Last minute touchdown by Culver City causes football to lose second game of season 35-28

By Ella Davis

Staff Writer

In a tight game against Culver City at Costa on March 19, Costa’s football team ultimately fell short to the Culver City Centaurs 35-28, due to a last minute touchdown by the Centuars.

Costa had a slow start, losing 14-0 by the end of the first quarter, but kept playing until finding its rhythm and eventually scoring in the second quarter. The Mustangs slowly battled, scoring two touchdowns in a row in the second quarter, holding off Culver’s offense, which did not score in the second quarter. 

“We didn’t quit when we started losing early on,” junior quarterback Casey Pavlick said. “We played really hard until the very end and never stopped fighting.” 

Junior receiver Kayle Marsh led the team in its fight by scoring a 50-yard touchdown near the end of the second quarter. By the end of the third quarter, Costa and Culver were tied 28-28. 

 “We need to come out the gates firing and keep the same energy throughout the whole game,” junior defensive tackle Donovan McKinnon said. “I think the team needs to work on applying more pressure to the quarterback and to the offensive lineman.”

Costa held a tie until the final minute of the game, until Culver  scored a touchdown with 45 seconds left, making the final score 35-28, dropping its record to 0-2 for the season. 

“It was disappointing seeing the other team pull out a win after all of our hard work,” junior lineman Cole Trudgen said. “The final touchdown by Culver left the team feeling a lot of pressure to score within the last 45 seconds”

The Costa football team plans to come back from its loss and start the next game stronger, according to both McKinnon and Trudgen. The Mustangs’ next game will be today at 3 pm at Palos Verdes where they will play the Palos Verdes Sea Kings. According to McKinnon, Trudgen and Pavlick, the team has high hopes for its next game and plans to use new strategies during its season.

 “We need to keep our aggression throughout the whole game and apply more pressure to the other team,” Pavlick said. “We also need to work on closing out games at the end.”