For the third straight Friday, Culver City High School will take on one of the best teams in the region in their second Ocean League mattchup.
The perfect Centaurs (6-0) host the Lawndale Cardinals (6-0) at 7 o’clock at Jerry Chabola Stadium on campus.
Two weeks ago the Centaurs beat Dorsey 30-27 with a last-second field goal by Carlos Barillas.
Last Friday Culver City beat El Segundo 46-27.
Both games were road wins.
Hopefully such outstanding victories will get them ready for their biggest test.
Culver City is the No. 1-ranked team in the CIF Division 11. Lawndale is ranked No. 3 in Division 5.
“It’s going to be a war,” said Culver City Coach Jahmal Wright.
“We have a lot of respect for their program. They have great athletes. So do we.”
Coach Wright vowed his players will be up for the challenge.
“We need to be more focused, though, b in the second half,” he said. “We need to concentrate on stopping the run against Lawndale.”
That will start with stopping junior Jordan Wilmore.
He ran for 288 yards and scored six touchdowns against the Centaurs last season.
This year Wilmore has rushed for 1,079 yards on 77 carries. He is averaging 14 yards a carry with 15 touchdowns.
Culver City’s defense has played well.
One player who promises to be ready is senior defensive back Robert Simon.
At El Segundo, he made a hard tackle against their running back, came off the field for a few plays and went right back in the game to make more tackles.
“I just love playing sports,” said Simon.
“Football is my favorite sport. I watch a lot on television.
“When I was young I only played soccer. I started playing football in the ninth grade. This year we have a fast defense and our team keeps growing together.”
Culver City defensive players Jamar Baines, Jordan Armstrong, Alex Smith, Cortez Wright, Aaron Carey, Jayden Porter ar will have to step up against Lawndale.
According to longtime Culver City assistant Cornell Myles, the Centaurs will be ready.
“This team has a lot of character,” Coac Myles said. “It shows when one of our players gets hurt. This team is good enough to reload.
“We have the next-man-up attitude. That is when stars are born. We have faith in all of our players at Culver City.”
Volleyball
The Culver City girls volleyball team, 20-1, leads the Ocean League at 5-0.
They are ranked second in CIF Division 4 behind Alemany.
Coach Tanner Siegal is one of the nation’s finest.
They travel to Lawndale on Thursday for a 3:15 match.
On Tuesday they have a 3:15 date at Lawndale.
On Thursday of next week the Centaurs host second-place Santa Monica on Senior Night at 5:15.
Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com