Some roads are smooth, and some roads are bumpy and last Friday night in Downey the Culver City football team hit a bump on the road when they were beaten by a very good Warren high school team 54-20. Now the Centaurs will face another solid team when they travel to Whittier to play La Serna on Friday at 7 p.m.
The Centaurs will go into the game with a 2-2 record, and they will battle a 4-1 La Serna team.
“They are a physical football team,” said Culver City head football coach Jahmal Wright last Monday after practice. “They have played a tough schedule and they will be a challenging opponent, but we have a chance to win the game and we are excited about the opportunity to play a very good team. They are a balanced team on offense, and they have a very good defense so once again we will need to be ready to play one of our best games.”
Last Friday the Centaurs played a solid first half against Warren but the second half the Bears capitalized on Culver City mistakes to take complete control of the game.
“We played a very good first half, but things got away from us in the third quarter,” said Wright. “That really cost us as far as the game getting out of reach but it’s a good learning lesson for us and we are ready to move on. We have a 24-hour rule. We watch the film the next day, fix our mistakes and move on.”
Wright continued to say, “We just have to look ourselves in the mirror and fix our mistakes and stay together as a team and get ready for the next game. The main thing is our team morale is good and we as a team are Warren was a hard-hitting team, and the Centaur quarterback Sammy
Silvia absorbed a lot of those hits but the 6’3, 185 pound signal caller continued to stand tall in the pocket. “He is doing fine,” said Wright. “He is in good spirits. Sammy is doing well. He is tough kid. I am proud of his perseverance. He has shown that he can stay in the pocket and not blink. He works hard in the weight room building his body up so he can take those hits.”
Against La Serna the Centaurs hope their overall team speed on offense and defense will put them in the right position to win the game. When you look at their offensive numbers Culver City looks impressive.
Silvia has completed 69 out of 124 passes for 1110 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His main targets are Myles Singleton with 17 catches for 432 yards, Justin Oum has 10 catches for 192 yards, Mateo Torres has caught 18 passes for 186 yards, Justin Hoang has caught six passes for 111 yards and Braylon Singleton has nine catches for 134yards. Their leading rusher is Maurice Burgess with 212 yards on 46 carries.
La Serna’s offense is led by quarterback Jake Long who has completed 52 out of 101 passes for 712 yards and his favorite targets Austin Martinez with 31 catches for 191 yards and Jayden Northup has 16 catches for 317 yards. Their leading rusher is Owen Long with 222 yards on 49 carries.
Playing a touch pre-season schedule is a good way to get ready for league play as long as a team can stay healthy. “I think whenever you challenge yourself in your non-league schedule it gets you ready for the battles you will face in league play. So, for us to be able to play those tough hard nose teams that will help us get ready for the most important part of the season, league play.” The Centaurs start Bay league play next Friday at Mira Costa at 7 p.m.
The Culver City girls’ varsity volleyball team is currently 9-3 and they travel to Mira Costa on Friday for a 5 p.m. game against one of the best teams in California. On Tuesday they have a home game against Santa Monica at 3:30 p.m.