Whenever Culver City High School’s athletic teams play South Bay schools it’s considered a rivalry game but when coaches that grew up together and they face off against each other it’s a double rivalry. That’s what is going to take place Friday night on the Culver City High School campus at 7 p.m. It’s Culver City versus Redondo and Jahmal Wright against his old friend Keith Ellison.
Culver City head coach Wright will lead his 1-0 Centaurs against Ellison’s 2-0 Sea Hawks in a game that should have plenty of fireworks on the football field. “Once the game starts, we don’t think about any of that stuff,” said Wright last Sunday. “We just coach our teams and try to win the game, but honestly Keith and his brother Chris Ellison are like family. They are like brothers to me. It’s always fun playing against a family member.”
Wright continued to talk about the rivalry. “During the season we wish each other well, but we are competitors just like when we played football growing up. We have a lot of respect for each other. Keith has done a really good job revitalizing the Redondo program. They played in the CIF finals last year. We can expect a hard-fought battle on Friday night. They know us very well and we know them very well, so it should be a good high school football game.”
The Centaurs opened their season last Friday night at Culver City against King/Drew, a Los Angeles City section team. The final score was Culver City 46, King/Drew 26. The Centaurs were led by their senior quarterback Nicholas Hoang who threw six touch downs. “I thought Nic did a good job of spreading the ball around,” said Wright. “We had four receivers catch touchdown passes. All five of the receivers that played had a significant impact on the game. The whole receiving core did a good job.”
Culver City High School has a long history of outstanding receivers, and this year continues that tradition. Right now, their best receiver is 6’2” 190-pound junior Jo’el La Foe. He caught three touchdown passes last Friday night. Other receivers that played well against King/Drew were CJ Bledsoe-Cohen, Kai Dawson and Chaim Rosen.
“Anyone that has followed Culver City football over the years knows that we have always had outstanding receivers,” said Wright. “It’s never one guy. That’s the nature of our offense. It’s pretty cool to have an environment where no one is selfish. Everybody eats and everybody gets the opportunity to have the ball in their hands.”
Junior running back Jamil Lewis also had a good game. “He had his first start, and he did a great job,” said Wright. “We are really proud of him. He also plays on special teams, and he really took his pass blocking responsibilities seriously and he played almost every down on offense.”
Right now, the defense has to catch up to the offense. Against King/Drew the defensive unit stepped up in the second half. “Our defensive coaches, Derrick (Huezo), Anthony (Thomas), Michael (Candler) and Cornell (Myles) did a very good job of making halftime adjustments,” said Wright. “Our conditioning really paid off in the second half.”
The defense will need to carry what they did in the second half against King/Drew into the Redondo game if Culver City expects to win the game on Friday. “We have to play better perimeter pass defense and be tougher on the edges,” said Wright. “We have to get more pressure on the quarterback, and we have to tackle better.”
It’s always a who’s who on the Culver City football game sidelines when former players come to cheer on the current Centaurs and last Friday the best quarterback in school history, Zevi Eckhaus was there encouraging the 2026 Centaurs.
“It’s a testament to our program,” said Wright. “A long time ago coach Myles developed a program that created a family atmosphere where players and coaches come back and give back to the program. Former players like Zevi enjoy the experience because they want to help the next generation. He is doing a great job because he knows the offense and the players have a lot of respect for him because of his resume.”
Under the Friday night lights it will be Culver City versus Redondo, Jahmal Wright against Keith Ellison and Culver City against the South Bay.
