The scoreboard clock ticked down to zero and the Culver City sideline erupted in a chest-bumping, high-fiving frenzy. Players hugged and coaches shook hands in celebration of a 21-14 upset of top-seeded Serra in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs.
"I guess that means we're the No. 1 seed now," Culver City coach Jahmal Wright said.
Culver City plays Righetti of Santa Maria in the second round next week.
Serra took a 14-0 lead when running back Ronnie Vaughn scored on runs of 26 yards in the first quarter and 3 yards in the second.
Vaughn had 94 yards on six carries in the first quarter, and it looked like the Cavaliers (8-3) would have little trouble with the unseeded Centaurs (8-3).
Instead of an easy route to the second round, Serra ran into one road block after another as Culver City rallied to tie the score at 14-all by halftime. Culver City's quarterback rotation of Lukas O'Connor and Kevin Porche proved difficult to contain.
Porche unleashed a 76-yard scoring pass to Alex Jackson in the second quarter to ignite Culver City's comeback. Porche then scored on a 1-yard run to make it 14-14 with 1:56 remaining in the opening half.
Despite 219 yards on 27 carries from running back Ronnie Vaughn by game's end, Serra never scored again.
Culver City took the lead for good on a 1-yard scoring run by Akili Skannal, capping an 80-yard drive on its first possession of the
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third quarter.
Porche threw for 149 yards, completing four of nine passes, and ran for another 57 yards on 13 carries, and O'Connor completed 11 of 23 passes for 153 yards with one interception.
"We've never played a game like that," said O'Connor, who went into the game having thrown for 2,135 yards and 24 touchdowns. "We've never been that excited, but we had all the confidence in the world.
"We knew it would be a big factor, confidence and heart."
Youth was served when Serra unexpectedly earned the No. 1 seeding in the division, but it might have cost the Cavaliers when it came down to crunch time. Quarterback Jalen Greene, a sophomore, directed Serra smartly down the field early in the game but struggled late.
Greene completed only eight of 25 passes for 98 yards. He moved Serra to the Culver City 37-yard line, but a fumbled snap ended the Cavaliers' hopes for a tying touchdown with 59 seconds left. Culver City then ran out the final seconds and celebrated a big victory.
"We just played terrible," Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. "We made every mistake we could and deserved what we got. It's going to be a while (before the pain goes away) because we played so badly. ... Our young guys made bad plays. It happens."
Altenberg also praised Culver City.
"They did a great job and we just didn't," he said. "If we could have done what we're capable of doing, we would have been OK."
Serra started in fine fashion, with Vaughn running through gaping holes and gaining big yardage on the Cavaliers' opening drive. He had gains of 23, 9, 15 and 26 yards as Serra sliced through Culver City's defense for a 7-0 lead only 1:50 into the game.
Raymond Ford's 70-yard punt return gave Serra the ball on the Culver City 23 early in the second quarter and the Cavaliers needed only four runs from Vaughn in order to score and make it 14-0. Vaughn made it look easy on a 3-yard scoring run.
Culver City's defense tightened up considerably after that, however, and blanked Serra the rest of the way.
"We blitzed," Wright said. "I thought our defensive backs would hold up against their sophomore quarterback.
"I thought if we pressed him, it might throw him off and it worked."
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"I guess that means we're the No. 1 seed now," Culver City coach Jahmal Wright said.
Culver City plays Righetti of Santa Maria in the second round next week.
Serra took a 14-0 lead when running back Ronnie Vaughn scored on runs of 26 yards in the first quarter and 3 yards in the second.
Vaughn had 94 yards on six carries in the first quarter, and it looked like the Cavaliers (8-3) would have little trouble with the unseeded Centaurs (8-3).
Instead of an easy route to the second round, Serra ran into one road block after another as Culver City rallied to tie the score at 14-all by halftime. Culver City's quarterback rotation of Lukas O'Connor and Kevin Porche proved difficult to contain.
Porche unleashed a 76-yard scoring pass to Alex Jackson in the second quarter to ignite Culver City's comeback. Porche then scored on a 1-yard run to make it 14-14 with 1:56 remaining in the opening half.
Despite 219 yards on 27 carries from running back Ronnie Vaughn by game's end, Serra never scored again.
Culver City took the lead for good on a 1-yard scoring run by Akili Skannal, capping an 80-yard drive on its first possession of the
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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third quarter.
Porche threw for 149 yards, completing four of nine passes, and ran for another 57 yards on 13 carries, and O'Connor completed 11 of 23 passes for 153 yards with one interception.
"We've never played a game like that," said O'Connor, who went into the game having thrown for 2,135 yards and 24 touchdowns. "We've never been that excited, but we had all the confidence in the world.
"We knew it would be a big factor, confidence and heart."
Youth was served when Serra unexpectedly earned the No. 1 seeding in the division, but it might have cost the Cavaliers when it came down to crunch time. Quarterback Jalen Greene, a sophomore, directed Serra smartly down the field early in the game but struggled late.
Greene completed only eight of 25 passes for 98 yards. He moved Serra to the Culver City 37-yard line, but a fumbled snap ended the Cavaliers' hopes for a tying touchdown with 59 seconds left. Culver City then ran out the final seconds and celebrated a big victory.
"We just played terrible," Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. "We made every mistake we could and deserved what we got. It's going to be a while (before the pain goes away) because we played so badly. ... Our young guys made bad plays. It happens."
Altenberg also praised Culver City.
"They did a great job and we just didn't," he said. "If we could have done what we're capable of doing, we would have been OK."
Serra started in fine fashion, with Vaughn running through gaping holes and gaining big yardage on the Cavaliers' opening drive. He had gains of 23, 9, 15 and 26 yards as Serra sliced through Culver City's defense for a 7-0 lead only 1:50 into the game.
Raymond Ford's 70-yard punt return gave Serra the ball on the Culver City 23 early in the second quarter and the Cavaliers needed only four runs from Vaughn in order to score and make it 14-0. Vaughn made it look easy on a 3-yard scoring run.
Culver City's defense tightened up considerably after that, however, and blanked Serra the rest of the way.
"We blitzed," Wright said. "I thought our defensive backs would hold up against their sophomore quarterback.
"I thought if we pressed him, it might throw him off and it worked."
[email protected] http://twitter.com/ElliottTeaford
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Source: Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer, Daily Breeze