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California High School Football: Long Beach Poly withdraws from CIF-SS playoffs

hunterby: Hunter Shelton3 hours agoHunterShelton_
Syndication: Ventura County Star
Long Beach Poly's Harry Johnson is stopped by Pacifica's Max Magana and Jesse Taylor Jr. during the first quarter of a CIF-SS Division 4 quarterfinal game at Pacifica High on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Pacifica won, 45-41.

Long Beach Poly football will not compete in the 2025 CIF Southern Section playoffs, which are set to begin next week.

The school withdrew the Jackrabbits from the postseason after the conclusion of their regular season on Thursday and issued a statement to the562:

“Long Beach Polytechnic High School acknowledges the recent CIF ruling related to violations of CIF bylaw 202 within its football program. In accordance with that ruling, and as part of an ongoing internal investigation, Poly will withdraw from postseason play. The school is fully cooperating with CIF and the District, as a thorough review of our processes and systems is conducted to ensure full compliance with CIF rules and District policy. While student and employee matters are confidential, our commitment remains to support our students while upholding the integrity of our athletic programs.“

It’s been a busy fall for the CIF-SS and bylaw 202 has been frequently brought up as a slew of teams have forfeited games. At the end of September, Long Beach Poly had five transfers ruled ineligible by the CIF-SS due to the bylaw, which is listed by the association as ‘Penalty for Providing Incorrect, Inaccurate, Incomplete or False Information.’

The Jackrabbits also had to forfeit a Sept. 5 win over Tustin after using an ineligible player in the game.

On Thursday night, they defeated Compton — another program that has dealt with the CIF-SS ruling a player ineligible this fall — 55-22 to finish the regular season at 5-5. Long Beach Poly entered this week as the No. 78 team in California, per the Massey Ratings.

The Golden State program has produced multiple NFL stars over the years. Top alumni include DeSean Jackson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jurrell Casey, Matt Corral and Jack Jones. Their current roster includes five ranked prospects: junior four-star cornerbacks JuJu Johnson and Donte Wright (Georgia commit), senior three-star wide receiver Kamarie Smith (Sacramento State), cornerback Deon Jackson (Cal) and tight end Jaden Hernandez (Colorado State).

In 2024, Long Beach Poly went 6-6. That came after a fantastic 10-2 campaign in 2023, where it fell to Servite in the Division II playoff quarterfinals.

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