Photo by Stephen Dachman

It was an inauspicious beginning to a title defense to be sure, as Poly dropped their season opener to the Servite Friars 30-7 at Vet’s on Thursday night.  The ‘Rabbits struggled in every phase of the game, giving up 169 yards on the ground, another 155 through the air, and managing just 153 yards of total offense themselves; they even gave up the season’s first points on a blocked punt in their own end zone.  CIF coaches projected that the game would be a preview of the section title tilt, as Poly and Servite were ranked one and two in the preseason rankings; Servite looked ready to get there.  Poly definitely has some work to do.

The young group looked a little lost when confronting the veteran machine of the Friars offense, as Servite’s no-huddle approach meant that on a few plays, defensive players for Poly were caught standing when the ball was snapped.  Servite’s attack was led by Cody Fajardo, a returning starter at quarterback, who looked more than capable of leading his team into mid-December.  He started off 11/11 for 114 yards and a touchdown, and did just about everything you could ask a quarterback to do; he didn’t hang onto the ball too long, he created plays for himself out of the pocket, and he backed off the linebacker pressure by scampering five times in the first half, including for the Friars’ second score.

“He played like the returning starter he is,” Servite coach Troy Thomas said after the game.  “You can’t ask much more from the kid, but at the same time you can’t blame [Poly starter Dylan Lagarde] for playing the way he did.  If Cody were a sophomore he would have played the same way.”

Lagarde showed some bright flashes in his first varsity start (he finished 11/27 for 78 yards), but was emblematic of his team in that he did look young.  There was trouble blocking, trouble covering punts, trouble hanging onto the ball, trouble getting the play in on time—in other words, there was trouble everywhere.  Particularly alarming to Poly coach Raul Lara was the lack of leadership from his seniors, who he felt needed to elevate their performances in order to help bring the younger guys along.

“We need those guys to step up—especially when we’re counting on younger players,” said Lara.  When asked by another reporter if he felt it would be easy to motivate them, Lara replied, “They better be motivated—because if they don’t step up they’ll be sitting down watching the game.”  Senior running back Cory Westbrook had 12 carries for 23 yards and looked a little tentative on his surgically repaired knee, and senior wide receiver Kaelin Clay had 2 catches for -1 yard, and dropped two good balls including one in the end zone. 

Servite’s opening drive sent up red flags for ‘Rabbit fans, as they took the opening kickoff and marched off on a 61-yard, four minute drive before Poly stopped them in the red zone on fourth and short.  But the Jackrabbits went three-and-out, and the Friars’ Rudy Guerrero blocked the punt out of the back of the end zone for the safety.  After receiving the kick, Fajardo led his team on a touchdown drive capped by his TD pass to Chris Nicholls (Nicholls had three catches for 30 yards, four rushes for 43 yards and a touchdown, and almost fifty yards in the return game).  Another Poly three-and-out led to another Friar TD, and despite Michael Simmons’ ten-yard counter scamper into the end zone to bring Poly within 9 before the half, it wasn’t very competitive after that.

Now, for the good news—it’s just the first game of the season.  Poly fans who were sending us breathless, exasperated texts after the game should take a step back, and remember, early struggles are a necessary part of playing a young roster.  “It doesn’t mean much,” said Thomas after the game, with the look of a coach expecting to contend for a title.  “If we had lost, I wouldn’t have put a lot of stock into it; we won, and I’m still not going to.  Poly will come back and be just fine.”  Servite, and Poly, have nine weeks until the end of the season, and experienced coaches and fans know that, as important as nonleague games are for getting rosters and schemes straight, playoff berths and seeds are won in the league schedule.

“It’s not the first time we’ve lost our first game,” said Lara to his team after the game.  “We’ve just got to grow up.  We better grow up…”