tagged w/ 4th and Forever Catch-Up
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After nine episodes of big wins and devastating losses, the Long Beach Poly High School football team has finally reached its goal: the playoffs. Head coach Raul Lara has pushed the Jackrabbits to redeem themselves for last season's mistake. Last year, the team won six games and lost six, so this year Poly has worked hard to get back on top.
This week, Poly's chance to call itself a champion again is closer than ever. Losses early in the season threatened to keep them out of the playoffs, but the Jackrabbits pulled together during the second half of the regular season. The players have overcome challenges challenges on the field and in their personal lives, and now they're focusing in on beating Mater Dei in the first playoff game.
Each Poly player knows that getting this far doesn't mean it's time to relax. They need to work just as hard. Mater Dei is known for being a physically intimidating team. If its strategy is solid, Poly has a chance, but even if Poly wins, it will just move right along to face tougher teams.
Teammates Randall Goforth and Matthew Rowe ask quarterback Chaiyse Hales if he's nervous about starting in his first playoff game.
"Nervous?" Chaiyse repeats, scoffing. "I ain't never nervous."After nine episodes of big wins and devastating losses, the Long Beach Poly High... more
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Although Poly lost to Millikan High School by 1 point last year, this season they crushed Millikan on the field. Poly proudly took home the victory last week by a devastating 59-0 score. Conquering in the playoffs now seems not only like a real possibility but an opportunity Poly more than deserves.
Its hot streak continues for the next two games. First up: Wilson Classical High School. As head coach Raul Lara tells it, four touchdowns help them walk away winners, beating Wilson 48-7. The energy of that game carries right over to their match-up against Cabrillo High School, who falls to Poly, 54-2.
The Jackrabbits' spirits are soaring, but the fight isn't over yet. They have one more regular season game, and in order to make it to the playoffs they absolutely have to win.Although Poly lost to Millikan High School by 1 point last year, this season they... more
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Things are looking up for Long Beach Poly. After winning games against Jordan and Lakewood, their longtime rivals, the Jackrabbits are riding high. Making it to the playoffs seems like a real possibility again. As they gear up for their next game, the coaches are determined to make sure each player takes care of needs off the field too so they can continue to give 100 percent for the football team.
After the Lakewood game, team discipline coach Ty Burford seeks out Jeremiah Hollowell's mother Margaret to make sure she knows that Jeremiah's supposed to meet with him. All students on academic probation turn in the form meant to alert parents that their children are at risk of failing.
"OK, I'm tired of Jeremiah," Margaret tells Burford as they begin to discuss his grades. "I need your help."
School is important. Margaret tells Burford and Jeremiah that as much as she loves football and seeing Jeremiah do well as a Jackrabbit, graduating high school trumps that in the end. She doesn't want him to have to give up one to achieve the other, but she'll do whatever may be necessary.
"You can't bring the grades up; you can't play," she tells Jeremiah. It's that simple. He's the only one who can fix his situation.Things are looking up for Long Beach Poly. After winning games against Jordan and... more
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After last week's victory against Jordan High School, Poly's focus this week is on securing two wins in a row. The players are confident they can pull it off, but are careful not let it transform into cockiness. Last year the Jackrabbits lost to their archrivals, Lakewood. The school doesn't hold the same history of besting Poly that Mission Viejo does, but remembering they were beat last time Lakewood and Poly faced off reminds Poly players they can't afford to relax.
Luckily, head coach Raul Lara believes the Jackrabbits are finally starting to live up to their potential this year. The challenge now is to keep going. If each of the Poly players pushes himself, then they have a chance at dominating on the field once again.
Some of the Jackrabbits key players talk about strategy over burgers. Bijon Franklin, Devin Jackson, and Corey Waller all agree Poly simply cannot lose to Lakewood. End of story. They're seniors this year. They don't want to finish high school knowing they let Lakewood get the best of the team again. Offense and defense need to make sure they're on the same page.After last week's victory against Jordan High School, Poly's focus this week... more
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Last week on "4th and Forever," the Jackrabbits lost to Mission Viejo. Strong practices during the week made them confident they had a shot at breaking a history of getting beat by the Diablos on the field, but when game time came, their best efforts weren't nearly enough. The Jackrabbits are now 2-2 and head coach Raul Lara knows he'll have to shake things up again to figure out why the team isn't performing consistently.
Some of the players feel it can't all be their fault. At Dabness and Jacob Irving's home, a few Jackrabbits and close friends pick apart what went wrong. They agree that part of the reason for their struggles was quarterback Emmanuel Lara, who botched three different scoring attempts.
Coach Lara removed starting quarterback Chaiyse Hales from the field after one bad play and then let his son Emmanuel finish the game. To the other players, this was a poor call that contributed to their loss.Last week on "4th and Forever," the Jackrabbits lost to Mission Viejo.... more
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After the last-minute victory over the Narbonne Gauchos, the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits once again feel like they have a shot at taking another championship. Coach Raul Lara reminds them not to make the same mistakes they did two weeks ago. This isn't the time to rest on their laurels, because their next opponent is a team Poly has never beaten: The Mission Viejo Diablos.
"Everybody wants to beat you," Coach Lara says. "The beauty of this game right now, and the beauty of this team, you didn't give up."
Trusting one another helped the Jackrabbits eventually win against Narbonne, but Mission Viejo is a bigger test. Defense and offense must really work together.
When he isn't coaching, Raul Lara works at Central Juvenile Hall.
Maintaining graveyard hours there allows Lara to coach during the day. He considers his two jobs more symbiotic than mutually exclusive. The cases he encounters while at the juvenile hall motivate Coach Lara to keep his players out of trouble. He has an ever-evolving firsthand knowledge of the temptations and threats Long Beach teenagers face, and Lara uses what he learns to help keep students he works with on the right track.After the last-minute victory over the Narbonne Gauchos, the Long Beach Poly... more
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The Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits have already faced great highs and crushing lows so far this season. Poly came out strong for the first game back, but the team did a complete 180 in its matchup against St. Bonaventure High School last week. Coach Raul Lara tried to warn the Jackrabbits, telling them not to let their first win get to their heads because they still had a long way to go to regain their place as champions. The Jackrabbits nonetheless got a rude awakening when St. Bonaventure high school beat them on the field, 32-7.
By the end of the game, Coach Lara had reached his breaking point. Now no one's position on the team is guaranteed. If the Jackrabbits want to keep representing Poly on the field, each player must prove he's really ready to work.
It starts with an attitude check. Strength and conditioning coach Gregg Washington rounds up the team to let the players know what they need to fix:
1. Energy 2. Work ethic 3. Focus
All of this can be improved with an attitude change. Since the start of the season, Washington says, he's felt the Jackrabbits lacked a real urgency or true team spirit. They're not hungry. If they are, the coaches aren't feeling it, and perfecting technique won't matter if the Jackrabbits aren't really dedicated to winning.
Team captain Dabness Atkins gets a personalized wake-up call when he seeks Coach Lara's advice about getting onto a Division I football team in college.
Lara believes in Dabness, but if Dabness really wants to get recruited by a Division I team and stand out in college, he'll need to check his attitude. Last week, he was ready to let his temper get the best of him too easily.The Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits have already faced great highs and crushing lows so... more
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If you missed the third episode of "4th and Forever," we've got you covered. There will be repeat airings on Current TV (check your local listings) Plus, we're bringing you recaps for each episode right here on the "4th and Forever" blog each week. Be sure to visit us every Friday for recaps, insights, and some surprises!
Last week on "4th and Forever," the Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits got off to a rocky start in their preseason practices. Coach Raul Lara was afraid the varsity football team might not be ready to reclaim its legendary status after referees stopped a scrimmage against St. John Bosco when a fight broke on the field. Their odds of winning their first game seemed grim, but Coach Lara saw things turn around when the Jackrabbits pulled together under the leadership of new starting quaterback Chaiyse Hales, and Long Beach Poly won its first game of the season, 42-28.
Now, the Jackrabbits are riding high from their huge victory, but not everyone is ready to celebrate. Running back Jeremiah Hollowell watched the first game from the sidelines. While he understands Coach Lara had him sit out to give his injured shoulder more time to heal, he's still worried about what this could mean for the rest of the season. He's also worried about that his mom Margaret won't react well to seeing him on the sidelines.If you missed the third episode of "4th and Forever," we've got you... more
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If you missed the premiere episode of "4th and Forever," we've got you covered. There will be repeat airings on Current TV (check your local listings) Plus, starting today, we'll be bringing you the best moments from each episode right here on the 4th and Forever blog. Be sure to visit us every Friday for recaps, insights, and some surprises!
It's a brand new football season for Long Beach Poly High School and the Jackrabbits face a huge challenge this year. The high school has a history of sending more players to the NFL than any other in the United States, but during the 2009-10 season, the varsity football team had one of its worst runs since head coach Raul Lara took the reins. With six games won and six games lost, Long Beach Poly went from champions to disappointments in 2009.
Now, for Coach Lara, the 2010 season is a chance to get back on top. For many of the team's seniors, new games also mean a chance to prove that football has the potential to, hopefully, give them a way out of Long Beach. The city's residents are no strangers to living among gang violence, drug trafficking, and struggling to make ends meet in low-income neighborhoods. Football not only helps keep young teenagers away from dangerous lifestyles, it may just be the ticket to escaping Long Beach altogether and getting their families into better situations. This season Long Beach Poly is set on redemption.
At the very first practice of the 2010-11 season, five Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits in particular prove they're definitely driven to make their football ambitions a reality: senior defensive cornerback Dabness Atkins, senior running back Jeremiah Hollowell, senior defensive lineman Devin Jackson, and two juniors contending for the starting quarterback spot: Chaiyse Hales and Emmanuel Lara, who happens to be Coach Lara's son.
But restoring Poly as a superstar team isn't easy.If you missed the premiere episode of "4th and Forever," we've got you... more
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