Football: Time for Carson to show it’s playoff tough

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It’s one thing to play a tough schedule, but when Carson High football coach Elijah Asante filled his team’s nonleague slate with Santa Ana Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly, Santa Margarita, Mission Viejo and San Diego Lincoln, there was speculation that perhaps that was a bit too ambitious.

The strategy was scrutinized even more after Carson finished a disappointing third in the Marine League behind San Pedro and Narbonne, but the No. 5-seeded Colts can silence all the naysayers by winning the City Section Division I title. Their quest starts with tonight’s first-round playoff game against 12th-seeded Garfield.

Each team enters tonight’s contest with a 5-5 record. The Colts eliminated Garfield 29-13 in the City Division I quarterfinals last season on their way to reaching the championship game, where they were routed 45-7 by Crenshaw. The combined mark of Carson’s nonleague opponents is 31-19-1.

The Bulldogs’ nonleague schedule was no joke, either. They played--and lost to--Bishop Amat, Edison, Dorsey and St. Paul, then began Eastern League play with a 31-28 loss to South East before winning their last five games. They also played No. 4-seeded Venice close in a preseason scrimmage.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Carson High and the teams are on the field for pre-game drills. The other City first-round Division I matchups are No. 16 Gardena at No. 1 San Pedro, No. 9 El Camino Real at No. 8 Crenshaw, 13 Taft at No. 4 Venice, No. 14 Fairfax at No. 3 Dorsey, No. 11 Arleta at No. 6 Birmingham, No. 10 Westchester at No. 7 West Adams and No. 15 Reseda at No. 2 Narbonne.

Check back for scoring updates.

-- Steve Galluzzo