The Crenshaw High School football team is 2-2 so far this season. Despite their recent loss to Bakersfield, the Crenshaw Cougars remain confident.
The team triumphed over South East High School (1-3) after losing their season opener against Mission Hills (5-0). Senior running back Aundre Carter sees their two losses as a lesson.
“By us losing to them, we came closer as a team,” said Carter. “[When] we get to the playoffs in the city section, we’d be prepared and we would know about being down and never let the moment get too big for us.”
Game three was against the Hamilton Yankees. At the beginning of the matchup, things were not going well for the Cougars. The players had to sit down and fix mistakes, according to Sophomore Rayshawn Williams.
“In the second half, we fixed things, we started scoring, things started clicking,” said Williams.
After their 48-7 victory against Hamilton (1-4), the Cougars played against Bakersfield (2-2). Crenshaw struggled to get one touchdown in the first half. The second half brought a strong offense and weak defense, according to senior defensive end and offensive tackle Derek Moore.
“Towards the second half, our offense start opening up and we started making plays and our defense started slopping,” said Moore.
Crenshaw has seen success in recent years, reaching the CIF state championship in 2009. During their run in 2012, the cougars went undefeated until they fell to Narbonne at the CIF city Championship game, according to MaxPreps.
Among notable Cougar alumni are Dominique Hatfield who plays cornerback for the University of Utah, according to Deseret News. In the NFL, alumni include Brandon Mebane who currently plays for the Seattle Seahawks and De’Anthony Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs, according to ESPN.
Crenshaw’s football program has been familiar to players like Carter and Moore long before their teenaged years. Carter came from a football playing family and his father attended Crenshaw high. His older brother, Raymond Carter graduated from Crenshaw and played football for UCLA and Colorado State, according to Carter.
“My brother played, all my brothers. My dad played football. My mom is a huge football fan.” said Carter. “It was a tradition in my family.”
The performance of different players has garnered attention from PAC-12 recruiters. Moore committed to Washington State University in August, according to SB Nation. Senior wide receiver Marquis Lawson recently committed to UCLA, according to ESPN.
Crenshaw will play Oxnard high school on Oct. 2 with the Junior Varsity game starting at 4pm and the Varsity game starting at 7pm.
