The Culver City Centaur varsity football team is hoping to put together a complete game when they travel to Lawndale for a 7 p.m. contest Friday. The Centaurs are 0-5 and the Cardinals are 2-3.
This will be the first Ocean League game for both teams. Culver City is the defending league champions, so now is the time for the Centaurs to step up to the plate. Last season Culver City went 1-4 in the preseason so there is still hope.
“We are seeing a little improvement in the defense but the offense needs to catch up with the defense,” assistant coach Cornell Myles said after the 21-14 loss to Channel Islands of Oxnard last week. “We are shooting ourselves in the foot. The players need to follow through with what we tell them in practice. If they listen and play with discipline we can win some games.”
Lawndale lost to Torrance last week 39-34 but they beat Peninsula 42-21 a few weeks ago. The Centaurs lost to Peninsula in a close game four weeks ago. Lawndale has only 35 players on their varsity roster. If the Centaurs can wear them down with their running game led by Donovan Davis and if return specialist Justin Manyweather has a big game Culver City can win the game.
“We have our work cut out for us,” assistant coach Aki Wilson said. “Lawndale is a good team but if we put together three or four good plays in a row that will build confidence. We need all 11 players on the field to come together as one. We are going to keep trying to get better. We have to because now we are playing for the league title.”
The offense seeks to be able to execute the plays and keep the defense off the field. Defensive players that are having a good season for the Centaurs are, Kyle Mckiniss, Simon Valenzuela, James Simon, Jeremy Marrero, Mason Mulvihill and Davis.
“We have to improve,” assistant coach Jarvis Redwine said. “The kids are young but they need to buy into our system more. There are certain things you cannot teach and leadership is one of them. We need to find some leaders on this team.”
The girls’ volleyball team will play Ocean League rival Santa Monica today at 4:30 p.m. inside the Del Goodyear gym on the Culver City high school campus. Todays’ game is dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness month. The players will wear pink to show their support for Breast Cancer research.
Culver City is 15-3 and ranked No. 3 in the CIF 3AA division. Santa Monica is 7-5 and is the only other team in the Ocean League that has a winning record. Culver City is led by their senior captains, outside hitter Taylor Selfridge and setter Mina Grant. Other players that are contributing to Culver City’s success this year are Jessica Stewart, McKenna Stevens, Adili Rikondja and Armani Moultrie. The boys’ water polo team will travel to Beverly Hill on Friday for a 3 p.m. game. The team has a winning record this year and the should make the CIF playoffs