Crenshaw Picks Off Carson’s Chances

Crenshaw High football Coach Robert Garrett was encouraged after a five-point loss to highly regarded Westchester in last week’s season-opening game.

After the Cougars forced eight turnovers in an 18-7 victory over Carson on Friday night at Gardena High, Garrett was absolutely delighted.

How excited was he? Garrett, who reluctantly speaks to the media, was thrilled enough to be downright talkative after the game.

“I’m just having a good time right now,” Garrett said. “These are the best group of kids I’ve had attitude-wise. I’m proud of them and having a lot of fun.”

Carson (1-1), under new Coach John Aguirre, was supposed to be the team making a run for the City Section championship. A 52-6 victory over Compton last week only increased expectations.

But after scoring on their opening drive, the Colts had trouble offensively. Justin Cooper completed seven of 19 passes for 84 yards and had five intercepted, two each by cornerbacks Terrence Whitehead and Abe Elimimian--all in single coverage on deep routes.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in those two,” Garrett said.

“Our coaches tell us to jump to our highest point and grab it before the receiver does,” Whitehead said. “It works perfectly.”

The final interception came with Carson trailing, 12-7, midway through the fourth quarter and facing fourth down near midfield. Cooper’s desperation heave while scrambling was caught by linebacker Chris Bohannon, who raced 55 yards for the final touchdown.

The Cougar offense wasn’t as effective, save for one stretch late in the third quarter. Devin Hollins, who had completed one of his first nine passes, connected on four in a row, including a 25-yard scoring play to Elimimian early in the fourth quarter, giving Crenshaw the lead for good. Hollins finished five of 16 for 103 yards, but it was enough.

The victory comes at an opportune time for the Cougars, who face a brutal nonleague schedule. They play perennial Division I power Loyola next week before facing San Pedro, which has won two of the last three major-division City titles.

“We were prepared really well,” Elimimian said. “We don’t have a lot of players on this team [35 on the roster] and we all have to contribute. But defensively we stepped up.”

After scoring on a one-yard run by Wendell Hunter on their first drive, the Colts, and Cooper in particular, had problems, turning the ball over on five consecutive possessions.