The Culver City High School football team, looking for its first victory, hosts Paramount at Jerry Chabola Stadium on Friday evening at 7.
The Centaurs are 0-3 and Paramount has split its first four games.
Culver City lost to San Pedro 38-17 last Friday after falling behind 17-0 in the first half.
San Pedro quarterback Jacob Miller and running back Chris Alvidrez did much of the damage. Miller completed only four passes, but two went for touchdowns.
Mistakes made it difficult for the Centaurs to put together a complete game. “We are still making too many mental mistakes,” assistant coach Cornell Myles said. “We are trying hard, but it looks like we have to go back to the drawing board. We need to work on the basics that will help us win, like knowing where to be on certain plays on defense.”
According to Myles, the good part about playing San Pedro before Paramount is that they are the same type of teams, strong running games and tough defenses. They resemble the old Hawthorne teams of the 1980s and 1990s..
Culver City’s highlight play of the night came when Donovan Davis returned a fumble 90 yards in the third quarter to cut San Pedro’s lead to 24-10.
The Centaurs are young but time waits for no one.
“We are going to keep this team together,” head coach Jahmal Wright said after the loss. “Three games into a 10-game season, we have time to fix our problems. We just have to find a way.”
Some players are moving in the right direction – Davis, Cahlil Hooper, Kyle Lyons and quarterback Quintorius Truitt who stepped in for injured starter Xavier Ryan in the first half. “Quintorius played well,” assistant coach Aki Wilson said.
As for the team, “We work on things in practice but they don’t carry over. We have to execute better. Although we are losing, I do see improvement.”
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
