It’s been a long season for the Culver City High School football team.
Happily, their last two games are against teams also trying to stay out of last place in the Ocean League.
Culver City is 0-8 overall and 0-3 in league. Hawthorne, which will host Culver City on Friday evening at 7, is 3-5 and 1-2 in league.
Beverly Hills, home against the Centaurs a week from Friday in the season finale, is 1-7 and 0-3.
Last Friday night the Centaurs were beaten by a solid Santa Monica team 42-0 at the Jerry Chabola Stadium on campus. Although the score was lopsided, Culver City coaches saw bright spots.
“We fought hard even though the score did not reflect that,” assistant coach Aki Wilson said. “We need to eliminate our mistakes. We need to sustain offensive drives.
“I feel bad for our seniors. They never have experienced anything like this. Culver City has a proud football tradition. So this is hard on the players, coaches and fans.” Last year at this time Culver City and Santa Monica were tied for first in the Ocean League. Santa Monica currently is in third place, at 4-4 and 2-1. Although they probably will make the playoffs, they are having a down year, too.
“I have a lot of respect for Culver City and their coaching staff,” Santa Monica Coach Travis Clark said. “A lot of teams are down this year. So are we. It’s just how the ball bounces in high school football. I feel bad for Culver City, but they will be back.”
Right now the Centaurs want to win their next two games. “I never have been 0-8,” said Donovan Davis, running back and defensive back. “This just motivates me to play harder and get a win. Our defense is playing well. We have to get the offense moving in the right direction. We can run the ball. We need to improve on our passing game.
“The younger players have more time. But I am a senior. I just want to get one win. I keep telling the team to keep their heads up.”
Other seniors keeping their heads up are wide receiver Jason Grossman and running back/linebacker Anthony Polk. “This season has been disappointing,” Grossman said. “It’s tough, but hopefully we will be 2-8 at the end of the year. That’s all we can do. The receivers are open. The quarterbacks have to make better reads.”
Polk, a three-year varsity player, hopes to taste victory at least one more time.
“We have to score points,” he said. “That’s the bottom line. Our defense is doing a good job but we are on the field too long. The offense needs to step up and make plays.”
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley@aol.com
