The Culver City Centaurs had an explosive opening game in their 62-20 win over West Torrance. QB Zevi Echaus made his sophomore debut after 3 starts for the Centaurs last year as a freshmen. He is the only known QB to start for the Centaurs as a freshmen, even though it was really pressed into emergency service due injuries to senior star Jonathan Martin. The coaching staff was growing more confident with Echaus last year and he did not disappoint over the summer, winning the job with competition from a senior and a junior. Echaus was 21 of 32 for 415 yards and 5 TD's with no interceptions. He is supported by a cavalcade of talented athletes at the skill positions and perhaps along the line of scrimmage as well. Overall, the team had 503 passing yards and 6 TD's, back-up QB junior Nick Lucero was able to account for 88 yards and a TD. The Centaurs also amassed 214 yards on the ground, on just 21 carries.
The defense did a great job as well posting a first half shut out and intercepting a pass and returning it for a TD. Perhaps it is a down year for West, but the Centaurs look good. It may take a couple of more weeks to figure out where the talent level is for the Centaurs, they will face head coach Raul Lara's Warren of Downey. Considered to be one of the top Division 7 teams this season. But first the Centaurs will host the Palos Verdes Peninsula Panthers who were leading fellow Ocean League and Division 7 team, El Segundo 21-16 in the third quarter last week before El Segundo QB Matt Romero was able to rally his team with two late TD's to pull out the 31-21 victory.
Lawndale's Jordan Wilmore ran for 272 yards and 3 TD's. The defense created 3 turnovers and junior QB Jalon Daniels did just enough. The Cardinals created a late brake in the contest against highly regarded Division 3 Sierra Canyon(0-2) of Chatsworth, that allowed Lawndale to pull out an impressive 25-22 victory. Sierra Canyon had lost 35-30 last week to highly regarded Div. 2 Westlake. Lawndale has a real roller coaster of a schedule starting out with a couple of tough games including next week's game on the road against Division 2 Calabasas, who lost last week to Division 1 Junipero Serra of San Juan Capistrano.
The El Segundo Eagles managed to get that 31-21 victory over Peninsula and may face another step up in competitive level as they travel to face North Torrance(1-1). North suprised many with an opening week 0 win over San Pedro 7-6, but then fell to Division 8 Fountain Valley(2-0). The stat sheet does show a real achilles heel right now for North though, as it looks like they are struggling throwing the football. Being 1 dimensional is almost a death blow to a team and certainly will be even if they can manage to get to the playoffs. North must play very solid D.
While the competition was modest, the Hawthorne Cougars were able to open their season with a 41-12 victory over LA City Division 3 Legacy(0-2) of South Gate. Generous scheduling this year and last has the Cougars likely to rack up some wins. Last year they won their first 4 before running into local rival Leuzinger of Lawndale. And without a solid QB nor the services of super tailback Joe Taylor III, the Cougars were toast when they got to the meat of Ocean League play. But this year, junior QB Kyle Williams is showing some early signs of an ability to throw the ball, at least against lesser competition, to keep teams from keying on Taylor III. This team was young last year and has a lot of returning starters so they might be able to improve on last year's results. The first test will again be Leuzinger(1-0) on 9/14, but the Cougars will likely be 3-0 going into that contest.
The Santa Monica Vikings were the only Ocean League team to lose their opener, by 13-6, to the Compton Tarbabes. The Vikings were able to get their 6 points on the board in first half, on a defensive turnover, ran back for a TD. No stats yet published for Santa Monica, but there is a nice highlight of the Samo QB, #12, connecting on a throw to Melvin Hicks, probably the biggest star for the Vikings. QB #12 is a mystery because Samo has not bothered to list numbers yet for all the players on their roster, but #12 is capable of throwing a good pass so that is a step in the right direction for Samo. Santa Monica will face West Torrance on the road this week. That will be a good measuring stick for Samo & Culver City to see how they measure up against each other through the eyes of the same opponent.
After suffering through 21 straight regular season losses, the Beverly Hills Normans broke the streak emphatically with a 32-0 victory of Sotomayer(0-2), one of the worst rated teams in LA City Division 3. But a win, is a win, especially after 21 straight losses. So I am sure the Normans are happy to have and to pitch a shutout as well. The Normans have a new head coach named Jarrod Bunch and that may bring in a fresh attitude, at least for a little while. I do think the Normans probably hit bottom last year and have nowhere to go but up. And they have already proven that after week 1. They are actually favored in one other game this year and a couple more are not out of the question although they would be considered substantial underdogs at this juncture. A huge test for the Normans this week as they are at home against CIFss Division 13 opponent Malibu(2-0), not exactly a juggernaut, but a big test for a desparately struggling program. If the Normans prevail in this contest, they can re-evaluate and start thinking about targeting a win in league against one of the lesser Ocean League teams.
The defense did a great job as well posting a first half shut out and intercepting a pass and returning it for a TD. Perhaps it is a down year for West, but the Centaurs look good. It may take a couple of more weeks to figure out where the talent level is for the Centaurs, they will face head coach Raul Lara's Warren of Downey. Considered to be one of the top Division 7 teams this season. But first the Centaurs will host the Palos Verdes Peninsula Panthers who were leading fellow Ocean League and Division 7 team, El Segundo 21-16 in the third quarter last week before El Segundo QB Matt Romero was able to rally his team with two late TD's to pull out the 31-21 victory.
Lawndale's Jordan Wilmore ran for 272 yards and 3 TD's. The defense created 3 turnovers and junior QB Jalon Daniels did just enough. The Cardinals created a late brake in the contest against highly regarded Division 3 Sierra Canyon(0-2) of Chatsworth, that allowed Lawndale to pull out an impressive 25-22 victory. Sierra Canyon had lost 35-30 last week to highly regarded Div. 2 Westlake. Lawndale has a real roller coaster of a schedule starting out with a couple of tough games including next week's game on the road against Division 2 Calabasas, who lost last week to Division 1 Junipero Serra of San Juan Capistrano.
The El Segundo Eagles managed to get that 31-21 victory over Peninsula and may face another step up in competitive level as they travel to face North Torrance(1-1). North suprised many with an opening week 0 win over San Pedro 7-6, but then fell to Division 8 Fountain Valley(2-0). The stat sheet does show a real achilles heel right now for North though, as it looks like they are struggling throwing the football. Being 1 dimensional is almost a death blow to a team and certainly will be even if they can manage to get to the playoffs. North must play very solid D.
While the competition was modest, the Hawthorne Cougars were able to open their season with a 41-12 victory over LA City Division 3 Legacy(0-2) of South Gate. Generous scheduling this year and last has the Cougars likely to rack up some wins. Last year they won their first 4 before running into local rival Leuzinger of Lawndale. And without a solid QB nor the services of super tailback Joe Taylor III, the Cougars were toast when they got to the meat of Ocean League play. But this year, junior QB Kyle Williams is showing some early signs of an ability to throw the ball, at least against lesser competition, to keep teams from keying on Taylor III. This team was young last year and has a lot of returning starters so they might be able to improve on last year's results. The first test will again be Leuzinger(1-0) on 9/14, but the Cougars will likely be 3-0 going into that contest.
The Santa Monica Vikings were the only Ocean League team to lose their opener, by 13-6, to the Compton Tarbabes. The Vikings were able to get their 6 points on the board in first half, on a defensive turnover, ran back for a TD. No stats yet published for Santa Monica, but there is a nice highlight of the Samo QB, #12, connecting on a throw to Melvin Hicks, probably the biggest star for the Vikings. QB #12 is a mystery because Samo has not bothered to list numbers yet for all the players on their roster, but #12 is capable of throwing a good pass so that is a step in the right direction for Samo. Santa Monica will face West Torrance on the road this week. That will be a good measuring stick for Samo & Culver City to see how they measure up against each other through the eyes of the same opponent.
After suffering through 21 straight regular season losses, the Beverly Hills Normans broke the streak emphatically with a 32-0 victory of Sotomayer(0-2), one of the worst rated teams in LA City Division 3. But a win, is a win, especially after 21 straight losses. So I am sure the Normans are happy to have and to pitch a shutout as well. The Normans have a new head coach named Jarrod Bunch and that may bring in a fresh attitude, at least for a little while. I do think the Normans probably hit bottom last year and have nowhere to go but up. And they have already proven that after week 1. They are actually favored in one other game this year and a couple more are not out of the question although they would be considered substantial underdogs at this juncture. A huge test for the Normans this week as they are at home against CIFss Division 13 opponent Malibu(2-0), not exactly a juggernaut, but a big test for a desparately struggling program. If the Normans prevail in this contest, they can re-evaluate and start thinking about targeting a win in league against one of the lesser Ocean League teams.
