Thanks to Ryan Tomey for photos, game info & stats:
Football:
No one wants to say it out loud.
But anyone that has followed high school football in the southern section over the years knows that Long Beach Poly is far too loaded and talented to be in the CIF-SS Division 4 bracket.
Even in down years, the Jackrabbits are a power program, and they’d be much better suited for D-2.
And to be clear, no one at Poly did anything wrong.
They played in the division they were assigned, and congratulations should be sent to that proud program for winning their 20th CIF-SS championship.
After a 7-7 first quarter, the Jackrabbits cruised to a 38-7 victory
Devin Samples was the star of the game.
Samples rushed for 225 yards and scored three TD’s on Saturday night.
The Jackrabbits defense controlled the Golden Knights throughout, as St. Francis could manage just 28 yards on the ground.
St. Francis’ lone score came in the first quarter, as they trailed 7-0.
The Golden Knights’ junior quarterback, Jack Jacobs, connected with Dylan Bell on a 20-yard TD to catch the Jackrabbits at 7-7.
But Poly would shut St. Francis out the rest of the way and claim their first CIF title since 2012.
LBP ended up defeating Trabuco Hills, Upland, Cypress and St. Francis by a combined margin of 178-38 in its four-game postseason run.
As well as Poly played, there is nothing from Saturday’s mismatch that can blunt a single accomplishment that SFHS achieved in 2021.
Dean Herrington, an eight-time CIF champion, led St. Francis to a title-game appearance in his maiden voyage with the program.
Herrington’s x’s and o’s have always been key to his long-term success, just like it did in 2021.
But if you’re inside the program or at least watch it closely from the outside, you’d know just how important and how well he transitioned in replacing the much-loved and late-great Jim Bonds, who passed away at 51.
Two things he did that meant everything to those inside the Golden Knights inner circle were 1) keeping almost everyone from Bonds’ long-serving staff, and 2) Herrington really invested the time to let his new players know he cared and had their back.
A number of players have told this writer how much respect they have for Coach Herrington, and how sincere he was in addressing any issues in their lives, on or off the football field.
Over the 2021 season, SFHS won a share of the Angelus League championship, outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 389-283, and most impressive, they earned a spot in the championship game for only the second time in 50 years.
The first name you think of when it comes to seniors and their contributions is captain Max Garrison.
But his fellow seniors, Dylan Bell, Alejandro Ramirez, Mayze Bryant, Daniel Hara, Jake Karadizian, Aiden Chisum, Amin Al-Jazayrly, Diego Jimenez, Samuel Oliver, Mher Baranian, Simon Lee, Myles Shannon, Andrew Howard, Duncan Sprengel, Sean Escobar, Peter Terry and Milo Orona all deserve credit for helping to continue the bar of excellence for that proud program.
Box Score:
LBP: 7-14-10-7-(38)
SF: 7-0-0-0-(7)
Records: Poly (11-3); St. Francis (10-3)
Editor’s Note: I got the list of seniors from the SFHS MaxPreps page. If I am missing any senior or there are any spelling errors, please email Brian@210PrepSports.com and I’ll make the corrections.
To view the great Ryan Tomey’s photo gallery, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Baseball: St. Francis avoided a three-game Mission League sweep on Friday. But they had to work overtime to accomplish that feat. The Golden Knights edged Crespi, 4-3, in nine innings. Diego Velasquez got the loss after allowing one run on two hits over two innings. Velasquez walked one and fanned three St. Francis batters. Jordan […]
Baseball: Marshall Fundamental will have to settle for third place in the Mission Valley League. The Eagles needed wins over Arroyo, El Monte and Mountain View, and they had to count on some assistance from South El Monte to defeat Arroyo next week if the boys from Pasadena were to secure the MVL’s No. 2 […]
Photos by Conrad Hunziker III Baseball: Muir secured its second two-game Pacific League sweep of the 2024 season. The Mustangs never trailed in Friday’s 9-2 victory over Glendale. MHS out-hit GHS, 8-4. Conrad Hunziker IV went the distance and allowed a pair of unearned runs on four hits. Hunziker issued three walks and struck out […]
Photos by Gwen Pointer Baseball: Charter Oak controls its own destiny. After splitting the two-game Valle Vista League series with Covina, the Chargers can finish as high as second place. COHS claimed an 8-5 victory over their visitors from CHS. Marcus Reese went six innings to earn the win, and he allowed a pair of […]
Photos by Beth Oualline Editor’s Note: Ayala doesn’t post their game stats online. Softball: Ayala will win another Palomares League championship. But Bonita will enter the playoffs on a high note. After a pair of Palomares League losses to the reigning champions, the Bearcats finally got over on the Bulldogs. BHS scored seven runs in […]
Baseball: In 2022, Northview ended the longtime San Dimas reign atop the Valle Vista League standings. Perhaps it was fitting that the Saints swept the Vikings this week to secure a second consecutive VVL championship. SDHS defeated NHS, 16-2, on Wednesday, and 5-0 on Friday. With two games to play, San Dimas has a three-game […]
Baseball: There’s a reason Bonita’s closing in on a third consecutive Palomares League championship. And it’s called pitching. The Bearcats just completed a three-game sweep of Claremont by scores of 2-1, 13-1 and 2-0. BHS got a complete-game effort from Camden Farina on Monday, and six innings from Jayden Rodriguez-Bernal on Wednesday. Fast forward to […]
Editor’s Note: For some reason, Upland doesn’t post their roster on MaxPreps, Scorebook live or the school’s official sports site so I could only list names that I could find. Softball: Twenty-seven days ago, Upland handed Etiwanda its first loss (4-1) in Baseline League play. Fast forward to Thursday, and the Eagles got payback in […]
Photo of Malachi Dharmaratne courtesy of Amanda Lin Boys Tennis: Thanks to Maranatha tennis for this report: Playing their third match in three days, and after two intense, hard-fought losses, the Minutemen came into today’s match physically and mentally fatigued. But one mantra continued to echo throughout the team, “Win this for Malachi.” Today was […]
