Poly Offensive Line vs. Lakewood Defensive Line
We’ve seen Poly run at will all year long, partly because we’ve seen Poly outsize and outmuscle every opponent this year, led by big men Joseph Croom and Wilson Edwards.  They will be the bigger squad again against Lakewood, but it won’t be the Lakewood line that gave up 211 yards rushing in the first contest.  Senior Jimmy Young will be back, and the 6’3” 265lb down lineman will be a great boost for a defense that has stifled two spread running attacks in the first and second rounds.  That’s because the line is doing a fantastic job taking up blockers and freeing their linebackers up to make plays.  On Friday, they will need to do more of that without cheating too much to the inside.  If they’re caught cheating, Melvin “Boom Boom” Richardson will take it up the middle, and bounce it to the outside like he did on his first carry against Lakewood earlier this season, and like he did in the first quarter against Esperanza on Friday—both runs were game-altering TDs.  It’s difficult to stop a power runner like Richardson and a speed back like Daveon “Burner” Barner in the same game, but Lakewood has the personnel to pull it off, especially since they’re backed by a stellar linebacking corps.

As for the pass rush, Lakewood end Talia Crichton (the team’s leader in sacks) will be counted on to maintain an outside presence.  With continual pressure from a speed rusher like Crichton, Morgan Fennell can’t take those long five-step drops and look deep downfield.  Against St. Bonaventure earlier this season, and Bishop Amat in the first round, Fennell was very successful when he tucked the ball and ran, and the Lancers will need Crichton on the outside for that as well.

Watch for: Chrichton (#1)—the Lancers’ best lineman, his play has generally been representative of how Lakewood’s pressure is faring.  If he’s on the ground or struggling to get to Fennell, it’s going to be hard for Lakewood to contain Poly’s offense.

Lakewood Offensive Line vs. Poly Defensive Line
The story is more of the same on the other side of the ball.  Health is an enormous factor.  Poly’s defensive line looked like world-beaters for most of the year.  They’re a classic four-man line, with two speedy pass-rushing ends and two amazing run-stuffers at the tackle positions.  Again, outsizing the opponent has been a constant, but they can only count on doing that with their starters.  With teammate and fellow starting DT Corey Waller already in street clothes, Juwuan Brown hurt his knee just before halftime last week against Esperanza.  We’re not sure yet whether he’ll suit up, but if he doesn’t the ‘Rabbits will sorely miss the 265-pound standout.  In the second half of the Esperanza game, with both starting interior linemen on the sideline, the Aztecs ran up the middle exclusively and scored on their first two drives.

The health of the Lakewood offensive line is also of note: senior captain Casey Harpham (the Lancers’ center) and 6’2” 277lb senior Robert Brothers will be in the trenches on Friday, along with Oliver Robertson.  Harpham got knocked out of the game against Poly after an interception return, and the biggest hits on Jesse Scroggins came after that point in the game.  But Poly also has a terror on the outside in senior Iuta Tepa.  Like his counterpart Crichton, when Tepa gets a head of steam, you don’t want to be on the tracks.  One of those big hits on Scroggins was a shot from Tepa that definitely made the highlight reel.  Proving the extent of their reach, Tepa and his fellow Jackrabbits also knocked down four of Scroggins passes in the first meeting.  Poly will need Tepa and fellow speed-rusher Eli Edwards to be on their best contain game if they’re going to neutralize Kevin Anderson and Tawaun Lucas—Lakewood loves to run end-arounds with those guys in motion.

Watch for: Perhaps most importantly, whether Brown is out there wearing number 90.  If Poly’s best run-plugger is on the sideline, you’ll probably be able to spot Lancers RB Jerry Stone’s smile from outer space.

Poly’s Passing Attack vs. Lakewood’s Secondary
As we mentioned going into the playoffs, Poly QB Morgan Fennell very quietly, very efficiently had a spectacular second half of the season, with a QB rating of 141+.  He hasn’t thrown an interception since week four against Lakewood.  That success is due to a number of factors: one, Fennell has the tools, and is capable of being pin-point accurate forty yards downfield.  His ability to scramble (which bedeviled St. Bonaventure earlier this season) has helped to ease the pressure when he’s in the pocket, as has his O-Line. 

But Poly also has two receivers who (again, quietly) could bust this game open, in Kaelin Clay (#4) and Jordan Johnson (#21)—both missed last week’s game against Esperanza due to injury, but they’re likely to return against Lakewood.  The two have combined for 657 yards on 31 catches and 9 TDs—that’s an average of 21 yards a catch.  Translation: when Fennell goes to these guys, it’s for big gains.  Poly’s running backs get most of the ink when people write about their offense, but you can bet the Lakewood coaches aren’t writing off Fennell, Clay, and Johnson; neither should you.

The guys whose job it will be to keep Fennell from making headlines this week include some impressive playmakers.  When the QB has made mistakes it’s been because he was trying to force the ball—against this secondary, Fennell can’t afford to do that in this game.  Corner Dion Bailey is the Lancers’ best ball-hawk, with 8 picks on the season—Bailey was also the player who saved Lakewood’s season by breaking up a pass in the end zone against Servite.  We would expect to see Bailey on Johnson primarily, since Bailey isn’t the most physical guy and Johnson’s a little smaller than Clay.  Aaron Aviles, Lakewood’s free safety, could be the biggest factor in the secondary: he delivered a few jarring hits against Mission Viejo that had their receivers scared to cross the middle for the rest of the game.  You can bet he’ll try to unload on Clay and Johnson if he gets a chance.

Watch for: The big play.  So far in every big game Poly’s had, there’s been a big passing play, whether shots downfield to Clay and Johnson, or last week’s crucial floater to TE Julian Camper.  That 63-yard pass put Poly on the two, and they quickly scored the game-winning TD.
 
Lakewood’s Passing Attack vs. Poly’s Secondary
The Lakewood offense has shown many different faces this season, both literally and figuratively.  They have the talent to do almost anything, and they’ve had to ask a lot of different guys to get it done.

The one solid all year has been quarterback Jesse Scroggins (162-for-285, 2282 yards, 22 TDs, 8 INTs).  The talented junior has all the physical tools, but it’s his veteran-like decision-making that’s made the Lancer attack so potent.  Other than a shaky night against Jordan, Scroggins has been efficient for Lakewood: but only when he isn’t asked to carry the load.  The Lakewood offense is a version of the west coast offense.  It’s based on timing and space.  That space is created between the linebackers and safeties with the use of the play action and motion into the backfield.  For that to work, they have to have that spotlight in the backfield.  The defense has to respect the run, or the timing is off, and routs run across the middle can get jumped in front of like Jordan’s John Timu did a few weeks ago, grabbing two interceptions in Lakewood’s last loss.

That spotlight is in the backfield again for the Lancers now that running back Jerry Stone has returned.  He has chewed up 447 total yards and 5TDs in the two playoff games, and as a result, Scroggins has had time and open receivers to look at.  His favorite targets this year have been Tofi Tiedemann and Kevin Anderson.  Teidemann is more of a possession receiver, and Anderson has burned more than a few defensive backs deep.  The two have combined for 14 TDs and 1210 yards while averaging 17.5 yards per catch.

Needless to say, the Poly defensive backfield will have their hands full.  But when teams have inevitably started to throw the ball after being unsuccessful in the running game, nine different guys have come up with interceptions.  The big play could come from anybody.  The top two talents have to be Lazarri Middleton and Darius Williams-Fox.  Middleton is good in coverage, but is better at closing down the flat and making huge plays in the run game (48 tackles)—his lone pick on the year sealed the victory over St. Bonaventure.  Williams-Fox just has a nose for the ball, and leads the team with three picks. 

Watch For: Scroggins’ demeanor on the sideline.  Against Poly (round 1), he was trying to single-handedly bring Lakewood back into that game with his emotion, as well as his play.  He showed the opposite ability when the Jordan defense had success, and he was the quietest guy in Lancer Red.  He plays better when he’s excited and confident, and just having #21 standing next to him should take care of both.

Poly’s Rushing Attack vs. Lakewood’s Linebackers
The two-headed monster of Melvin “Boom Boom” Richardson and Daveon “Burner” Barner will see most of the action for the Poly attack, on the ground and perhaps through the air as well.  As it has been all year: as the running game goes, so go the Jackrabbits.  In the offensive and defensive line preview we mentioned that the Lakewood line would need to stop the big play when these two shifty runners bounce it outside—the linebackers will need to make sure neither Richardson nor Barner can find a corner, a tough task when facing either runner.  Finding the corner is what they do best, and it’s why they’ve both rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, and have a combined 24 TDs.  The per-carry average here might not be that important—especially with Richardson, he’s tended to score long touchdowns even when teams are stopping him for the most part.

If the Lakewood line does its job of plugging holes and surrounding the Poly runners, the linebackers will be ready to make plays.  The Red Swarm is really just another name for Trevor Erno and his fellow linebackers.  The most active unit in the league this year, the Lakewood linebackers will have to hit Richardson and Barner hard when they get a chance, while still making sure not to over pursue.  Erno’s hard hitting helped to shut down Mission Viejo last week, and while Poly’s not likely to crumple quite as easily, it would help the Lancers’ cause if they can lay the lumber hard enough to disrupt the well-oiled Poly machine.

Don’t be surprised if we see some “wildcat” or “no quarterback” formation from the Jackrabbits.  The Lancers are ready for it since they’ve seen the Poly tape from the last few weeks, but if third-down back Cory Westbrook gets a little daylight, the Lancer backers could be doing more swarming than they’re used to.

Watch for: Justin Utupo.  The Lakewood defensive wild card will line up anywhere on the field.  When he lines up in the three-point stance on the outside, he will be responsible for stopping Richardson/Barner from bouncing it outside.  Utupo also lines up with the backers and can charge into the backfield from any direction.  If the Poly offensive line can’t find Utupo, he’ll be able to find the Poly running backs.
 
Lakewood’s Rushing Attack vs. Poly’s Linebackers
The Lancer running game has been the Achilles heel in their only two losses.  Keep in mind, though, that in both of those games Lakewood used a fourth and fifth string running back.  That will not be the case on Friday.  If you don’t know (and frankly, we’d be surprised if you didn’t), Jerry Stone is back and tearing up the playoffs.  Stone has 447 yards of total offense and five TDs in his first two playoff games, showing that he’s just warming up for postseason play.  Behind him, scat back Tawaun Lucas and sophomore sensation Alley Long will get the ball in a variety of different ways, and when they do, both have game-breaking ability.  Lucas was the only bright spot in the running game the first time these two teams played, with a 35-yard carry.  Remove that play, and the Lancers managed just 9 yards on 20 carries.

Obviously, Stone’s return should up that average significantly—but Poly’s linebackers haven’t gone anywhere.  Leading the corps is George Daily-Lyles, a sure-tackling wide-armed man in the middle, and he’s backed up by Kenny Tuiloma, who likes to hit the way little kids like JELL-O.  Matt Jones has proven an ability to come up with the big play, and had a forced fumble in their first playoff game against Bishop Amat that led to the Poly win.

Like the Lakewood defense, the Poly linebackers will have to stay honest.  If they guess run and it’s pass, Scroggins and Stone will make them pay.  As with Erno and crew, the level of contact these guys can bring has the potential to swing momentum.  If they can drill Stone and Scroggins early and often—and these LBs, especially Tuiloma, will get after the QB—they might have an enormous role in deciding the outcome.

Watch For: The Lakewood end-around play.  The Lancers like to bring the slot receiver in motion into the backfield.  From there, they can take it around the end, or turn back and run a counter.  The Lancer’s biggest play from scrimmage in the first half of the first game against Poly (the play to Lucas) was one of those plays.  The Poly linebackers will need to read and react faster than they did in the second half against Esperanza last week, or they may not be able to keep Stone in front of them.