RENAISSANCE: This season marks the beginning of a new era for the Poly football team.
By Griffin Ferré, Copy Editor
When the Bears burst out from behind the giant, green, cheerleader-supported banner at the beginning of their football game against cross-town rival Ramona clad in new orange jerseys, lineman Lawrence O’Hara (11) was the first to emerge. He was wielding the half-orange, half-blue football helmet that serves as the trophy awarded annually to the winner of this rivalry game.
Poly was in possession of this helmet because of its 21-17 victory over the Rams last year, and was on a mission to retain possession of the trophy. They would go on to accomplish this task quite emphatically, cruising to a 38-7 victory in this year’s matchup. Quarterback Chandler Drachslin (10) provided the bulk of the scoring, punching in four touchdowns on quarterback sneak plays.
The other Bears victory came in week 5 in their league opener against Canyon Springs by the score of 22-12. In that game, wide receiver Matt Murray (11) emerged as a valuable deep threat for the team, hauling in two deep touchdown passes.
However, the rest of the Bears’ season has not quite gone according to plan. They suffered losses to Citrus Hill by the score of 40-15 in the opening game, and 44-15 against Rubidoux and 40-20 against Kaiser in weeks 2 and 3 respectively.
“We just need to make fewer mistakes. The good thing is that everything we did is fixable and simply needs to be repped out. We will be ready when we get to league play,” Coach Jeff Huerta said.
However, the Bears’ three losses have come against teams that are a combined 13-1, meaning that the team has tested itself against stiff competition.
In addition, fortune certainly has not smiled on the team. The Bears have been beset by numerous injuries, forcing several inexperienced players to be pressed into duty. Arguably the most crushing blow to the team was delivered by a Citrus Hill defender against starting quarterback Nick Yocum (12) in the opening game, knocking him out for the rest of the season. Drachslin and Tarique Lusk (11) have stepped up and filled the void, but have been subjected to the inevitable learning curve.
However, even though it has not necessarily been represented in the win column, Poly is not lacking for quality players.
“We feel we have some big play athletes on the team and we want to get the ball to them on offense,“ Huerta said. “Also, our offensive line is our strength and we feel we will be able to run the football.”
Poly has utilized a deep rotation of running back this season, including Devontre Hale (10), Leighton Silva (11), Matt Ybarra (12), Sam Stetckivich (12) and Luke Navigato (11). Also, the aforementioned valuable offensive line consists of Yancy Calhoun (12), Robert Fentor (11), Keanu Dailey (12), Jake Foglietta (12) and O’Hara.
On the defensive side of the ball, Poly boasts a strong linebacker corps of Aaron Thomas (12), Evan Telliard (10) and Silva. O’Hara, Julius Premdas (11), Ybarra and Stetckivich are also key defensive contributors.
At the halfway point of the Bears’ season, their season record stands at 2-3 including two comfortable wins against Ramona and Canyon Springs. If Poly can capitalize on those wins and apply the lessons they learned from playing a tough schedule, the team has the potential to create more moments similar to those during that opening Ramona game.
photo by Katelyn Largent/The Poly Spotlight