The 3-4 Culver City High School football team already has played 70 percent of their games, but the next three are the key to their season.
If they win all three, for a third-place Ocean League finish, they will be in position to claim an at-large bid in the CIF playoffs.
The most important part of their schedule starts Friday night when the Centaurs play at winless Santa Monica (0-7) at 7 o’clock.
Culver City closes out the regular season with home games against Hawthorne (2-5) on Friday, Oct. 30, and Beverly Hills (0-7) the following Friday.
Three teams with two wins among them after 21 games.
“I am pretty confident that we will be highly considered for the playoffs if we win these three games,” Coach Jahmal Wright said after last week’s 42-31 loss at El Segundo.
“We have played the top two teams in our league down to the wire. I think we will be in a good position.”
The Centaurs, with a 21-14 halftime lead, pressured El Segundo until quarterback Jonathan Martin injured his knee following a long run down the sidelines. His replacement, Bryce Lewis-Wolfe, played well for the Centaurs. But Martin is one of the Ocean League’s best.
“Our offense had a hard time repeating what we were doing in the first half,
said Wright, who commended Lewis-Wolfe.
Although Culver City’s remaining opponents have losing records, the coaching staff is determined to avoid taking them lightly.
“We need to keep going all the way to the wire,” said longtime assistant coach Cornell Myles. “The El Segundo loss hurts real bad because we let them off the hook. We need to bounce back, play one game at a time.”
Many players are having outstanding seasons. Mason Mulvihill continues to be at the top. “We need to stay together,” said Mulvihill. “If Jonathan is not ready to play, we will need to put our faith in Bryce. I expect our team to stay focused.”
Longtime El Segundo coach Steve Shevlin knew Culver City would be difficult.
“Coach Wright always has his teams ready,” Shevlin said. “We were fortunate to come out with a victory. I told our players Culver City has a history of very good teams. They gave us everything we could handle.”
Volleyball
The 10-7-1 Lady Centaurs volleyball team played first-place El Segundo today in the Del Goodyear Gym.
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com
On Saturday, they play three games in the Chadwick Tournament, and next Wednesday they host second-place Santa Monica at 4 o’clock.