For the first time all season, the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits ran for under 150 yards.  Who would have guessed that the Cabrillo Jaguars, who still have yet to win a game, would be the ones to clamp down on the Jackrabbits’ dynamic duo of Melvin Richardson and Daveon Barner, allowing a mere 104 yards on the ground?  Fortunately for the Jackrabbits, quarterback Morgan Fennell continued to step his game up, by completing 7 of 12 passes on the night for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns, hooking up with Jordan Johnson 3 times for 46 yards and 2 touchdowns in the ‘Rabbits’ 45-0 victory.  The Jaguars weren’t the only ones who came out strong on defense, though, as Poly put another notch on their shutout belt, bringing their total to three. 

Turnovers will kill a team, as was evident tonight.  The Jaguars’ offense took them out of the game, forcing them to keep the ball on the ground, killing the clock as they struggled for yards against the Poly Wall.  They turned the ball over five times on offense (and once again on special teams), with four interceptions and a fumble, allowing the ‘Rabbits to run away with the game.  If the Jaguars are going to beat either Jordan or Millikan and earn their first win of the season, they need to get their offense on track.  Coach AJ Luke knows this as well, and is confident in his team’s ability to finish their season strong.  “I told ’em, ‘We just had an 8-week hell week.’  You know, we’re just trying to turn that corner.”  Cabrillo wasn’t the only team frustrated on offense tonight, as Coach Raul Lara told me, “Offensively, we stunk it up.  We didn’t really find our rhythm.” 

It seems like Poly has struggled most of the season to find their rhythm offensively.  Coach Lara’s frustration with tonight’s offensive achievements is understandable, as, on his quarterback’s best game all season, his running corps have their worst.  But, as Melvin Richardson told me after the Carson game, “Good teams sometimes have an off day.”  The same holds true for players, and the Jackrabbits will have to hope that Richardson and his counterpart Barner are back on form and that Fennell continues to improve week by week as the undefeated ‘Rabbits host the undefeated Tarbabes of Compton at Vet’s next Friday for the Moore League title.