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By Steve Finley
Sports Editor 

Recruiting spotlight shines bight on Centaur student-athletes

 

January 7, 2021

Lakers

Lakers picked up a very good player in Dennis Schroder in the off season. His point guard play will free up LeBron James.

The coronavirus has disrupted high school sports like the Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald creates havoc in an opponent's backfield. Every month good and bad information comes out of the CIF offices regarding the state of high school sports in California. Although no sports have been played Culver City continues to post winning records when it comes to winning scholarships.

The highly ranked football program is not the only Centaur sport that is producing highly rated student-athletes. Every sport at Culver City High School is creating stars on and off the field. During the past few weeks, several Centaurs have excepted scholarships from colleges from all over the United States.


These athletes have worked hard in the classroom and on the field to put themselves in a position to help their families with the high cost of a college education.

From the boys' lacrosse team Justin Beighey will be attending Coker University in South Carolina and Ray Sugiyama will start college at Dominican University in California. The head coach for the Culver City boy's lacrosse team is Casey Chabola.

From the baseball team Mason Kim will be attending the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and Jack Bickerton received a scholarship from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. The head baseball coach at Culver City is Rick Prieto.


From the boys' volleyball team, Brandon Bostel will be attending the University of Charleston in West Virginia. The head coach for the Culver City team is Joe Manzo. From the girls' volleyball team Sophia Mullen will be attending California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, California. The head coach for the Culver City team is Tanner Siegal.

From the football team several players have accepted scholarships in the last few months, but the big football signing happened a few weeks ago when receiver Makai Cope committed to the University of Utah. Cope was recruited by almost every major Division 1 college in the nation. At 6'3 and 195 pounds he will make a perfect target for the Utah quarterback. The boys' football coach is Jahmal Wright. The Culver City high athletic director who oversees all the sports is Tom Salter.


A few weeks into the NBA season and the Lakers are in first place in the Western Conference with a record of 6-2 at press time. They return home after a four-game road trip to take on the Chicago Bulls on Friday at the Staples Center at 7 p.m. On Sunday they start a three-game road trip against Houston at 4 p.m. They stay in Houston for a 5 p.m. game on Tuesday, January 12 and they travel to Oklahoma City on Wednesday to play the Thunder at 5 p.m.


The Lakers appear to be just as good or better than they were last year. They lost several key players from last years' team, but they replaced them with reliable talent. Gone are guards Avery Bradley (Miami), Danny Green (Philadelphia) and Rajon Rondo (Atlanta). The Lakers also lost centers JaVale McGee (Cleveland) and Dwight Howard (Philadelphia).

They replaced those players with center, Marc Gasol, forwards Montrezl Harrell who played for the Clippers last year and Talen Horton-Tucker. The new players at the guard position are Wesley Matthews and Dennis Schroder.


The Clippers travel north to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday at 7 p.m. The Warriors have regained some of their old magic because super star guard Stephen Curry has recovered from his injuries. He scored 62 points in a game last week. On Sunday they return home to the Staples Center to take on the Chicago Bulls at 1 p.m. and they stay home to battle the New Orleans Pelicans lead by Zion Williamson and former UCLA and Lakers player, Lonzo Ball on Wednesday at 7 p.m.. The Clippers are currently in third place in the Western Conference with a record of 5-3.

The Clippers still have two of best players in the NBA in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They lost forwards JaMychal Green and Harrell, but they replaced them with front court players, Nicolas Batum and Serge Ibaka and guard Luke Kennard.


The Rams have a quarterback controversy going into their National Football League playoff game against Seattle on Saturday at 1:40 p.m. on Channel 11. Backup quarterback John Wolford filled in nicely for injured starter, Jared Goff last Sunday and led the Rams to a much-needed victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Clippers

Paul George of the Clippers is playing with a chip on his shoulders this year after a disappointing 2019-20 season.

Wolford did not throw a touchdown pass, but he threw for 239 yards with one bad interception. After the interception he settled down and kept the Cardinal defense off balance with his arm and legs. He was also the Rams leading rusher with 62 yards. That is what it is going to take to beat Seattle. The Rams must keep the Seattle defense guessing if they expect to advance to the next round. Goff is exceptionally good when he is focused but he is not very good when he is distracted. Start Goff and if he is not making the right plays immediately switch to Wolford. If head coach Sean McVay waits to long it might be to late to win the game.


 

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