After almost a year of practicing, lifting weights and playing spring, summer and fall games it all comes down to two games to determine if the Centaurs have a chance to make the 2024 CIF playoffs. Culver City battles first place Inglewood on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Culver City and Mira Costa travels to Palos Verdes at 3 p.m. on Friday. It’s simple and complicated at the same time. If the Centaurs win or lose and if Mira Costa beats Palos Verdes, the Culver City has an excellent chance to make it to the big dance.
The Bay league is one of the most competitive high school football leagues in California. Inglewood is in first place with a league record of 4-0 and their overall record is 9-0. Leuzinger is in second place at 2-2 and 7-2. Palos Verdes is in third place at 2-2 and 4-5, Mira Costa is in fourth place at 2-2 and 5-4 and Culver City is in fifth place with a record of 2-2 and 7-2. Four teams are 2-2 in league play going into the last week of the regular season.
“We knew the league was going to be super competitive,” said Culver City head football coach Jahmal Wright in a telephone interview last Saturday. “It’s been a playoff atmosphere, and a dog fight every week. We knew it was going to be tough every week. Friday is senior night, and our team will be up for the game, and we will be at our best.”
After beating last place Lawndale 41-13 last Friday night at Lawndale, the Centaurs are hoping to keep the momentum going against Inglewood. “They are a good team so now we need to go back and look at film and understand where we made our mistakes tonight and correct them,” said two-way lineman Mario Reyes after the Lawndale game. “We all have to work hard with our position groups and see how we can improve. Everyone needs to give 100% against Inglewood because this is going to be one of our toughest games.”
Reyes continued to talk about the game on Friday and his teammates. “I am a junior and I have a lot of senior friends on the team, so I want to make them happy. You see this team and you love this team. It’s a brotherhood. We want to keep fighting every week. I think that’s what keeps us together. We fight together.”
A good defensive effort against Inglewood is a must if the Centaurs expect to win the game. “We have to watch the film and see what we need to improve on,” said Culver City defensive coordinator Derrick Huezo after the Lawndale game. “The biggest thing is tackling is open space. The defense is going to have to play assignment football. The biggest improvement we need to make is communicating with each other. We are doing a lot of big things well, but we need to tighten up the screws on the small things. We must control what we can control and let the chips fall where they may.”
The Centaurs have the talent to be able to stop an outstanding Inglewood team so the big question is, will Culver City be up for the challenge? “We need to pull off a victory over Inglewood and we can do that if we play hard on both sides of the ball” said assistant coach Cornell Myles. “We have the athletes to do that. We have momentum going into the game against Inglewood, but we have to stop their running attack.”
Myles had this to say about senior night. “I tell the seniors that this is reality. We can make history, or we can be a part of history. I tell them this could be the best night of their life. If we make the playoffs, it will be something they will never forget.”
