Long Beach Poly vs. Mission Viejo, plus other big games in Week 2 – Press Telegram

It’s a showdown of two of the premier public school programs in California, and if it lacks the gravitas it might have possessed, say, a dozen years ago, well, no matter.

Long Beach Poly and Mission Viejo hold CIF Southern Section title aspirations this season and the talent to fulfill them, and their game Friday night at Veterans Stadium is a marquee matchup no matter the landscape.

The game will be broadcast live by Bally Sports West at 7:30 p.m.

Poly arrives from wild one-point loss at Serra last week. Its defense, led by West Point-bound OLB/DE Donovan “Poe” Yandell, linebacker Jalen Johnson and a terrific secondary that features premier cornerback Daylen Austin, faces a stiff test against a dynamic Diablos crew.

Kadin Semonza, who has passed or run for all seven Mission Viejo touchdowns this season, has an exceptional group to throw to. The top target is junior Mikey Matthews, the spring South Coast League offensive MVP. The Diablos also have an experienced and talented offensive line, led by guards Rashad Beckham and Thomas Haney.

GAME INFO

Long Beach Poly (0-1) vs. Mission Viejo (1-1) at Veterans Stadium, Friday, 7:30 p.m.

TV: Bally Sports West

Mission Viejo’s defense, with only one returning starter, is a work in progress, while Poly is awash with talented athletes and a two-prong stylistic approach. The Jackrabbits had success last week using pro-style senior Shea Kuykendall and speedy St. Bernard transfer Darius Curry.

“To have two capable QBs is an unbelievable blessing,” Jackrabbits coach Stephen Barbee said, “and their styles are completely different. It allows us to do a lot more, scheme-wise.”

This is the eighth meeting this century for the two teams, and Poly has won just once. That victory came in the playoffs with the Jackrabbits en route to the 2012 CIF title.

This might have been preview of the top-tier final a generation ago, but the Trinity League has altered the landscape, and nobody can stand with Mater Dei (which has eliminated Poly or Mission Viejo five times in the past decade) and St. John Bosco, both with rosters full of stars from all over SoCal.

The Diablos are coming off a 44-7 defeat to Servite, the team with seemingly the best chance to prevent a fifth straight MD-Bosco CIF final.

Does all of this take a little luster off this one?

Chad Johnson, who was Jason Negro’s offensive coordinator at Bosco before taking charge at Mission Viejo in 2018, calls the question “a tough one.”

“The Trinity League is like the SEC,” he said. “If that means we don’t have 85 guys with scholarship offers, like with Mater Dei and Bosco, that’s fine. They have different rules than us (for enrollment). I’m super-proud of (being a top public school program), and Coach Barbee’s doing a great job at Poly.

“I hope it has the same luster.”

OTHER FEATURED GAMES

St. Anthony (0-2) at Millikan (0-2), Friday, 7 p.m.

The Saints take on their first Moore League foe under Raul Lara, and they’ll be looking to build on the advances made in last week’s loss to Mayfair.

“There are things we need to work on,” said Lara, who won five CIF Southern Section championships at Poly. “Number one, clean up our execution, and tackling needs to be a lot better. That No. 5 kid (Nick Adimora, 226 yards rushing and four touchdowns) was pretty good for Mayfair, but we missed a lot of tackles and allowed him to have so many big plays.”

Millikan has big-play ability with their two super-sophomores, Myles Jackson at QB and Ryan Pellum, who leads a good group of receivers. The Rams will be hungry after a disappointing loss to Santa Ana and last week’s blowout defeat at Carlsbad, the No. 1 team in San Diego.

Wilson (0-1) at Huntington Beach (1-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

The young Bruins are back after last week’s game against San Jacinto was quashed by a positive COVID-19 test. They weren’t practicing at full strength — fewer than 20 players — until Monday and probably need more reps after the 53-0 loss to Warren in their opener.