Five Out of Five Football Wins is Good for Local Teams

Last week all five of our local high school, college and professional football teams won their games. Culver City, USC, UCLA, Rams and Chargers were conquered their opponents.

This week Culver City will play a home game against Beverly Hills at 7 p.m., on Friday., USC will face a highly ranked Oregon team at 5 p.m. at the Coliseum on Saturday, UCLA will battle the Colorado Buffalos at the Rose Bowl on Saturday at 6 p.m., the Chargers play a hot Green Bay Packer team at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson on Sunday at 1 p.m. and the Rams have a bye.

The Trojans may have found a diamond in the rough in running back Kenan Christon. The 5'10 180 pound freshman is a former state champion sprinter from San Diego. He made his debut two weeks ago against Arizona by scoring two touchdowns that showed his track speed. Christon, who is the fourth string tailback, got in the game because the first three running backs were all hurt. USC head coach had this to say about Christon after the game last against Arizona, "If you are even, he is leaving."

When USC takes on 7-1 Oregon on Saturday they will be playing one of the top 10 teams in the nation according to the rankings. If the Trojans expect to upset the Ducks they will have to control the ball and keep the Duck's offense off the field. USC is 5-3 overall and tied for first place in the Pac-12 South Conference with Utah at 4-1.

The UCLA football team is 3-5 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-12 and Colorado is 3-5 and 1-4. The Bruins will probably keep the ball in the hands of running back Joshua Kelly who ran for 164 yards on 34 carries in their 42-32 win over Arizona State last Saturday at the Rose Bowl.

"We still have a lot of things to improve on but we have gotten better week by week," said UCLA head coach Chip Kelly after the game last Saturday. "It's a total team effort.

Kelly is also pleased with the play of the offensive line. "It's a young group but I think they are coming together. It's the same group for the last seven or eight games and our tight ends don't get enough credit in the run game. It's a combination of everybody on the offensive side of the ball."

The USC and UCLA men's basketball teams started their seasons and both teams hope to improve from last year. USC will play three home games against Florida A&M on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m., Friday Nov. 8, against Portland State at 8 p.m. and they face South Dakota State on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. UCLA will play Long Beach State at home on Wednesday Nov. 6, at 8 p.m.

If the first game between the Lakers and Clippers is any indication, this may be one of the best NBA seasons in many years. An online publication says there are 16 players who could win the NBA's most valuable player award.

If Dwight Howard can continue to play at a high level and not make mental mistakes the Lakers will be a hard team to beat. The 6'10" former all-star is all over the court, blocking shots and dominating in the paint.

After the Los Angeles Football Club beat the Galaxy last week, they played Seattle in the Western Conference finals last Tuesday at home. LAFC wound up being knocked out of a chance to play in the MLS Cup Final after being defeated 3-1 by the Sounders.

This sports column is dedicated to former Culver City Observer Editor and Sports Editor Mitch Chortkoff.

 

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