Serra holds off Long Beach Poly in another epic football clash

GARDENA — No substance the play oregon the players, it has go a definite happening that the Serra and Long Beach Poly shot teams volition conflict each different for 4 quarters.

In the spring, the teams adjacent went into overtime with Poly winning.

Friday was the teams’ 2nd gathering successful 2021, and it was different classical battle. Quarterback Maalik Murphy and Serra withstood each punch and countered with their ain for a hard-fought, 28-27 triumph — barely.

The erstwhile 5 meetings had been decided by an mean borderline of 5 points. During their series, nary squad has won a crippled by much than 8 points.

So nary astonishment that Friday’s contention was adjacent and came down to the last play.

After Serra’s past score, Poly, with Darius Curry nether center, connected connected a heavy walk to Tyson Bordeaux to get wrong the Serra 10. Several plays later, Curry scored connected a 1-yard sneak with 3:47 near to chopped the Cavaliers’ pb to 28-21.

Serra started its adjacent possession connected its 20. The Cavaliers gained a archetypal down but the discourtesy yet stalled and a third-down walk fell incomplete, giving Poly different accidental with little than 2 minutes left.

Poly took possession connected its ain 25 with 1:29 left. After a 5-yard pass, Curry was sacked connected consecutive plays. Still, the Jackrabbits were capable to transverse midfield, to the Serra 42, with little than 30 seconds left.

With 19 seconds left, Curry deed Mekyle Jackson for a 37-yard touchdown, but the Jackrabbits were assessed a punishment for excessive celebration. The tying other constituent was past missed, mounting disconnected a solemnisation by the Cavaliers

Murphy, a Texas commit, led the mode for Serra with a rushing touchdown and 3 passing touchdowns.

Serra scored its archetypal touchdown of the 2nd fractional erstwhile Murphy recovered Darrian Anderson successful the backmost of the extremity zone. The other constituent was missed, but Serra had a 22-14 lead

Right earlier that Serra drive, Poly forced Murphy and the Cavaliers into a three-and-out and took implicit with a accidental to instrumentality its archetypal lead.

However, the Serra defence hunkered down and unopen down the Poly offense, giving the shot backmost to Murphy, who led the touchdown drive.

The Jackrabbits scored connected their archetypal bid of the 3rd quarter. Starting backmost Shea Kuykendall deed a brace of large passes to Mekyle Jackson and Jason Robinson. Later, Devin Samples capped the thrust with an 11-yard tally to marque it 16-14.

Serra took a 16-7 pb into halftime acknowledgment to Kai Honda’s 25-yard tract goal.

Murphy and the Cavaliers scored the archetypal 2 touchdowns of the game. Murphy opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run. After the defence forced a fumble, the Serra discourtesy was backmost astatine it with Murphy engineering a six-play thrust that ended with his 30-yard onslaught to Matthew Coleman. The other constituent was missed truthful Serra’s pb was 13-0.

Midway done the 2nd quarter, Kuykendall led a nine-play, 65-yard thrust that ended with Joshua Cason’s 11-yard tally to get chopped the people to 13-7.

Kai Honda booted a 25-yard tract extremity arsenic clip expired

This was Poly’s play opener. The Jackrabbits were scheduled to look Leuzinger connected Aug. 20, but the crippled was rescheduled for adjacent period aft Poly had affirmative COVID-19 tests.

Serra was playing without prima two-way subordinate Rodrick Pleasant, who injured his ankle successful past week’s 31-20 nonaccomplishment to Orange Lutheran.

Poly’s archetypal triumph against Serra came past season, 27-21 successful overtime.