Culver City high school varsity football team will try to rebound from their 34-21 home loss to Salesian last Friday when they face Downey’s Warren high school on Friday, September 19, at 7 p.m. It will be another home game for the Centaurs inside the Jerry Chabola Stadium.
The Centaurs will come into the game with a 2-1 record while the Warren Bears are 0-4, but their record might be deceiving. Their first four games were against some very good high school football teams. “They have an athletic team,” said Culver City head football coach Jahmal Wright in a telephone interview last Sunday. “They are a physical well coached team. They have played a pretty tough schedule, so they are battle tested. They are an experienced team that is hungry to get a win. So, it’s going to be a tough battle Friday night.
“We have to find a way to execute and not turn the ball over,” said Wright. “If we want to win the game, we have to take advantage of opportunities on offense and defense. We have the talent to make good plays. We just have to stay focused.”
Against Salesian last Friday Wright knew they were a good team. “They did not surprise us. They looked good on film. They were 2-1 and their one loss was a game that they should have won. We knew that they posed a threat, but it was a good football game. We just came up a little short.”
Although Culver City‘s top three receivers did not play against Salesian because of injuries Wright said the backup receivers did a good job. The receivers that missed the game against Salesian were William Fourte, Harley Moore and Jo’el La Foe.
On defense against Salesian the Centaurs were able to contain their outstanding running back, J Anthony Cobb but they could not stop their 6’4″ 210-pound freshman quarterback Marty Slye who threw for over 200 yards. “What we did not do a good job on was us winning the third down battle offensively and defensively,” said Wright. “Even though we caused a lot of turnovers we actually had some really costly turnovers ourselves that caused us to lose the football game”
Current and longtime Culver City assistant football coach, Cornel Myles said he thought the Centaurs first two blowout wins may a hurt Culver City a little bit. “Salesian came to play, and we came to the game expecting to do what we did against King Drew (41-7) and Narbonne (43-6). Those teams were not as good as Salesian.”
Myles continued to talk about the Salesian game. “They captured the momentum and took the lead. When you play good teams sometimes the fear factor can be your motivator. This is what football is all about. You either win or lose. When you lose that should make you angry and you don’t want to continue to have that feeling. I am looking forward to a good high school football game against Warren on Friday. We need to learn how to fight through adversity.”
Culver City will be led on offense by junior quarterback Nicholas Hoang who has completed 50 out of 80 passes for 579 yards and seven touchdowns. Right now, his number one receiver is running back senior Langston Wilson who has 13 receptions for 167 yards. Wilson is also the number one running back with 172 yards on 29 carries.
The Centaur defense is led by lineman Marion Reyes, linebackers Jordan Njoku, Damarion Boyd and Shelton Bryant.
After the game on Friday, Culver City will battle Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in their third home game in row on Friday, September 26, at 7 p.m.