One year ago, Poly football made one of the biggest changes in recent program history: switching from an 11-man to an eight-man team. Now, in their second season since the transition, the Panthers have a new head coach and league; however, on the field, things look pretty familiar.
Poly finished last season 4-4 and made a surprise run to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, where they lost 20-40 to the eventual champions, Lancaster Baptist High School. Under the new leadership of head coach Shawn Kincade, the team has been determined to build off of last year’s success. Although Poly was not in a league last season, they have officially joined the Tri-Valley League.
Junior lineman Mark Hiddleson, nicknamed “the shark,” shared, “In the second year of eight-man, we recognize that we have a small roster and that we are undersized compared to the rest of the teams. As most of our starters play the entire game, we must make sure that we execute throughout each play, taking no plays off.”
The season began on a high note. Poly shut out both South LA College Preparatory School 28-0 on Saturday, Aug. 29 and New Designs Charter School 42-0 at home on Saturday, Sept. 5, then went on the road to beat Calvary Chapel High School 30-14 on Saturday, Sept. 12. Across the three games, the Panthers outscored their opponents 100-14. Unfortunately, much like last year, the Panthers displayed early-season dominance but fell in the second half. More recently, the Panthers suffered two brutal defeats, losing to Francis Parker School 8-4 on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sage Hill School 24-40 on Saturday, Oct. 10.
In their 28-27 comeback victory over Cate High School on Saturday, Sept. 19, the Panthers were initially down 6-21. At halftime, Kincade sat the team down in the locker room and reminded them to play to their level. This speech proved motivational as by the third quarter, the tides turned. Taking a 22-21 lead, the Panthers scored 16 points. Finishing the game with 225 passing yards from junior quarterback Kaiden Thorell, 154 receiving yards from senior captain wide receiver Luke Phillips, and 71 receiving yards from senior running back Clive Chao, the Panthers captured the victory.
Only time can tell whether the Panthers will be able to excel beyond last year’s challenges, but Hiddleson remained steadfastly positive: “We plan on making CIF and ending our season successfully by decimating Flintridge Preparatory at their homecoming game.” On Friday, Oct. 23, and the Panther community saw Hiddleson’s words come to fruition, beating Flintridge 30-25.
