On a nippy night in the Harbor Gateway, a battle was supposed to brew for the Marine League title. The Narbonne Gauchos had something to prove to the seeding committee and CIF Los Angeles City Section as whole with an impressive 31-8 victory of the Carson Colts.
Both teams were 4-0 in league play coming into the game but the similarities stopped there. This victory was enough for Narbonne to receive the No.1 seed for the CIF Los Angeles City Section Division I playoffs. Being the defending L.A. City Section champions, the Gauchos topped Coliseum League foe Crenshaw, which had to settle for No.2. So if they can both win out the committee would have seeded correctly.
The story of of the night was Narbonne’s defense giving Carson fits all game, from putting pressure on the quarterback, being stingy in the red zone, and playing smash mouth football. Defensive lineman Owen “Boogie” Roberts was a force all over the field with 4 tackles for losses, two sacks, and a big solo tackle for a pivotal stop on a fourth down run and collecting a late fumble recovery with minutes left in the game.
Boogie said playing in big games all season helped his team against Carson.
“We are used to playing big games and have become accustomed to winning,” he said.
Narbonne’s championship pedigree shows through that they are the team to beat. The fast-paced, no-huddle offense for Narbonne showed a little flair, too, behind quarterback Eban Jackson, who scored Narbonne’s first touchdown on a one-yard yard sneak. Jackson missed three shotgun snaps showing that the hand is not completely healed yet. In a tighter game that could be a weakness.
Sophomore wide receiver Vincent Heard chipped in for two first half touchdowns with a 37 yard scamper and 19 yarder that made the score 24-0 with 22 seconds left before intermission.
In the second half, the Gauchos came up with a trick play. On the play, you see a Narbonne offensive lineman throw off his right glove and go get set on end of the line. The quarterback pitched the ball right, then the running back threw a screen pass back to Isiah Meafua, a 6-foot-3, 276-pound beef of a player who heaved a 32-yard touchdown strike to D.J. Young to make score 31-0.
All the Gauchos were having fun in the last game of the regular season.
Next week No.1 Narbonne will host No.16 El Camino Real, Carson, the No.4 seed, will host 13th-rated Arleta.
Jevone Moore a writer, photographer by trade and a coach in life at heart. Former UCLA Bruin football player during the good years, City Champs 92-95.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.