Having won three of their last four games heading into Friday night, the Poly Parrots were shutting down their opponents with a stout defense who only surrendered 12 points or less in their three victories. The 4-2 Parrots traveled to Turner Stadium to take on their East Valley League rivals in the Verdugo Hills Dons. With both teams possessing a 2-1 record in league play, the two teams duked it out on the field in a low-scoring defensive struggle with both teams exchanging leads throughout the game. Trailing by four points with under 7:45 left in the game, the Dons chewed up the clock with a fourth quarter drive to pull ahead 17-14 with under two minutes left. A game-sealing interception propelled Verdugo Hills to their third league win of the season. 

The Poly defense was faced with a tough assignment in containing Verdugo Hills sophomore quarterback Jered Smith, who has consistently remained in the top-5 in the CIF L.A. City Section in passing yards throughout the season. On the first two offensive drives of the game for the Dons, the Parrots put pressure on Smith forcing two consecutive interceptions courtesy of junior Michael Paynter and senior two-way quarterback and defensive back Jayden Cardines. However, they were unable to convert their turnover opportunities into points as the game remained scoreless heading into the second quarter. 

Smith shook off the two first quarter turnovers as he began to spread the ball around to his receivers. The Dons offense ate up seven minutes of clock in the second quarter, but couldn’t get the ball into the end zone as they settled for the field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 3:36 left. The score remained the same heading into the locker room as the Verdugo Hills defense forced their fourth punt of the half to close the quarter. 

Poly received possession of the football to begin the second half and began to settle down offensively after they were the beneficiaries of a facemask penalty on a 3rd down & 6 to go. Parrots junior Damian Rosales broke off a 38-yard run to set up the first touchdown of the game on a 10-yard outside run by Cardines. Now trailing 6-3 after the failed extra point attempt, the Dons responded with a prominent offensive drive of their own. Smith made a key 3rd & 14 conversion throw as he marched the ball down the field. The drive concluded with him tossing a 14-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead at 10-6 with 1:52 left in the third quarter. 

The subsequent possession for the Parrots took the game into the fourth quarter, where both teams exchanged punts to begin the quarter. With 7:55 left in the game, Poly regained the lead when Cardines took the ball 67 yards on the first play of the drive into the end zone for a touchdown on a QB keeper. Following a successful two-point conversion attempt, the Parrots led 14-10 with 7:42 left. The Dons responded with their power running game by putting the ball in the hands of sophomore running back Aiden Mejia.  He executed a key first down run on 3rd & 10 to move the chains on a drive that took almost six minutes of gametime. 

The Dons caught a lucky break when a throw from Smith was deflected into the hands of his receiver for a 28-yard reception to put them into red zone territory. Mejia punched in a 13-yard touchdown run to give Verdugo Hills a 17-14 lead with 1:59 left in the game. Poly had one last opportunity to win the game on their final drive, but the Dons defense sealed the victory with an interception for their first and only turnover of the night. In a tight East Valley League, the 5-2 Dons will look to improve to 4-1 in league play when they head to Grant this upcoming Friday to take on the Lancers. Poly will look to rebound when they host Arleta this Friday at 7:00 pm.