What went down at the 2023 Poly-City Game?
Author: Daniel Bowden
Editor: Bianca Crainiceanu
Photo Credits: Kaitlyn Seldon
The Poly-City runs deep in the schools’ histories and was renewed on Saturday, as the 135th edition of the football game was held on the last Saturday in October. Poly looked to break their losing streak of a decade to City. The game once again took place at Morgan State University, after being played at Johns Hopkins last year. The stadium was packed with fans from both sides, with unmatched energy entering game time. Poly hoped to end their season with a bang by beating their rivals. City hoped that they could keep the momentum of their streak. Let us recap the 135th edition of Poly and City.
The game opened with City getting the ball. City’s offense could not move the ball and had to punt, giving Poly the ball. Poly’s first possession was short-lived as they had to also punt. City proceeded to strike first and make it 8-0 with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. It got worse for Poly as they fumbled to open their 2nd drive and City capitalized on it to make it 16-0. Poly got some good plays, but another fumble led to the drive going to waste. City had to punt on their next drive and Poly got good field position, but they couldn’t convert a 4th down and stay on the field. City ended up doing the same thing on their next drive and giving Poly the ball back. Poly had a few big plays on their next drive, yet failed to convert a 4th down again. City had a huge touchdown pass and the 2-point to make it 24-0. The point deficit was definitely discouraging for Poly fans and the team. However, fans supported the team throughout the game. After another punt, City once again delivered a major play almost the length of the field but failed the 2-point try to make it 30-0. The score would stay that way to halftime.
After both Poly and City’s marching bands gave halftime entertainment, it was time for the 2nd half. Poly started with the ball, but punted. City fumbled and Poly had good field position for their next drive. Poly couldn’t capitalize and gave it back to City. A long drive from City ended in them failing to convert on 4th and Goal. After a Poly punt, A City fumble gave them their best field position yet. But it wouldn’t be enough as Poly threw an interception to give City the ball back. However, with City on the verge of scoring again, Poly intercepted a pass and ran it to the endzone for a touchdown. The huge play made it 30-6 City and helped avoid the shutout. The momentum was short-lived as City had a big play touchdown and added 2 to make it 38-6. From here on out, it was a foregone conclusion that the game was over. City tacked on another 6 points to make the score 44-6. That would be the final score for the game.
Poly’s losing streak has unfortunately not been broken. We can applaud the effort of Poly to not give up despite the score of the game. Poly struggled greatly, but penalties were something to take note of. Whether it was holding, a false start, or any penalty, Poly has room to improve and that was also seen in the turnovers. Poly was unable to use good field position from City turnovers to generate points, something City did very well. The Poly players found themselves in a hole early in the game and that could affect each person mentally and ultimately how a team plays. Overall, despite the score, Poly definitely tried their best. Fans showed out and backed up their Poly Pride. For now, we can hope for a different result next year, when the two teams meet annually once again. We wish the team the best of luck in future games, and we are excited to see what the team does between now, and the 136th edition of the Poly-City football rivalry.
