It does not get any easier for the Culver City High School varsity football team when they battle the Mira Costa High School Mustangs on Home Coming Night Friday, October 10. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Jerry Chabola Stadium on the Culver City High School campus. The Centaurs have lost two games in row against two of the best teams in Southern California and now here comes Mira Costa.
The Centaurs are 3-3 and 0-1 in the Bay league and the Mustangs are 5-1 and 1-0 in the Bay league. Culver City lost to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 57-14 two weeks ago and Palos Verdes 48-7 last week. The Centaurs are facing several obstacles they must overcome and one of them is injuries, especially on defense. “We just have to get healthy,” said Culver City head football coach Jahmal Wright after practice last Monday. “It’s been tough having five starters out. We are looking to get healthy and that should give us more fire power on defense.”
The offense also needs to get back on track. Culver City has a lot of talent on offense, but they need to start capitalizing on opportunities when they have the ball. “Offensively we have been able to move the football, but we just have to be more efficient in the Red Zone and not turn the ball over when we are in scoring position,” Wright said. “We can’t have missed opportunities when we have a chance to score.”
The offense is led by quarterback Nicolas Hoang, running back Langston Wilson and receivers Willaim Fourte, Kristopher McKay, Derrick Huezo and Noah Cunningham. Lineman Kem Anuluoha, Abraham Duarte and Alexander Colembie have also played an important part in offense.
Hoang has thrown for 1,314 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has also run for four touchdowns. Wilson has gained 299 yards on the ground and Huezo has 102 yards on the ground.
Wilson is the leading receiver with 24 catches for 312 yards and one touchdown, Fourte has caught the ball 19 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns, McKay has 161 yards with 14 catches and Cunningham has 146 yards on 11 catches.
Mira Costa is led by their dual threat quarterback Liam Meeker. Liam Meeker has thrown for 1,042 yards and 11 touchdowns and he has run the ball for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Their number one running back is AJ McBean who has run for 441 yards and six touchdowns. Their top receivers are Luke Meeker with 15 catches for 426 yards and four touchdowns and Kingston Davies has caught 17 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns.
Getting back on the winning track will be hard to do in this Bay league that has talented teams from top to bottom, but Wright has faith in his team. “We are really, really trying to get our team to just focus on us and being the best version of ourselves and going out there and just fight. We know we are playing a very good opponent in Mira Costa but if we can just play our best we can give Mira Costa good game like it’s supposed to be.”
Wright continued to talk about the game on Friday. “We have to just be ready for the moment and seize the moment. We must not make mistakes, not make mental errors and be at our best when the lights are on.”
Home Coming nights are different and players and coaches want to put their best foot forward. “This is our home coming and we definitely want to put on a good show for the home coming crowd,” said Wright. “This night is always special because the crowd is always bigger. Alumni that don’t come to games that often, come to home coming.
“We want to give the crowd something to cheer about and talk about. Hopefully a good showing against Mira Costa will give the Culver City fans a reason to come back to other games and support the Centaur Nation,” said Wright. “When we play at are best, we are just as good as any team on our schedule.”
