Victories all around

Poly football traveled to Maranatha to face the Minutemen on their home turf. After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers turned it on, scoring two touchdowns in back-to-back drives in the second quarter, leading 14-0 going into the half. They came back in the second half, not letting up. The Poly defense had another spectacular game, shutting down the Minutemen offense and holding them to only 10 rushing yards all game. The final score was a 29-0 shut out.

Girls golf faced two league opponents this week, going up against Firebaugh on Tuesday and Westridge on Thursday. Senior Lauren Park shot a 37, leading to a 226-277 victory over the Westridge Tigers. These wins extend their winning record to 8-1, 6-0 in league.

Girls tennis had one league rival match-up this week against the Rebels from Flintridge Prep. The team went into this match knowing it would be tougher than their dominating shut-out over Firebaugh last week. The Panthers and the Rebels went back and forth in games, but it was the Panthers who came out with a tight 10-8 win over the Rebels. This win gives Poly an overall record of 6-2, 3-1 in league.

Girls volleyball had two tough games this week. They first traveled to Rancho Palos Verdes, where they faced the Dolphins from Chadwick. Both Frosh/Soph and JV teams took care of business quickly, finishing winning 2-0 apiece. The Varsity had a tougher match up against the Dolphins’ Varsity team. After dominating in the first set, the Panthers dropped sets two and three. They pushed through and won the fourth set, forcing a fifth where they quickly took care of business and pulled out a 3-2 win. Thursday, the Panthers hosted their cross-town rivals, the Cubs from Mayfield Senior. Their first meeting earlier this season resulted in a 1-2 loss for both Frosh/Soph and JV teams and a very tight 3-2 victory for Varsity. It was a much different story this time with all three teams dominating and not dropping a single set in any of the three matches. Varsity finished the week extending their league record to 7-1.

Boys water polo had a busy week as well. After a dominating win over La Salle on Monday, the boys faced Flintridge on Wednesday. It was a tough-fought match, and the Panthers just fell short, losing 11-13. They did not let that loss keep them down. Thursday they traveled to Claremont to face the Gauls from Webb School. There they took care of business, beating the Gauls 9-6 extending their overall record to 11-3.

These are big wins for all of Poly’s athletic teams as they go into Upper School trips week. There will be no Upper School athletic competitions next week; they will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 10.