first half.

The victory extended a 27-game winning streak for the defending champion Jackrabbits (13-0), who play the winner of tonight’s other semifinal between Mater Dei and Los Alamitos in next Saturday’s championship game at Edison Field.

The Lancers (11-1-1) scored early when Poly’s Peter Laban couldn’t handle a squib kick to open the game. Bishop Amat’s Othon Nolasco recovered the ball at the Poly 42. Seven plays later, Wagner scored on a one-yard run, his fifth carry of the drive.

He added another one-yarder to make it 31-12 halfway through the fourth.

“The defense played great,” Poly Coach Jerry Jaso said. “Everybody talks about the offense but the defense was great.”

While the Jackrabbits had All-Southern Section cornerback Darrell Rideaux, the Lancers countered with Dennis Wyrick. Amat cornerbacks Jason Jones and Julian Cummings provided excellent coverage on receivers Samie Parker and Kareem Kelly in the first half, making Croom the go-to guy for Poly.

He was up to the task, carrying the ball 10 times for 130 yards in the first half, including a 52-yard touchdown run. The Jackrabbits led, 10-6, at halftime.