The Culver City High School  Ocean League champion football team was knocked out of the CIF Division 11 playoffs last Friday in the first round.

Valley View of the Moreno Valley defeated the Centaurs 69-43 at Jerry Chabola Stadium

Obviously, both teams had their offenses ready.

At the end, it came down to turnovers.

That was one of the main reasons the Centaurs lost.

They committed two costly interceptions at the end of the second quarter, turning  a close game into a 20-point Valley View lead going into halftime.

In the second half, Valley View used their size to wear down smaller Culver City.

“They were pretty physical up front,” Coach Jahmal Wright said.

“We had a hard time matching their physicality.

“We were doing a good job matching them score for score — until we threw two interceptions.

“Those plays took some steam out of us. We had a hard time recovering after that.”

Culver City finishes with a 7-4 record  after going 4-1 in the Ocean League. The Centaurs shared first place with El Segundo and Lawndale.

“This loss really hurts,” Coach Wright said. “The future looks bright, though.”

Pointing out that just two years ago the Centaurs lost 8 of 10 games, the coach was proud “we have turned the corner.”

Mr. Finley may be contacted at sfinley50@aol.com