By Steve Finley Sports Editor
Friday night lights are still shinning but after Culver City’s loss to the Warren Bears last Friday at home the lights got a little dimmer for the home town Centaurs. The 42-36 loss to Warren was a classic shootout by two high powered offenses.
Next up for the Centaurs is the Dorsey Dons this Friday night at home. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. Although Dorsey is 0-4 and Culver City is 2-2 the game is still played on the football field. “Dorsey is a young team,” said Culver City head football coach Jahmal Wright after practice this week. “They have a very good coaching staff. They are a hard nose team and they play with a lot of fight and they have some players that can make big plays in open spaces. When you play a team like Dorsey you know that they will have players that can run.”
Wright continued to say this about Dorsey, “We approach these types of game like we approach all of our games. It’s not so much about our opponent and who they are it’s about focusing on us and executing and trying to be the best version of ourselves. It’s about us executing our assignments and doing it to the best of our abilities.”
Culver City’s main job on defense against Dorsey will be to eliminate big play and try to establish a running game. Three out of the Centaurs first four games their passing attack has been outstanding but their running game must improve if they expect to compete for a Bay league championship. Dorsey is the last non-league game before they start league play against Mira Costa next week.
If entertainment was what you were looking for last Friday night the Culver City versus Warren game was better than going to the movies. Both teams showed that they are good football teams but somebody had to lose. Unfortunately, it was the Centaurs. “I saw the game as a back and forth affair that we had a chance to win but we were not able to seal the deal,” said Wright.
“This was a non-league game but at the end of the day I was really proud of how our team fought and came ready for the battle,” said Wright. “Hats off to Warren, to their players and their coaching staff. They have some talented athletes and they are a very good football team.” The Bears were rated 60th in the state and 38th in the CIF Southern Section. The Centaurs were the ranked 133th in the state and 70th in CIF. Warren offense was led by one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, Madden Iamaleava and freshman running back Kelton Strickland.
When you look at those rankings Culver City played a good game but close only counts when you are playing horse shoes. “I told the team after game that I was proud of their fighting spirit and their togetherness, but we do have some have some things we need to fix,” said Wright. “Our deficiencies need to be addressed. We are going to be a better team in the long run playing against tough competition.”
Wright said this team has a certain closeness and that they really care about each other. “I love the brotherhood on the team and the love they have for their teammates. These are all the things that our coaching staff and I try to preach and promote.”
On offense the Centaurs need to get more consistent play for the offensive line and on defense they need to limit third down conversions, but overall Culver City has shown signs that they could be a very good team during their last six games of the regular season and the playoffs.
Culver City’s offense is led by quarterback Sammy Silvia. In four games Silvia has completed 91 passes for 1287 yards and 17 touchdowns. Running back Pierce Reynoso has rushed for 311 yards and three touchdowns and receivers Myles Singleton and Mateo Torres have both caught 23 passes. Singleton has 384 yards and six touchdowns and Torres has 345 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Centaurs have the talent and now is time to put it all together because after the Dorsey game tonight they start Bay league play on Homecoming night against Mira Costa on September 29 at 7 p.m. The following week they travel to Redondo Union on October 6, for a 7 p.m. game. On October 13, the Centaurs host Peninsula on Senior night at 7 p.m. and on October 20, they travel to Palos Verdes for a 3 p.m. game. Culver City we play their last regular season game against Santa Monica on the road at 7 p.m. on October 27.
