The Culver City varsity football team stepped into the winner’s circle last Friday when they beat Peninsula 41-28 for their first victory of the season at Peninsula. Last season it took the Centaurs eight weeks before they recorded their first win so that’s a big improvement.
The 1-1 Centaurs will hit the road again Friday when they travel to San Pedro for a 7 p.m. game.
Scoring 41 points last week after being shut out 22-0 against West Torrance two weeks ago is another move in the right direction. “The offense opened up a little bit today,” said Culver City head coach Jahmal Wright. “It was not a clean game but it was a good team win and all of our players were able to get into the game. We needed this win so we can feel good about ourselves.”
Going into the game Culver City knew they had the advantage in the speed department. “We were able to put our guys in situations to take advantage of our speed and athletic ability,” said Wright.
When it comes to speed, one of the first names at the top of the list is running back and defense back Cahlil Hooper. Hooper, who may be the fastest football player in the Ocean League, ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries against the Panthers. “It was great blocking by the offensive line,” said Hooper, after the win last week. “I would like to thank the boys up front for getting the job done. I love Culver City.”
Another speedster who appears to like Culver City’s blocking is running back Fred Poindexter. He ran for 106 yards in 11 carries and has 197 yards rushing in the first two games. He is averaging 9.4 yards per carry. “We won the game with teamwork and everyone playing hard all the way to the end of the game,” said Poindexter last week. “We need to keep pushing towards a common goal and everyone needs to give their best effort. We need a good week of practice and keep our heads in the game and we will be able to compete against San Pedro.”
Other players that did well against Peninsula were quarterback Jonathan Martin, who was 15-28 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Mason Mulvihill caught six passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns and Mekhi Ware also played well on offense. The offensive line did a great job attacking Peninsula’s defensive line.
On defense Mulvihill recorded six tackles and had two interceptions. Elijah Zavala and Kyle McKinniss had nine tackles each and Cameryn Newman had five tackles and two sacks.
“San Pedro is a tough opponent but we will have a good game plan against them,” said Wright.”
The 5-1-1 girls volleyball team will host Torrance today at 4:30 p.m. inside the Del Goodyear Gym.