Ball control offense and big defensive effort leads to IMG's second win over a Southern California power.
Video: IMG Academy @ Long Beach Poly MaxPreps photographer Joe Bergman was on hand Friday night for IMG win.Another long trip to Southern California. Another big victory for second-ranked
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).
This one, however, was completely different from the first game.
The Ascenders got four rushing touchdowns from four different players,
Cooper Graham kicked field goals of 46 and 30 yards and the defense did the rest in a 34-0 win at
Long Beach Poly (Calif.) on Friday.
The first time IMG Academy played in Southern California was a wild 50-49 victory over nationally-ranked Centennial (Corona, Calif.) on Sept. 2. IMG needed a last-minute touchdown and two-conversion in that one.
This one was never in doubt, though Poly (6-3) played a strong defensive game itself. The score was 10-0 at halftime and 20-0 after three quarters.
After Graham's first field goal of 30 yards, quarterback
Kellen Mond scored on a 4-yard run in the second quarter to make it 10-0.
Graham's 46-yarder made it 13-0 before touchdown runs from
Asa Martin (10 yards),
Trey Sanders (42 yards) and
John-Marcus Carruthers (4 yards).
Since Centennial's 49-point effort, IMG's defense has pitched three shutouts and allowed just 42 points over six games. The Ascenders are 8-0 and can only hope for a slip up from No. 1 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) to claim a mythical national championship.
IMG Academy running back Trey Sanders attempts to elude a Long Beach Poly defender.
Photo by Joe Bergman
