L.B. Poly Remains Unbeaten

Long Beach Poly High quarterback Chris Lewis showed he only needs a quarter to hurt a team Friday night.

After his team fell behind, Lewis threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter as the top-seeded Jackrabbits held on for a 35-20 victory over Loyola in a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal playoff game at Glendale High.

Lewis threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns.

The Jackrabbits (12-0) will play Bishop Amat, a 21-0 winner over Trabuco Hills, next Friday in a semifinal.

The Cubs (9-2-1) used defense and special teams to take a 14-7 lead.

On the game’s opening drive, Lewis was hit by Loyola defensive back J.J. Nese and fumbled to defensive end Syga Thomas.

Two plays later, Nese caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Chris Peterson for a 7-0 lead.

Lewis responded with an 80-yard scoring strike to Kareem Kelly.

A blocked punt recovered by Loyola’s Christopher Garcia made it 14-7, the score at the end of the first quarter.

Then Lewis took over, hitting Kelly on a 24-yarder and Jeremy Johnson on a seven-yarder in the second quarter. Running back Larry Croom added a seven-yard touchdown run as the Jackrabbits built a 28-14 halftime lead.

“We got a mismatch in the second quarter,” Lewis said. “Kareem came to me and said, ‘Chris I want the ball.’ We really exploited their defense where they weren’t really strong.”

Kelly had six catches for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

“Chris did a nice job of throwing the ball,” Poly Coach Jerry Jayso said.

It was a rematch of last year’s Division I semifinal, which Poly won, 24-17, before winning the Division I championship.