Football: It’s pride time for Long Beach Poly

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There’s no sugar coating needed to describe the embarrassment and disappointment felt by Long Beach Poly players and supporters after last Friday’s 56-0 loss to Narbonne, the worst loss since 1916 by a Jackrabbits team.

But knowing Coach Raul Lara and the pride of alumni and players, I expect Poly to be ready for an improved performance on Friday against a Bakersfield team that went 13-0 last season and is 3-0 this season. The game at Veterans Stadium won’t be easy for Poly.

That’s OK. Poly players expect and want to be challenged. It’s a young team that’s going to have to deal with adversity. We’ll see how they respond.

In his 12 years as head coach, Lara has won four Southern Section titles and every season he didn’t win, fans were all over him. It comes with the job. But what happened against Narbonne wasn’t expected and certainly can’t be the norm for a Poly program that has won 18 section titles.

I still believe the Jackrabbits will be heard from in the Pac-5 Division this season. Their rehabilitation starts on Friday.

-- Eric Sondheimer