LONG BEACH – Long Beach Poly dominated its game Thursday night with its dynamic offense and aggressive defense, beating Compton 55-22 in a Moore League finale.
Despite the win, Poly fell short of being in a three-way tie for the league title, as Long Beach Wilson defeated Lakewood to stand alone atop the Moore League standings.
The Jackrabbits (5-5, 5-1) showed how potent their offense can be, and it was also very balanced with six different players scoring touchdowns.
Running back Steven Hunter finished with 132 rushing yards on 11 carries and scored two touchdowns. Quarterback Legend Galeai completed 11 of 15 passes for 172 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Receiver Jayden Coley had four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Backup quarterback Deuce Jefferson threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Kymere Smith in the second half and added a three-yard rushing TD.
One of the other standouts of this game was wide receiver Kamarie Smith, who scored two impressive touchdowns.
He scored on a 34-yard punt return touchdown in the opening minute of the second quarter and then in the final minute of the first half, Smith made a catch, reversed field, eluded and slipped past numerous Tarbabe defenders and bolted to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown.
Smith spoke about how he knew that play was going to happen.
Poly receiver @KamarieSmith7 scored 2 TDs tonight on a 34-yard punt return and an impressive 56-yard catch and run TD wheee he reversed field
He spoke about the win and how Poly must be better heading into the playoffs @SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity @LBPoly_Football pic.twitter.com/pa9CYz4k2O
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 31, 2025
“I was just telling my team before the play even happened, ‘I need you all to block for me, something crazy is going to happen,’” said Smith. “They said, ‘I got you,’ and that crazy play just came like I told them before the play.”
Despite the balanced offensive attack and solid defense that had three sacks and two interceptions against Compton, Poly head coach Justin Utupo was anything but happy after this win.
Long Beach Poly head coach @JustinUtupo talks about the blowout win over Compton, what was working well on offense and defense, how he wasn’t happy with his teams performance, and Wilson taking the Moore League title outright@SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity @LBPoly_Football pic.twitter.com/EKWZjRtXtP
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 31, 2025
“It’s not good enough, we’re going to lose next week if we do that again,” said Utupo of his team’s sloppy play at times in this game. “We allow teams to stay in the game, we give them life, we give them momentum. We can’t tackle, and we have to clean this up or the season is over.”
Utupo spoke about some of the positives of the Jackrabbits performance specifically on offense, but still focused on the improvements his team needs to make.
“When you are able to run the football, you can win games late in the season and in November,” said Utupo. “We have to be able to punch it in at the goal line. Not being able to score on the one (yard line) on four tries, that’s something that’ll lose you games in November.”
For Compton (4-6, 2-4), they were overmatched from the start of this game, and despite some impressive plays, they never could make this a closer game.
Quarterback Leton Washington had a strong game with 279 yards passing completing 20 of his 31 pass attempts with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also added a one-yard rushing TD.
He spoke about what went wrong in this game, but was proud of his team overall.
Compton QB @letonWash1ngton finished with 279 yards passing, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, and a rushing TD
He spoke about what was working for him offensively in this game and what he will remember of this Tarbabes team @ComptonHSFB @SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity pic.twitter.com/nurEB1wESP
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 31, 2025
“Team chemistry wasn’t there in the beginning, we have to finish out,” said Washington. “It’s unfortunate that we lost, but I love my brothers. We’re going to keep going.”
Head coach Calvin Bryant echoed a similar sentiment about this year’s Tarbabes.
Compton head coach Calvin Bryant spoke about the disappointing loss to Poly, how proud he was of his teams competitive drive, and how this was a memorable group calling them “a family”@ComptonHSFB @SoCalVarsity @BeachVarsity pic.twitter.com/s34WEigzxe
— Chris Camello (@Chris_Camello) October 31, 2025
“We got a good group of guys who like to fight and we’ll be back soon,” said Bryant. “I just liked the resilience of our guys, they came to work everyday. They brought their lunch pale and they did what we asked them to do, just a family atmosphere. It’s one of the teams I’ll remember.”
Compton receiver Edward Rivera finished with 107 receiving yards on seven catches and a touchdown. Micah Hawkins had 139 receiving yards on six receptions and completed a two-point conversion, and receiver Ronnie Mixon caught a seven-yard TD pass in the second half.