Defense lifts Poly into Pac-5 final

It might take four full quarters of flawless football to beat Long Beach Poly High in the Pac-5 Division playoffs.

Lakewood matched the top-seeded Jackrabbits for nearly 45 minutes Friday night at Cerritos College before a pair of late interceptions keyed Poly’s 20-10 semifinal victory over the Lancers.

Defensive backs Darius Williams-Fox and Stan McKay intercepted consecutive passes by Lakewood quarterback Jesse Scroggins to set up the Jackrabbits’ final two scores and break a 10-10 tie.

Poly (13-0) will attempt to win a second consecutive Southern Section title Dec. 13 at Angel Stadium when it plays the winner of tonight’s other semifinal game between Orange Lutheran and Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro.

With the score tied midway through the fourth quarter, Lakewood drove to near midfield when Williams-Fox intercepted a pass at the Poly 43-yard line and returned it to the Lakewood 20.

“I felt like I just needed to make a play,” Williams-Fox said.

Backup kicker Alan Roniss, pressed into duty when starter David Skara was injured on an extra-point attempt, kicked a 21-yard field goal six plays later to give Poly a 13-10 lead.

Scroggins’ next pass was intercepted by McKay at the Lakewood 45 and returned nine yards. On the following play, running back Melvin Richardson ran for a 36-yard touchdown.

The Lancers (6-7) had taken a 10-0 lead over their Moore League rival early in the second quarter when Scroggins connected with Kevin Anderson for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

But Poly cut the deficit with Skara’s 45-yard field goal late in the second quarter and tied the score on Richardson’s one-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Richardson piled up 112 of his 140 yards rushing in the second half.

“We felt like he was giving us a little bit more, so we decided he had to get the ball,” Poly Coach Raul Lara said of Richardson, who got 15 of his 20 carries after halftime.

Poly has not surrendered more than 17 points during a 25-game winning streak, but the Lancers seemed in position for a break through in the first half when running back Jerry Stone ran for 99 of his 115 yards. Then the Poly defense came through in the second.

“We knew we just couldn’t let them score,” McKay said.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com