MERCY RULE APPLIES AGAIN

The age-old adage "when it rains it pours" still rings true and certainly it does for Culver City High and Ocean League football in 2014.

This time it happened on 'Senior Night', October 24, at Jerry Chabola Stadium when the Centaurs hosted cross-town Santa Monica High for a rather untypical Friday night showdown between the two archrivals.

Though not the case this year, for the past decade this game has determined the league championship in nine of the past 10 seasons. Santa Monica came in determined to avenge last year's heart-wrenching loss, an overtime thriller that propelled the Centaurs to the 2013 title.

The Vikings accomplished that with an exclamation mark as they dismantled Culver 49-0 while also extending the Centaurs' season-long losing streak to eight games.

The Culver offense began the game moving the ball but came up short as it has been all year. Head coach Jahmal Wright: "We were able to drive down the field with some first downs. But then we threw an interception. Santa Monica got the ball back and actually went for it on fourth-and-one from their own 10-yard line.

"It looked like we stopped them but they ended up getting the first down. On the next play they threw a short pass and then ended up getting an 85-yard touchdown play."

Down 7-0 after one quarter the Centaurs threatened but again came away empty-handed. The Vikings took full advantage and scored to make it 14-0 midway through the second quarter.

Coach Wright: "We were able to dial up and get some stops on defense. Offensively we moved the ball but we just couldn't score. We actually had some sacks and took some chances. It just didn't work out for us."

Culver attempted to move the ball through the air. The result was not to their favor as the SaMo defense came up with an interception for another touchdown.

Wright was aware of the impact on his team. "Their interception was a pick-six so that made it 21-0. The deficit snowballed on us and it was tough to overcome from that point on."

Just before the half the Vikings struck with a 30-yard pass with 24 seconds remaining on the clock and a commanding 28-0 lead.

The crowd was quiet but soon got into the spirit of the halftime show which not only introduced both the cheer team and school band seniors with parents and families but also featured a gathering of the school's students, faculty, administrators and supporters taking stage on the entire field promoting breast cancer awareness and those that are fighting the disease.

An earlier pregame ceremony honored the senior football players with their parents and families as well as the ever-dedicated sports medicine program seniors.

Santa Monica stormed out of the gates to begin the second half and in less than two minutes scored its fifth touchdown to lead 35-0. The teams traded possessions for the rest of the quarter until the Vikings added another score the first minute into the fourth quarter. The clock ticked away in 12 short minutes as the mercy rule was in effect for the second consecutive game.

Wright and his coaching staff expect improvement from all of their players regardless of the team's current trials and tribulations.

"I expect to see improvement in all areas of our offense and in all factions of the game, our execution and our up front blocking. I expect us to be more efficient in our passing game. I expect us not to turn the ball over and I expect to get some momentum going early."

Ocean League football has undergone a dramatic change this year with the addition of its two new members: El Segundo and Lawndale... and both teams happen to be tied for first in league at 3-0. Santa Monica is in third at 2-1, Hawthorne is fourth at 1-2 while Culver and Beverly Hills are 0-3 with two games remaining before the CIF playoffs begin. The top three teams receive an invitation to the playoffs.

Coach Wright realizes the increased competition: "The Ocean League is highly competitive and has a lot to offer. We have El Segundo who is one of the top teams in the division. Lawndale has a lot of juniors on their team so they'll be good for a couple of years. Santa Monica is real young playing a couple of freshman and sophomores and they'll be good for a couple of years.

"El Segundo has a solid coaching staff. They're senior-laden, senior-heavy. This year just displays the quality of our league. From top to bottom we have a pretty competitive league. Hawthorne is improving. Coach Paysinger is doing a good job with that program since he's been there.

"We've been able to have success over the past six to 10 years in the Ocean League. It's going to be a fight and a war to stay on top."

Coach Wright paid tribute to his seniors who have remained with the squad through thick and thin: "This senior class has seen some good times and now they've struggled through a tough season here. high school football is a fun time in a young football player's life. We're proud of the sacrifice and dedication that those 18 seniors made to our football program. We're disappointed that we couldn't send them out with a victory in their last home game.

"All in all, we're playing a game that shapes lives and we hope that we've given them character and tools that will help them be successful in life. Our goal is to end on a good note, get some satisfaction and create momentum moving forward."