L.B. Poly Handles Fontana

As rapidly as Fontana High’s football team has progressed during its first season under Coach Richard Smith, the Steelers are still a team under construction.

Driving that point home Thursday was two-time defending Southern Section Division I champion Long Beach Poly, which manhandled the Steelers, 40-18, in front of 2,500 at Veterans Stadium.

“Size and strength,” Smith said when asked of the gap existing between his team and the Jackrabbits. “They’re bigger. They’re stronger.”

Despite confronting a night’s worth of eight-man defensive fronts, Poly junior running back Hershel Dennis produced touchdown runs of 10, 10 and five yards and finished with 112 yards in 18 carries.

Exploiting Fontana’s stacked line, 6-foot-6, 200-pound Jackrabbit quarterback Markee White was nine of 15 for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

“They gave us the pass, so we took it,” said White, who connected on scoring plays of 29 and 51 yards with wide receiver Joshua Hawkins. “We stay focused here every week. We’re taught to play hard, to play each game like it’s Mater Dei. Not taking any team lightly helps us to not think about whether one game is bigger than another.”

The Steelers (3-1) traded touchdowns with the Jackrabbits (4-0) during the first quarter. The lead belonged to Fontana first when defensive back Diante West intercepted a third-and-eight pass from White and returned it 41 yards for a 6-0 lead.

Poly quickly rallied with a seven-play, 61-yard drive that culminated with a Dennis 10-yard touchdown run in which he bounced off Steelers defensive back Aaron Gipson. White exploited Gipson on the next Poly possession as Hawkins outsprinted him on a corner route to the right pylon.