By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor For all intents and purposes, Poly got its first real test of the season last week. The Panthers (11-0) had battles with Brentwood and Rio Hondo Prep, but Pacifica is the only team all season to stay within single digits. Poly got off to a fast start and then held […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
For all intents and purposes, Poly got its first real test of the season last week.
The Panthers (11-0) had battles with Brentwood and Rio Hondo Prep, but Pacifica is the only team all season to stay within single digits.
Poly got off to a fast start and then held off Pacifica, 23-15, last Friday in the CIF-SS Division 10 playoff opener for both schools.
But it’s on the road to San Bernardino as the Panthers take on an Aquinas (9-2) tonight at 7:30 against a Falcons offense that averages nearly 40 points per game.
Branden Rankins has rushed for 1,795 yards and 22 TD’s and averages 200 yards per game on the ground.
Ryan Wellock has thrown for 13 TD’s and 1,300 yards for Aquinas.
Poly is as versatile, certainly as any team in Division 10 when it comes to the number of skilled players who can score.
The Panthers offense is lead by quarterback John Genske, running backs Cam McFarlane and Brady Carter, and receiver/special teams star Christian Henderson.
And Poly doesn’t just score on offense. It has multiple TD’s on special teams and on defense.
The Poly defense picked off Pacifica five times last week, including three from Will McConnell.
McConnell brought one back for a score.
“The whole team is pretty excited for tomorrow night’s game. Having one playoff game under our belt, I think as a whole we’re all a little less nervous than we were last week,” McConnell said. “With that being said, I think the focus and intensity is still there. Aquinas is a very good football team, and we all understand that we have to come ready to play. Offensively, I think it’ll be important to establish our run game early. Defensively, we just have to play disciplined and have to communicate well.”
McFarlane has rushed for just under 600 yards and has 8 rushing touchdowns, but keep in mind that in many of the Panthers game this week, the starters have been so far ahead, they rarely played in the second half.
“I see tomorrow night’s game as an opportunity to prove that Poly has a legitimate football program and can compete at the next level,” McFarlane said. “We all need to step-up to play better than we did last week against Pacifica, because we can always improve our game.”
Genske has thrown for 18 TD’s in a banner season for the senior.
“Our mindset heading into this game is that we should win. If we trust in the steps that we have taken in preparation for this team, and we execute well, this should be a very winnable game,” Genske said. “I think that my role in this game starts in practice. The reason we beat Pacifica against the odds was because of how diligently we studied them, and the intensity of our practices building up to the game. Aquinas is a talented team with weapons, so we cannot get lulled into any sense of an assured victory since we are coming off such a big win last week. My role is to make sure we go about practicing our stuff and studying Aquinas just as meticulously as we did in the past week.”
