The Culver City High School football team scored 28 points in the second half, routing host Beverly Hills, 41-12, last Friday night to end their season with a two-game winning streak.
Those two games advanced the Centaurs into fourth place in the six-team Ocean League. They finished the season 2-8 overall, 2-3 in league.
After the finale, Culver City players, coaches and fans looked relieved and happy in the same moment.
Losses in the first eight games became a distant memory. Everyone had a smile on his or her face. “It feels good to end the season with two wins,” Coach Jahmal Wright.
“We are going to ride this momentum all the way to next year.”
The victories were an upbeat way for the seniors to end their season. “Some seniors really stepped up,” Wright said. “Anthony Polk switched from tailback to quarterback the last few games. He did a fantastic job learning the plays for another position. Donovan Davis was instrumental in the two wins. He scored six touchdowns.”
No Kick Coming
Another senior who enjoyed a standout season was Tony Caiseros, a 5-foot-11, 210- pound kicker. Caiseros made a 50-yard field goal against Beverly Hills, second longest in school history. Caiseros handled all of the kicking duties, which included kickoffs and punts.
Kicking coach Greg Goodyear and Caiseros were elated that the season ended on a high note. “I have always had a strong leg,” the sturdy kicker said. “I attended kicking camps over the summer like Snap, Hold and Kick. They really helped.”
Caseiros spoke of the pride factor.
“Since this was my last game,” he said, “I really wanted to perform well.”
Time for Rewards
One of the hardest working players was senior wide receiver Jason Grossman. According to the coaching staff Grossman practiced hard and play hard. He never complained about not getting the ball because of the problems with the young Centaur quarterbacks.
“Every season has its ups and downs,” Grossman said. “The last few weeks we had more confidence. We had good practices. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. And we finished on a positive note.”
Davis probably was the happiest senior. Davis started the season scoring touchdowns against West Torrance and ended the year reaching the end zone against Beverly Hills. “I am just proud of my team,” said a smiling Davis. “The way we finished these two games was great. It’s incredible how we can lose all of those games and win the last two. I said a few weeks ago that we just wanted to win some games. We did it. All of the seniors got together. We decided to give all we had.”
A month ago, the Centaurs were held scoreless against El Segundo and Santa Monica.
However, in the closing two games, against Hawthorne and Beverly Hills, they combined for 76 points.
That explosion made offensive coordinator Aki Wilson breathe easier. “We wanted to get the seniors the ball as much as possible,” Wilson said. “It felt good to go out with a bang. Now we need to get in the weight room, gt back to work.”
Since the freshman and junior varsity teams did a good job this year, “the future looks bright,” Wilson said.
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
