Samo football team playing well despite Culver game

On Friday, Oct. 11th, the Samo football team defeated Hawthorne 36-6 on their opponent’s turf, marking their fourth win of the season. One week before, hundreds of frenzied and hopeful Samo students, staff and football fans filled the SMC bleachers to the brim for the homecoming game, sad to see Samo completely shut down by Culver City. While Samo oftens loses at their home games, they have won more games than they have lost this season. During the homecoming game, the fans intensely sat at the edge of their seats waiting for Samo to drive in a big play; the clash of sound between the Culver and Samo supporting sides of the stands rang out into the air. Samo’s defense was good enough to hold Culver to a scoreless first quarter, but Samo’s offense failed to put points up on the scoreboard. However, a collection of strong tackles by safety Jadyn Taylor (’20) kept morale high in the SMC bleachers. As half time approached, the game became increasingly stagnant. Running back Bryce Smith (’20) downed the ball at the one yard line late in the second quarter, setting up Samo for a 4 consecutive plays at their opponent’s 1 year line. However, Culver’s defense remained sturdy and stopped Samo on each attempt. Simultaneously, Culver’s offensive performance was picking up as well. Despite good showings by wide receivers’ Jalen Cobb (’20) and Donovan Parks (’20), the team could only add one touchdown to their total before ending their game, 7-47. On Oct. 11, however, Samo demonstrated their ability to dominate teams away from the bright lights of SMC’s Corsair Field. Against an opposing Ocean League roster at Hawthorne, the two teams began the first quarter on even footing. The first quarter ended 14-6 in favor of Samo, but the Vikings were only beginning their reign of terror on the Hawthorne team. Kayden Thomas (’20) reached the end zone twice on passing plays, while quarterback Anthony Arnou (’20) threw 3 seperate touchdowns for an impressive 65% completion percentage. The game ended with a 36-6 win and a bus ride home in celebration of their dominating performance. Samo’s play this season has been defined by one noticeable pattern. Barring their impressive 49-0 win against a lackluster Godinez team, the Samo Vikings seem to have their more skillful games on the road, away from the myriad of supporters that fill Corsair Field’s bleachers each week. Having bad games at home is understandable—even expected—but a continuous pattern of it raises concern amongst avid supporters. Considering the dominant wins on the road like the one against Hawthorne, one could suggest that nerves play a factor into a game-by-game performance of the Samo football squad. Samo’s talent is unquestionable, whether it be their offensive repertoire or the strength of their defense. However, it is the inconsistency of their games that upsets fans, despite the occasional awe-inspiring play.  The Vikings’ next chance to break this pattern will be Oct. 18 against Lawndale at SMC.