On Nov. 6 at Narbonne, the Marine League prep football showdown started out with a lot of fireworks after back-to-back kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Look for more of that as the Gauchos and Colts clash in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. at Carson.
Narbonne advanced to the semifinals by way of a 48-32 quarterfinal victory at No. 3 seeded Venice on Nov. 25. While the Gauchos defeated the Gondoliers, Carson, seeded second behind No. 1 Crenshaw, took care of Locke, 31-7.
In the quarterfinal contest between Narbonne and Venice, the Gauchos (8-4) drew first blood on a one-yard touchdown run by returning all-American Sean Parker with 2:47 left in the first quarter.
The Gondoliers (9-3) bounced back to tie the game at seven with 8:10 remaining in the second period when quarterback Alfonso Medina found wide receiver Teondray Caldwell in the end zone from 34 yards out.
From there, Narbonne took the lead for good but Venice would not go away. The Gauchos came back with two touchdowns on quarterback keepers of two and one yards by Chad Dashnaw for a 21-7 Narbonne lead with 4:13 to go in the second quarter but Venice ended the first half cutting the Gauchos' lead to 21-14 when Jonathan McNeal scored from one yard out.
The game stayed close throughout the third period as each team exchanged TD's. Narbonne took a 27-14 lead when Dashnaw hit Davis for a 63-yard scoring pass play but the point after touchdown attempt by Efrain Zuniga failed, his only miss of his seven PAT attempts.
The Gondos came back on a second touchdown connection between Medina and Caldwell and Conner Gil's extra point was good and the Gauchos had only a six-point lead with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Venice got within three points after Narbonne's short punt gave the Gondoliers the ball at the Gaucho 35-yard line. Venice drove 25 yards in six plays before Gil made a 27-yard field goal.
Narbonne, then, wore down the Gondos with three touchdowns for a 48-24 lead with 3:40 left in the game. It started when Dashnaw completed a 53-yard TD pass to C.J. Wiley. Davis' three-yard run and a 73-yard interception return from Parker completed the Gauchos' scoring.
Behind the arm of Medina, Venice scored with 49 seconds remaining on a four-yard pass to McNeal. Aaron Jones scored the two-point conversion on a run.
Carson 31, Locke 7: It wasn't all the way the best but Carson managed to easily advance to the semifinals by eliminating Locke in the CIF-L.A. City Section quarterfinals on Nov. 25 at Carson.
The Colts mustered just 282 total yards on offense but it was three interceptions by cornerback Dwan Gill that aided the team.
In the first quarter, the Saints drove to the Carson two-yard line before Gill's first pick. The Colts drove to the Locke 20-yard line but was forced to punt. The punt, however, hit a Saint player and Carson's Arthur Dyson recovered the ball at the Locke 42.
That was followed by a 21-yard pass from quarterback Justin Alo to Myles Johnson. A few plays later, Alo gave the Colts the lead for good on a 6-yard touchdown run.
Gill added his second interception in the second period that led to a 43-yard field goal by Juan Sanchez giving Carson a 10-0 advantage.
The Colts took a 17-0 halftime lead with 2:23 before halftime on a 28-yard run by Dion Willis.
Gill had another interception with four seconds left before halftime. He turned the ball 30 yards to the 50-yard line.
It took only three plays after halftime for Carson to grab a 24-0 lead on a 40-yard pass from Alo to Brent Scott.
Willis scored the Colts' final TD in the fourth period on a one-yard run.
Willis sparked Carson's offense by running for 86 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. Johnson added 36 yards and a TD on three carries and caught two passes for 25 yards.
Alo completed seven of 13 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted once.
The Colts' defense held the Saints to 254 yards total offense (106 passing and 148 rushing).
Mira Costa 41, Chaminade 19: Mira Costa High of Manhattan Beach entered the CIF-Southern Section playoffs as the top seed but knew it would have it tough at Chaminade from the highly competitive Mission League last Friday in West Hills.
In the first quarter, the Eagles drove to the Mustang one-yard line but were stopped on a fourth down. Mira Costa came back and drove 99 yards that was capped by a 4-yard scoring run from Kellen Lockwood.
That would set the tone for the game and the Mustangs rolled to a 41-19 victory.
Leading 7-6 early in the second quarter, Mira Costa came back with three unanswered touchdowns, two from quarterback Kyle Demarco on runs of one and 11 yards and Demarco's 43-yard TD pass to wide receiver Kyle Nunn for a 27-6 bulge.
Chaminade closed out the first quarter with a touchdown, cutting the Mustangs' lead to 27-13 by halftime.
Mira Costa (10-2) continued to bury the Eagles with two more second half TD's, a two-yard run by Demarco and a 7-yard run from Rico Wright.
The Mustangs face Palmdale, a 49-42 overtime winner over La Canada St. Francis last Friday, at Mira Costa Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Playoff Results:
Wednesday, Nov. 25: CIF-Los Angeles City Section: Crenshaw 55, Westchester 0.
Friday, Nov. 27: CIF-Southern Section:
Northeast Division: Chadwick 38, Boron 22.
Northwest Division: Serra 48, Nipomo 18; Santa Maria St. Joseph 34, El Segundo 11.
Western Division: Dominguez 48, Redondo 21.
Semifinals:
Los Angeles City Section: Narbonne at Carson, 7 p.m.
Southern Section:
Northeast Division: Chadwick at Linfield Christian, 7:30 p.m.
Northwest Division: Serra at Santa Maria St. Joseph, 7:30 p.m.
Western Division: Palmdale at Mira Costa, 7:30 p.m.
South Bay Prep Football Rankings: 1. Serra, 2. Mira Costa, 3. Carson, 4. Narbonne, 5. San Pedro, 6. Chadwick, 7. Culver City, 8. Redondo, 9. Westchester, 10. Inglewood.
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