Samohi opens season on the road
By DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
SAMOHI Head football coach Zach Cuda hopes all the hours of watching film and going over plays pounds something into his players’ heads.
With his Santa Monica High School team set to begin the season tonight against a talented Leuzinger High School, he expects those sessions to help his players avoid costly mental mistakes that could spell doom. If his team can stay focused, he expects big things from this game and beyond.
“We show them what we expect to see as much as possible during the week,” he said. “We keep reminding them to stay focused. All of my guys come into the classroom at lunch and we watch film. We spend two and a half hours a day working on our game plan.”
Much of that time has been spent dissecting the running game, fine tuning it to be a force on the football field. With junior quarterback Garrett Safron stepping in for the departed Ryan Katz, Cuda wants to ensure that his team is successful running the ball to give the youngster time to adjust to the speed of the varsity game.
“We just want him to stay calm and trust the work that we’ve done since last January,” Cuda said. “He’s put in the work and put in the time in the weight room to succeed.
“We keep telling him to keep doing what he’s been doing.”
Running the ball is going to be key against a Leuzinger team that features premiere defensive backs. Cuda said he expects his team to line up in an I-back formation with two running backs stacked behind the quarterback. With one half of his one-two running punch suspended for the game, he’ll be forced to depend heavily on senior tail-back Vince Lawrence. Senior Christian Ross will miss the game due to an undisclosed disciplinary infraction.
Ross will return to action during the second week of the season.
“It’s tough for him, but it’s tough for us, too,” Cuda said of the suspension.
Fortunately, Lawrence has looked strong in practice and Cuda expects him to ably carry the load.
To compliment Lawrence’s slashing style, Cuda will employ power back Cheyenne Jones. The senior will be used primarily in short yardage situations to take advantage of his ability between the tackles.
Leuzinger’s head coach is well aware of the Vikings’ strength on offense.
“It looks like they like to run the ball,” coach Deon Tolliver said. “We’ll just try to stop them regardless of what they do.”
Among his heralded secondary, junior Taumoelau Kaveinga is his most talented player.
“He stood out this off-season,” Tolliver said. “He’s a speed guy, but he can hit you.”
While his defense appears to be up to the challenge of the opening game, Tolliver will have to rely on juniors at two of his key skill positions. Junior Te Shon Burton will line up at quarterback, but the youngster has considerable varsity experience. He started the last five games of last season en route to a playoff appearance.
Fellow Ocean League team Culver City High School knocked Leuzinger out of the postseason, but Tolliver feels that the experience could only benefit his signal caller.
Junior Johnny Davis will be the starting tailback for Tolliver, but he’s somewhat untested.
Although he was ineligible the entire regular season, he did play in the first-round playoff game against Culver City, where he ran for 200-plus yards. Tolliver said that he’s had a good camp and expects “big things” from him this season.
Samohi’s Cuda sees the game as a perfect opportunity to gauge where his team stands.
“I think it would make a big statement,” he said. “If we are able to go out and get a win, we’ll know that all the things we’ve done this summer really made a difference in our players.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 12, 2008. Read the original PDF.