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Centaurs defensive back Kevin Beacham(3) intercepts a deep pass early in the first quarter Friday night. Photo, George Laase.
Despite losing their first round playoff football game to St. Francis 45-28 last Friday night, Culver City High School’s light is shining bright at the end of the tunnel.
At 9-1, St. Francis was the better team last week, but the Centaurs (6-5) hope to be the better team next year. Young Culver City will return eight starters on offense, seven on defense.
“The sky is the limit for this team next year,” said head coach Jahmal Wright. “A lot of very good players are coming back. Our goal will be to finish games. We have the talent. Now we need to play at the next level, compete with the elite teams.”
Culver City’s main problem all season was not being able to put together complete games against good teams. Take the loss to St. Francis. The Centaurs played an excellent first half. Leading, they appeared on their way to an upset. In the second half, however, they looked the way they did in the preseason when they were 1-4. The offense could not score. The defense could not stop a good offense.
“St. Francis is good,” said Wright. “They are ranked very high in the Western Division. We had a good game plan. But St. Francis made adjustments at halftime. Give their coaches credit. They shut us down in the second half. With the athletes we have, I thought we could take advantage of situations. It worked in the first half.”
St. Francis coach Jim Bonds was impressed with Culver City’s team speed. “It took time for us to adjust,” he said. “Their quarterback and their receivers presented a big challenge for in the first half. They are the Ocean League champs. They had won five games in a row. We knew they were good. They have some very good athletes on that team.”
Probably the best athlete on the field was Culver City’s all-CIF star Stanley Norman. “We played a good game,” said Norman, “but we made too many mistakes in the second half. We are a team full of young players, so we can learn from this and get better next year.”
Norman hopes to play basketball, baseball and run the 400 meters and relays on the track team now that the football season is over. As other players move on to play different sports, the closing loss will leave a lasting impression.
“St. Francis went to two high safeties, and that took away our deep passes,” said offensive coordinator Aki Wilson. “We still had guys open in the second half, but they did a much better job getting to our quarterback. Next year we will need to be at protecting the quarterback. If our lineman do their job, we will be tough to beat.”
All season the coaches have been telling the players to believe in the system. “They started buying in,” said Wilson, “and that is why we were successful in the Ocean League.
“We have the talent, but talent alone does not win.”
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
