Long Beach Poly

Alex Bridgford did not need to have his best game Friday to beat a mistake-prone Long Beach Poly. The Mission Viejo quarterback had two touchdown passes but also threw three interceptions as the host Diablos (3-1), ranked No. 3 by The Times, held on to beat the No. 8 Jackrabbits (3-1), 17-12, in a Pac-5 Division showdown. Bridgford found success early, connecting on touchdown passes to give the Diablos a 14-6 halftime lead. An injury to running back Jahleel Pinner slowed Mission Viejo in the second half, but Bridgford strung together a series of completions on the Diablos' final possession to run out the clock.

There's usually a debate when starting any basketball season over which team deserves to be No. 1. Not this season. With action beginning on Monday, Long Beach Poly starts out as a clear No. 1 in boys' basketball. And the Jackrabbits aren't just interested in knocking off Santa Mater Dei, Etiwanda and Corona Centennial en route to winning a Southern Section Division 1AA title. "Our kids are extremely focused on winning a state championship," Coach Sharrief Metoyer said. "Our sights are set on being the last team playing in Division I and the last team standing.

Long Beach Poly guard Dion Holton, who earlier indicated he had committed to Cal State Fullerton, has signed to play basketball with Portland. A Portland athletic department spokesman confirmed this week that the school had received his signed letter of intent.

When Long Beach Poly won the boys' and girls' 400- and 1,600-meter relays in the state track and field championships at Cerritos College last Saturday, it marked the first time that a school had taken all four relay events in the same year. Nine girls' teams have won both relays since girls began competing in the state championships in 1974. Six boys' teams have also been double relay winners during that time.

Long Beach Poly has been named school of the year by Cal-Hi Sports for the second consecutive year. The Jackrabbits didn't finish No. 1 in the state in any sport, according to the publication's rankings, but are considered to have the best combination boys' and girls' track and field and basketball programs. Poly had previously been honored in 1980-81.

Shantae McKinney, a two-time City Section champion in the girls' 800 meters for Westchester High, will run track for Long Beach Poly this season. McKinney, a junior who transferred to Poly at the start of the school year, has career bests of 2 minutes 12.38 seconds in the 800 and 55.21 in the 400.

Lorenzo Bursey, a junior running back at Beverly Hills High who rushed for 1,591 yards last season, has transferred to defending Southern Section Division I champion Long Beach Poly along with his brother, Loronzo, a freshman defensive end. They enrolled at Poly on Monday. Last year, quarterback Leon Jackson transferred to Poly from Beverly Hills and served as a backup. He's a top candidate to start this fall.

Fittingly, a defensive play clinched Long Beach Poly High's 15-0 victory Friday night over Wilmington Banning at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. After all, the offenses sputtered for much of the game. Lamont Morgan, a Jackrabbit cornerback, intercepted a pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to seal the intersectional victory for Long Beach Poly (1-1), ranked 16th by The Times. "That was a huge play," Poly Coach Jerry Jaso said.

The game was supposed to feature two of the best running backs in Southern California. Long Beach Poly had overcome a slow start this season to sweep through the Moore League behind the running of Leonard Russell. Colton had finished third in the Citrus Belt League behind the running of George Hemingway. Based on Friday night's performances in the first round of the Big Five Conference Southern Section playoffs, the running back matchup proved to be a draw.

There were people who laughed at the audacity of a local newspaper to predict Ventura St. Bonaventure to finish fifth place in the Marmonte League this season. It was understandable considering the Seraphs had a bunch of "no-name" players missing from the big-time lists of future college prospects. But those who watched St. Bonaventure in summer passing competitions saw potential, and on Friday night, the Seraphs unleashed a powerful defense that left a highly regarded Long Beach Poly passing attack in tatters while inflicting a 32-7 defeat at Long Beach Veterans Stadium.