San Pedro and Narbonne combined for 829 rushing yards. San Pedro’s Brent Speight contributed 121 yards on 11 carries. Photo by Jason Lewis
Narbonne’s Tray Boone provided a number of big plays, including hurdling a defender on his way to a long run, as he rushed for 203 yards on 17 carries with three touchdowns. Photo by Jason Lewis
San Pedro and Narbonne battle down to the wire for the league title.
By Jason Lewis
Sentinel Sports Editor
[email protected]
The Marine League shows once again why they are the best league in the City Section. Two weeks ago that league produced an instant classic when Narbonne pulled off a 38-37 victory over Carson, and this past Friday night, Narbonne was involved in another great game against San Pedro.
Heavy rain and hail produced a lack luster first quarter where neither team scored on a combined five drives, but after the weather cleared in the second quarter, the two teams produced 13 touchdowns in 16 drives.
Both teams scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, and San Pedro led 14-13 at halftime. In the second half both teams went into a scoring frenzy. Leading into Narbonne’s final drive of the game, both teams scored touchdowns on all of their drives except for one each.
San Pedro ran the ball at will, rushing for 499 yards in the game. Narbonne never had an answer for San Pedro’s running game, especially quarterback Kenny Potter, who rushed for 227 yards on 14 carries. Running back Brent Speight also had a big game on the ground, rushing for 121 yards on 11 carries.
Narbonne also put up big rushing numbers, gaining 330 yards on the ground. They were led by running back Tray Boone, who rushed for 203 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Troy Williams also ran well, gaining 124 yards on 13 carries.
With both teams filling up the offensive stats sheet, the second half was pretty wild. San Pedro running right at and over Narbonne, and Narbonne finding big plays to get in the endzone.
San Pedro scored 28 points in the fourth quarter, giving them a 49-42 lead in the final minutes of the game. Narbonne had time on the clock, and they were driving for what would have been the game tying or winning touchdown, but Williams was intercepted, sealing the game for San Pedro, and at least a share of the Marine League title. A win this week against Banning will give them the title outright.
San Pedro will more than likely end the season undefeated, and the reward for that may be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The City’s selection committee can consider Dorsey for that top spot, but it will be a tough decision to give it to a one loss Dorsey team over an undefeated San Pedro team.
Besides being undefeated overall (if they beat Banning), San Pedro will be undefeated in the City’s toughest league. In Dorsey’s favor, they played a much tougher non-league schedule than San Pedro, and a tougher schedule overall, but that may not be enough to give them the top seed.
How ever the two teams are seeded, there really is no difference between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, because both teams will play all playoff games at home until the City championship game.
As for Narbonne, they should not drop much as far as seeding goes. They are the second place team in the City’s toughest league, and they nearly won the league’s title. They may be reward with a three or four seed, and they are still in great shape in terms of competing for the City title.
These two teams may meet again, which should produce another instant classic.
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