Long Beach Poly

Quickness and defense have been the staples for Long Beach Poly all season, and they worked to the Jackrabbits' advantage again Thursday in a Southern California Regional semifinal -- barely. Poly, ranked second in the Southland by The Times, took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter and held off a furious comeback by third-ranked San Clemente for a 40-39 Division I victory at Long Beach Cabrillo.

The play call was 26 Hammer. Encino Crespi running back E.J. Woods took the handoff from quarterback Bryan Bennett, charged ahead from the two-yard line, leaped over the back of 305-pound right guard Julian Fields and landed in the end zone for a game-winning touchdown in overtime on a rainy Friday night at the Home Depot Center. The Celts' 13-10 victory over Anaheim Servite in a Pac-5 Division semifinal couldn't have produced a more dramatic ending.

The roles were reversed, but the outcome was the same. Third-seeded Irvine defeated unseeded Long Beach Poly, 15-12, 15-13, 15-12, in the second round of the Division I-AA girls' volleyball playoffs Thursday night at Poly. Last year, the Vaqueros were unseeded and the Jackrabbits were seeded No. 4 when the teams met in the second round of the playoffs. Irvine won that match too.

In a game in which momentum swung like a pendulum on a grandfather clock, Long Beach Poly High School held off Edison, 60-55, Friday night at the Edison gym. Poly (7-1) capitalized on six Edison turnovers in the final 6 minutes 21 seconds and outscored the Chargers, 17-12, in the fourth quarter to break a 43-43 tie. The Jackrabbits, who never trailed, sank 11 of 13 free throws and held Edison to five baskets in the fourth quarter.

For the first 30 minutes of the Southern California Regional Division I championship game Friday night, Santa Ana Mater Dei guard Jason Quinn wasn't a factor, but he finished the game a star. With Mater Dei trailing, 45-43, and 1.8 seconds remaining, Quinn made a desperation, 20-foot three-point basket to give the Monarchs a 46-45 victory over Long Beach Poly before a crowd of 5,071 at the Sports Arena.

Six times in the fourth quarter this season, the Long Beach Poly boys' basketball team has lost close games, seemingly tightening up and not knowing what to do. In their Southern Section Division I-AA second-round playoff game Tuesday, the host Jackrabbits finally made the plays and pulled out a 43-36 win over defending champion Etiwanda. Chris Brown made a short baseline jumper with 1 minute 1 second left to give Poly a 37-34 lead.

Long Beach Poly set a national high school record of 3 minutes 35.55 seconds in winning the girls' 1,600-meter relay Championship of America race Friday at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. It marked the fourth national record that Poly has set this season. Indoors, the Jackrabbits set the 800-meter and 1,600-meter relay records at The Armory in New York City and outdoors they set the 800 sprint medley relay mark at the Arcadia Invitational.

All did not glitter for the Long Beach Poly track and field program Saturday at the Southern Section championships, but everything Bryshon Nellum touched seemed to turn to gold. Behind his long, graceful strides, the Jackrabbits ran away from the Division I boys' competition on the recently renovated track at Cerritos College. Nellum, who signed with USC, lowered his nation-leading time in the 200 meters while winning in a personal-best 20.

A smaller, scrappier Long Beach Poly team swept past a bigger, athletic San Clemente squad, 15-8, 16-14, to win the Division I championship match in the Dave Mohs Memorial tournament Monday at Edison High. "This team doesn't fit any mold," said Poly Coach Jeff Eyanson, who has no starter taller than 5 feet 10. "They play with a lot of drive and hustle and just go at it."