Long Beach Poly Stays Cool

Long Beach Poly High held its first media day earlier this week to give football players a chance to talk about tonight’s big game against Concord De La Salle. And, with the exception of a few third-stringers who interrupted interviews by blurting out, “Want to talk to me?” the Jackrabbit players handled themselves with aplomb.

Lineman Winston Justice spoke in a revered tone about the Spartans’ discipline in building a national-record 116-game winning streak and called tonight’s game an even matchup.

Running back Hershel Dennis gushed about De La Salle’s talent and said that beating the Spartans would be as impressive as winning a Southern Section Division I title.

Defensive end Manuel Wright talked about the healthy respect Poly players have for their counterparts.

Not exactly bulletin-board material.

But Wright couldn’t resist making one comment that might raise eyebrows:

“They haven’t played any teams near our talent level,” the 6-foot-7, 315-pounder said. “I think they’re in for a big surprise.”

De La Salle (3-0), ranked No. 1 nationally by Student Sports and No. 2 by USA Today, might beg to differ heading into the first matchup of teams ranked 1-2 in the most-recognized national polls at sold-out Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

The Spartans have defeated in recent years such teams as Pittsburg, which at the time had Oregon-bound running back Ken Simonton, and they recently wrapped up a four-game series sweep of traditional power Santa Ana Mater Dei.

“When we started the series, no one gave us any chance,” De La Salle Coach Bob Ladouceur said after his Spartans hammered Mater Dei, 34-6, two weeks ago. “They thought Southern California schools were going to show us something and that we weren’t worthy of playing them. I never believed that.”

What do Spartan players believe? Some concede they are the underdogs against Poly (3-0), ranked No. 1 by USA Today and No. 2 by Student Sports.

“We’re going to have to play our best game to come out victorious,” said De La Salle two-way lineman Derek Landri. “It’s probably the biggest game we’ve had here.”

A pivotal factor could be line play, where Poly appears to have an advantage in size and depth. De La Salle will be pressed to match Wright and the 6-7, 300-pound Justice.

“We have linemen who are big and fast, and they have linemen who go both ways,” Wright said. “I think they’re going to get tired, especially Derek Landri because he’s going against me plus my big friend Winston.”

Poly Coach Raul Lara said size isn’t everything.

“They’re so fundamentally sound, it’s ridiculous,” Lara said. “They fire off the ball, they’re nice and low, they get in the guy and drive him. If we don’t stay low, if we stand up, they have the advantage because it’s all about leverage.”

De La Salle has its share of talent. Quarterback Matt Gutierrez rarely throws a bad pass, and tailback Alijah Bradley blistered Mater Dei for 206 yards and two touchdowns. Poly will counter with Dennis, one of the top running backs in Southern California, and Marcedes Lewis, considered by many the top tight end in the country.

“Those boys in Long Beach, they have a lot of talent, but they better play to their talent,” said Pittsburg Coach Bill Cockerham, whose team faces De La Salle next week. “If they go in there bigheaded, they’ll get their fannies [whipped]. Talent-wise, there’s no question Long Beach Poly has a huge edge. Should they lose? No.

“But talent doesn’t win games; how you play on that day does.”