The 4-2 Culver City varsity football rode a great second comeback to beat a very good El Segundo team 24-19 in front of a packed homecoming crowd last Friday night inside the Jerry Chabola Stadium. On Friday the Centaurs will battle another strong Ocean team, 3-3 Lawndale on the road at 7 p.m.
It’s going to take the same kind of effort Culver City displayed against El Segundo to beat Lawndale who is similar to Dorsey who the Centaurs lost to a few weeks ago, Lawndale is big, fast and has an athletic quarterback just like the Dorsey Dons, “Lawndale has a lot of talent and both teams know each other very well, Their coach (Travis Clark) and I took over our programs at the same time and we have a lot of respect for their program,” said Culver City head coach Jahmal Wright after the victory against El Segundo.
The Centaurs also had a lot of respect for El Segundo and for good reason. The Eagles came into the game ranked No. 1 in their CIF Division with a record of 5-0. Culver City entered the game ranked No. 5 in the CIF Division. “We had a pretty good game plan coming into the game but I thought if we stayed patient we could win the game,” said Wright,
Playing a solid pre-season schedule that included West Torrance and Los Angeles Dorsey prepared Culver City for the tough Ocean league and the young players on the team are growing up fast. “We have a lot of young, solid kids on this team,” said assistant coach Michael Hooper who played for the Centaurs from 2000-2002 and went on to play at San Jose State, “The young players have a great effect on the seniors, That’s something we have not seen at Culver City in a long time.”
Hooper, who still looks like he could suit up and play high school football enjoys giving back to the Centaur football program, “I am passionate about football and that’s why I came back to Culver City. I want to seize the moment and help the kids get better, Coach Wright does a really good job of choosing his staff and putting us in position to be successful.”
One of the younger players that have really stepped up this season is junior Robert Simon, Simon is the teams’ punter, he plays wide receiver and defensive back, “I started playing football in the 9th grade because I like to hit people,” said Simon with a smile after the win over El Segundo. “My dad played four years of football at St Bernard.”
Simon thinks the 2016 Centaurs are special, “This team has a lot of character and a great attitude. That’s why we were able to beat El Segundo, I think this team can go all the way and win a championship.”
Coach Wright is happy to have Simon on his team, “Robert is a jack of all trades and a great athlete and I am really proud of him.”
