The Centaurs 2026 varsity football won the Pioneer League championship last Friday night when they outlasted Torrance High School on the road in a thrilling 54-52 victory. Culver City is 4-0 in league play and Torrance is 3-1. The Centaurs face Santa Monica on Senior Night at home on Friday and regardless of the outcome of that game Culver City will be the league champions because they beat Torrance in their head-to-head matchup. Both teams are currently 6-3 overall. Kick off for the game on Friday is set for 7 p.m.
Torrance was the defending league champion. “The atmosphere was electric,” said Culver City head coach Jahmal Wright, describing the intensity during the game. “It was pretty cool. The Torrance crowd was very supportive of their team. Coach (Raymond) Carter has done a good job revitalizing that program. They have had a lot of success over the last five years. They have a CIF championship on the resume. It was tough team and crowd to play against.”
When the other team scores 52 points that means Culver City’s offense had to bring their ‘A’ game to the table. That’s precisely what they did. Led by senior quarterback Nicholas Hoang, the Centaurs got it going in the second half and that was the difference in the game. “Torrance really started the game fast, and they really took it to us. The score was 21-3 in the first quarter,” said Wright. Culver City finally woke up in the second quarter, and the score was 28-24 in favor of Torrance at halftime.
“We got the ball at the start of the second half and that’s when the offense put it all together,” said Wright. “We just live in the moment and take it one possession at a time. We just try to focus on the task at hand.”
The Centaurs have now won four games in a row but winning the league championship is special. “It’s really rewarding,” said Wright. “I am happy for the 2026 football team. They really deserve it. When we had our first team meeting in December, I asked the four captains to write down their goals for the season and one of their goals was to be league champions. For them to accomplish one of their goals is pretty rewarding. It feels great to be able to help assist young men and help them achieve their goals.”
Against Torrance Hoang threw six touchdown passes and ran for one. Overall, this season he has completed 216 out of 314 passes for 3,392 yards and 37 touchdowns. He has also run for six touchdowns. Those are some of the best quarterback statistics in the state.
His top receivers are Joel La Foe who has 61 receptions for 1,218 yards and 11 touchdowns, CJ Bludso-Cohen has 51 receptions for 840 yards and 11 touchdowns, Kai Dawson has caught 32 passes for 453 yards, and six touchdowns and Chaim Rosen has 29 receptions for 378 yards and two touchdowns.
The running game is led by Alozie Adkins with 591 yards, and four touchdowns and Hoang has run for 481 yards and six touchdowns.
Last Friday against Torrance defensive players that stepped up were Romeo Spears who had 15 tackles, Jacob Crespin recorded 14 tackles, Kem Anuluoha had 12 tackles, and Kaylen Carter had 12 tackles.
“We have our last league game against Santa Monica on Senior Night, so we have to get ready to play a great game and play at a high level and not get anyone hurt,” said assistant coach Cornell Myles. “We need to get ready for the CIF playoffs but now the players know anything is possible after that big win over Torrance. We tell our players to just keep fighting and good things will happen.”