Long Beach Poly Dominates Barons

Hershel Dennis rushed for 169 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Long Beach Poly to a 41-17 victory over Fountain Valley in the first round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs Friday at Veterans Stadium.

Dennis scored on runs of 55 and four yards in the third quarter to break open a close game and propel the Jackrabbits into the second round.

“Hershel Dennis has been our go-to guy for the last two years,” Poly Coach Jerry Jaso said. “We’ve come to expect big plays from him, and he hasn’t let us down.”

Early in the second quarter, Fountain Valley (5-6) jumped on top. Robert Chavez capped a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive with a two-yard run. However, it took the Jackrabbits only 14-seconds to tie the score at 7-7.

On Poly’s first play from scrimmage after the Fountain Valley touchdown, Josh Hawkins hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass from Markee White. White completed seven of 10 passes for 141 yards in the game as the Jackrabbits improved to 11-0.

Only 2 1/2 minutes later, Poly took a 14-7 lead when Dennis scored his first touchdown on a 52-yard run. A 26-yard pass from Casey Clark to Chad Triplett late in the first half would have tied score, but a motion penalty nullified the touchdown.

The Poly defense, led by Marcedes Lewis and Kim Taylor, dominated the second half.

The Jackrabbits blocked two punts, sacked Clark seven times and held Fountain Valley’s offense to less than 50 yards.

Late in the fourth quarter, Adams Norland caught a deflected pass from Clark and raced 51 yards for the Barons’ final score.