The Culver City High School Centaurs football team will try to get back on the winning track when they open Pioneer League play at El Segundo on Friday, October 2, at 7 p.m. Last Friday they lost a close back-and-forth battle against Mira Costa 28-21.
Now the Centaurs are 2-3 and moving into the heart and soul of the season which is the all-important league play. There are six teams in the Pioneer League and right now the league appears to be very balanced. Santa Monica is 4-1, West Torrance is 4-1, El Segundo is 3-2, Torrance has a record of 3-2, North Torrance is 2-3 and Culver City is 2-3.
“El Segundo is coming off a good win so we will have our hands full on Friday,” said Culver City head coach Jahmal Wright after practice this week. “We are having a good week of practice so we are excited to start league play, and we understand what’s in front of us and we are approaching this game as a must win situation.”
Culver City has five games left on their schedule right now and each game is a must win game because of the CIF playoff seedings. The top three teams in the league make the playoffs and sometimes a fourth team can slip in if they have a .500 are better record. So, the El Segundo game is very important.
“They have a very talented quarterback and he is really athletic,” said Wright. “We need to try to contain him and we need to find a way not to turn the ball over and that is one of the things that we are working on this week in practice. We need to take care of the ball and cut down of our penalties.”
Culver City has its own star quarterback in Nicholas Hoang, but Hoang threw two key interceptions last week that hurt the Centaurs. “We tell him he does not have to do everything,” said Wright. “He is having a great year, so we just want him to know his teammates and coaches have his back. We just want him to relax and play his game.”
Wright said the team is ready for league play. “We are trying to learn from our mistakes and get better and improve every week. We are motivated to get back on the field and start the Pioneer league on a high note.”