Football: City semifinal predictions

There's no easy answer to which teams are going to win the City Championship Division semifinal games on Friday. These are tough games that could go either way.

Crenshaw at Narbonne. The fact that Birmingham running back Trajuan Briggs was so effective against the Gauchos is cause for concern. DeAnthony Thomas of Crenshaw is faster and might have a better offensive line. Narbonne showed good offensive balance, which is critical to beating the Cougars. This game comes down to who's going to make the big plays. Will it be Thomas? Will it be Hayes Pullard? Will it be Byron Moore Jr.? I lean toward Narbonne winning this one, but a Crenshaw victory would not be an upset.

Taft at San Pedro. The Pirates have a terrific defense, but let's see how they do against a player with the speed of Taft's D.J. Morgan. San Pedro hasn't been challenged in its first two playoff games, and I don't think that's a good thing. Taft's defense is better than people think. To me, this is all about how well San Pedro QB Barry Heads plays. Taft can pull off the upset by putting pressure on Heads.

Saturday's CIF-SS football playoff scores

SOUTHERN SECTION
Quarterfinals, Saturday

PAC-5 (I)
Long Beach Poly 17, Esperanza 10

MID-VALLEY (XI)
Paraclete 14, Northview 0

EAST VALLEY (XII)
Maranatha 23, Big Bear 22 (OT)

NORTHEAST (XIII)
Riverside Christian 49, St. Genevieve 28
Linfield Christian 26, Bell-Jeff 0

8 MAN DIVISION I
Semifinals
Faith Baptist 18, Thacher 14
Santa Clarita Christian 26, Windward 21

8 MAN DIVISION II
Semifinal
Desert Chapel 42, North County Christian 38

Click here to see Friday's quarterfinal scores.

Football: LB Poly holds on for victory

Long Beach Poly held on for a 17-10 victory over Esperanza.
David Skara of Poly missed a 46-yard field goal with 16 seconds left, giving Esperanza one last chance. Jared Moore was tackled at the 50 as time expired.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: LB Poly strikes with a pass

With its season in jeopardy, Long Beach Poly turned to 6-foot-5, 270-pound tight end Julian Camper, who came through with a 62-yard reception on third down, taking the ball to the Esperanza three-yard line. That set up a touchdown run by Melvin Richardson, and the top-seeded Jackrabbits have taken a 17-10 lead over Esperanza with 4:18 left.

Quarterback Morgan Fennell made the decisive pass. He also completed a 12-yard pass on third down to produce a first down.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Esperanza 10, LB Poly 10

Esperanza has just tied Long Beach Poly, 10-10, with 8:11 left by putting together an 80-yard, 15-play scoring drive, with Jared Moore scoring on a five-yard run.

Moore's punishing running has kept Esperanza in this game. He has rushed for 116 yards in 22 carries. Top-seeded Poly is in jeopardy of losing if it doesn't get its offense going.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: Esperanza shows signs of life

Ariza Nabipur has kicked a 36-yard field goal with 5:58 left in the second quarter to pull Esperanza to within 10-3 against Long Beach Poly.

Esperanza found some running room in the middle of Poly's defense after a second-quarter injury to tackle Juwaun Brown. And Poly's experiment using Cory Westbrook at quarterback to start the third quarter didn't work.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: It's halftime, and LB Poly is in control

It's the quickest first half of football I've seen all season, and that's because Long Beach Poly and Esperanza like to pass about as much as Woody Hayes. It took 45 minutes to complete.

Poly has a 10-0 lead.  Melvin Richardson has rushed for 70 yards in 11 carries. Esperanza has picked up three first downs.

I'm sure Lakewood coaches are here scouting the Jackrabbits. They know what they're going to face. Lakewood lost to Poly, 32-15, on Oct. 3, but that was without Jerry Stone in the lineup.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: LB Poly increases lead to 10-0

David Skara's 42-yard field goal with 5:27 left in the second quarter has given Long Beach Poly a 10-0 lead over Esperanza.

The Aztecs helped the drive by having too many players on the field on a fourth-down punt, keeping Poly's drive alive.

Poly has been running a power-I formation and not even thinking about passing the ball. The Jackrabbits' first pass attempt and completion came with eight minutes left in the second quarter. It's probably the correct strategy considering how erratic their passing attack has been this season.

Esperanza's best play was a 47-yard run by quarterback Sean McDonald. But he fumbled on the next play, and Poly recovered on the Poly 28.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: LB Poly takes 7-0 lead

Melvin Richardson ran 32 yards for a touchdown with two minutes left in the first quarter to give Long Beach Poly a 7-0 lead over Esperanza in the Pac-5 Division quarterfinal playoff game.

Poly's defense has given up 14 yards in Esperanza's first two offensive possessions. Earlier, Poly had a fourth-and-two situation from the Esperanza 20, and quarterback Morgan Fennell was stopped short, turning over the ball to the Aztecs with 4:55 left in the first quarter.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Football: It's a chance for LB Poly to make a statement

Tonight's Pac-5 Division quarterfinal playoff game between Long Beach Poly and Esperanza is about to begin, and I expect the top-seeded Jackrabbits to play a lot better than their performance last week when they struggled against Bishop Amat.

A win by Poly sends the Jackrabbits into a semifinal game Friday against Moore League rival Lakewood. We'll see if Poly can generate some consistency on offense and handle Esperanza's many offensive formations.

-- Eric Sondheimer