Poly Wears Down Edison at Finish
Caught in an odd position--playing from behind in the third quarter--Long Beach Poly turned to a staple, and things returned to normal before Huntington Beach Edison defenders could figure out that it was Hershel Dennis zipping past them for three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
The high-powered running game churned out yard after yard late in the game, and the top-seeded Jackrabbits rallied for a 42-28 victory Saturday over the unseeded Chargers before 13,085 at Edison Field.
It was the third consecutive Southern Section Division I title for Poly (12-1), whose only loss this season was against Concord De La Salle, the nation’s top-ranked team.
After Edison (11-1-1) matched Poly play for play for almost three quarters, the Jackrabbits reeled off 21 consecutive points behind an offensive line that averages 6 feet 4 and 269 pounds. In the end, it was nothing less than quintessential Poly football.
“All year, our big guys wore out opponents,” said Coach Raul Lara, who took his team to the title in his first season. “That’s what happened. The big guys started pounding those guys and Hershel got loose.”
Dennis scored his fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 11, four and 34 yards as Poly pulled away from an Edison team that led, 21-14, early in the third quarter.
Still, the Chargers put a scare into the Jackrabbits midway through the fourth quarter after Denny Flanagan made his fourth touchdown reception to pull Edison to within 34-28.
Dennis fumbled an exchange from quarterback Brandon Brooks on Poly’s ensuing possession, and Charger defensive back A.J. Martinez recovered at the Edison 25.
But the Chargers couldn’t come up with the big play. Martinez couldn’t corral what would have been an incredible over-the-shoulder catch deep in Poly territory, Chucky Linman dropped a pass and quarterback Tommy Grady came up a yard short while scrambling on fourth down.
Dennis then tacked on his third touchdown when he slipped a tackle and rambled 34 yards with 2 minutes 44 second left. Dennis finished with 189 yards in 29 carries.
“Poly is the best team we’ve faced by far this year,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “We just got worn down. We came in thinking we could win. [But] we knew we had to play a near-perfect game.”
The Chargers were fired up when Poly’s Kevin Tapp bobbled the opening kickoff of the second half and Steve Toman recovered at the Jackrabbit 21. Six plays later, Flanagan made his third touchdown reception of the game on a sliding two-yarder near the pylon to put Edison up, 21-14.
“He’s unbelievable,” White said of Flanagan, who caught 11 passes for 163 yards. “He’s been like that all year. It’s all about heart, and it typifies the season.”
But Poly responded on its next drive when Rory Carrington made a nifty move on a 16-yard touchdown run, and Dennis ran for two more scores to give Poly a 34-21 lead.
Grady, operating the Charger offense almost entirely out of shotgun formation, was equally impressive, completing 25 of 44 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns. The junior didn’t throw an interception until his last pass of the game.
