Coaches Stephen Barbee of Long Beach Poly and Scott Meyer of Lakewood are working to get their respective football teams back to the prominence they once enjoyed. They took a positive step in that direction Friday.
The Jackrabbits won just their second playoff game — 27-24 in overtime over Orange Lutheran — since 2014. The other win was in 2017 over JSerra.
The Lancers won their first playoff game — 35-34 at Brea Olinda — since 2010. They lost in the first round each of the next six seasons before missing the postseason in 2017 and 2018.
Barbee, who enjoyed tremendous success at St. Margaret’s — winning CIF and State titles there in 2014 — is in his second season at Poly. He did not downplay the significance of Friday’s victory.
“It was a great team win,” said Barbee, whose team will be at fourth-seeded Rancho Cucamonga (8-3) on Friday in the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals. “We’ve been preaching staying together and facing adversity and dealing with adversity head on and not pointing fingers and rallying as a team.
“It was great just to see the young men do everything we’ve been coaching them to do.”
Orange Lutheran entered the playoffs with a record of 5-5, but the Lancers are out of the extremely difficult Trinity League.
“They’re a tough Trinity League team,” Barbee said. “They were well coached.”
As were the Jackrabbits, Barbee proudly noted.
“But at the same time, so were our kids,” he said. “In this case, better. We were better coached, we had better resolve and we made plays when we had to. A good win for the program, for public versus private.”
Barbee mentioned adversity. His team went 1-3 during nonleague play and was outscored 143-57 during that time. The losses were to three terrific teams in Punahou (Hawaii), Serra and Corona Centennial.
Mehki Jordan a key figure
Leading Poly’s surge has been, among others, senior quarterback Mehki Jordan. He scored the game-winning touchdown Friday. He threw for 145 yards and rushed for 133 yards and two TDs.
He battled with sophomore Shea Kuykendall for the starting position at the outset of the season, and he has made it his own.
“He’s a fighter,” Barbee said of Jordan. “He’s not going to back down from competition or anything. It’s been great to see him grow as a young man and as a player.”
Playoff win ‘huge’ for Lakewood
Meyer is the former coach at Long Beach Jordan and from 2011-13 he won three consecutive CIF championships and one state title coaching Corona del Mar.
His first goal upon taking over at Lakewood this season was to get the Lancers back into the postseason.
Mission accomplished.
“I think it’s huge for us moving forward,” Meyer said of the win over Brea Olinda in Division 9.
Now his players will get to experience a home playoff game. The Lancers will host second-seeded Highland (8-3) on Friday in the quarterfinals, and Meyer can’t say enough about what that means.
“For the seniors, it’s huge for them to experience this,” Meyer said, “and then for the program moving forward, for all the younger guys to really find out what playoffs are all about and what it takes to win a playoff game and continue on.”
Junior quarterback Gevani McCoy has had a good season for Lakewood. He has thrown for 1,314 yards, 12 TDs and just two interceptions and he has rushed for 708 yards and 10 TDs.
Small but mighty
Speedy Lakewood running back James Voorhies has really come into his own. He rushed for 341 yards and two TDs while averaging 4.2 yards per carry in 2018.
This season he has gone for 952 yards and nine TDs and he’s averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
Voorhies is listed at 5-foot-4, 145 pounds.
“Yeah, I mean, he had a great run through the Moore League,” Meyer said. “He had a great night the other night (183 yards, four TDs) and he’s running the ball really well. And I have been really proud of the way the offensive line has developed because at the beginning of the year that was a big question mark, and they’ve really come a long way in opening up those holes for James.”
