Samohi Football Crushes Centennial

Coming off its first loss of the season, the football team played just the way expected Friday night at Compton Centennial: with a vengeance.

Clark deemed it a "must-win" game, and the Vikings played as if the Southern Section title was at stake. They scored five unanswered touchdowns from the end of the first quarter through the middle of the third quarter to rout the previously undefeated Apaches, 41-16, in their nonleague finale.

"No way was I going to let that loss linger," Clark said of the possibility of a hangover after his team's the previous week. "I made sure in practice that everyone understood the significance of this game. We prepared for this like a league game, I looked at this like a league game. This sets the table for the rest of the season. I wanted to be 5-0 or 4-1 at this point and we're 4-1, so we're right where I expected us to be."

Samohi's offense had struggled against Valencia, but moving the ball was not a problem against Centennial, which entered Thursday's contest ranked second in the Northwest Division. After a turnover led to an early Centennial touchdown, the Vikings answered when junior receiver Sebastian LaRue made a one-handed grab in the left corner of the end zone. Elliot Stahler's extra point pulled Samohi to within one point, 8-7, with 1:14 left in the first quarter.

On its next possession, Samohi marched all the way to Centennial's 8-yard line, and quarterback Christian Salem again connected with LaRue—this time on a slant route over the middle. The Vikings led 13-8 at the 8:19 mark of the second quarter.

"We took this game very seriously," LaRue said. "That [Valencia] game humbled us a lot. We were starting to feel too good about ourselves and that brought us back down to earth. It showed us that the offense needs to step up and match what the defense is doing."

After linebacker Chris Collins recovered an Apaches fumble at the 1-yard line, Salem's quarterback sneak increased Samohi's lead to 20-8. Centennial then drove to the Vikings' 35, but safety Matt Rus-Kosa intercepted an underthrown pass at the 29, giving the offense another chance to score.

The Vikings did just that. First, Salem found LaRue over the top for a completion to the Centennial 33, then London Lewis, a senior transfer from Servite, ran off tackle for 13 more yards. Centennial's D'carre Watson intercepted a pass in the end zone for an apparent touchback, but Samohi caught a break when a roughing-the-passer penalty nullified the turnover and gave the visitors a first down at the Apaches' 13. Salem delivered a perfectly placed throw to the outside shoulder of Michael Jordan, who caught it just inside the left pylon to give Samohi a 19-point cushion.

"This game isn't close to being over—don't let up," Clark implored his team at halftime.

Players got the message loud and clear—even without 6-foot-6 senior defensive end Chad Wheeler, who watched from the sidelines. The USC commit separated his left shoulder in practice the week of the Anaheim Canyon game and has not played since. 

After partially blocking a punt, Samohi took over at Centennial's 23 to start its second drive of the second half. They needed four plays to score on Kori Garcia's two-yard run, which increased the Vikings' lead to 34-8 midway through the third quarter.

Centennial was riding a wave of confidence, having won its first four games, including a 20-14 victory over Samohi's Ocean League rival Morningside. The Apaches were routed by the Vikings 56-13 last year, but Clark said Centennial is much better than it was 12 months ago.

"They're a dangerous running team, and they have athletes all over the field," Clark said. "Coach [Jimmy] Nolan is doing a great job here. They stacked the box to stop the run, but that gave Christian [Salem] opportunities down the field, and he took advantage. He's more relaxed, more calm and it's showing in his play."

Centennial's Shaiquan Jackson scored from one yard out to cap an eight-play drive, and D'carre Watson caught his second two-point conversion pass to make the score 34-16 with 2:52 left in the third quarter, giving the home fans hope. However, Rus-Kosa picked off his second pass and returned it to the Apaches' 24. Eight plays later, Miguel Cardiel's 1-yard plunge and Juan Pavon's point-after closed out the scoring with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter.

With victory well in hand, freshman quarterback Niko Basile took over for Salem on the Vikings' last two drives.

"Usually at this point in the season you are who you are, but with this group there's still room to improve," Clark said. ". We're getting better every week, and it's exciting."

The Ocean League race should be tight, as it was last year when three teams tied for second place. The Vikings open against defending champion Inglewood on Friday at . The Sentinels dealt the Vikings a 28-7 loss at Coleman Stadium last fall.

"This was a huge bounce-back game for us," Salem said. "What we took away from last week is that we have to be really disciplined and execute our offense. We had a really good week of practice, Sebastian [LaRue] and I were clicking. We're pretty much where we want to be, but there's always room for improvement."

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Santa Monica

7

20

7

7

Centennial

8

0

8

0

16

Scoring Summary

Centennial -- Drew 14 run (Watson pass from Curry), 7:03 left in 1st qtr.

Santa Monica -- LaRue 3 pass from Salem (Stahler kick), 1:14 left in 1st qtr.

Santa Monica -- LaRue 8 pass from Salem (kick failed), 8:19 left in 2nd qtr.

Santa Monica -- Salem 1 run (Stahler kick), 7:38 left in 2nd qtr

Santa Monica -- Jordan 13 pass froM Salem (Stahler kick), 3:48 left in 2nd qtr.

Santa Monica -- Garcia 2 run (Stahler kick), 6:53 left in 3rd qtr.

Centennial -- Jackson (Watson pass from Curry), 2:52 left in 3rd qtr.

Santa Monica -- Cardiel 1 run (Pavon kick), 6:45 left in 4th qtr.

Records: Santa Monica 4-1; Centennial 4-1.