Narbonne thrashes San Pedro, wins Open Division championship

Once again, Narbonne is king of the hill in City Section football.

Coach Malcolm Manuel and his players are savoring the program’s return to glory.

Oklahoma-bound quarterback Jaden O’Neal completed 14 of 21 passes for 396 yards and six touchdowns and ran for a 35-yard score as the Gauchos buried Marine League rival San Pedro under an avalanche of points in the second quarter on the way to a 75-31 blowout in the Open Division final Friday night at El Camino College .

After an 18-yard touchdown throw from Seth Solorio to Elias Redlew gave the third-seeded Pirates a 10-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter, Narbonne erupted for six unanswered touchdowns by halftime to take a commanding 48-10 lead to the locker room.

“It’s nothing short of magical to finish the year like this,” Manuel said. “When we saw the bracket, we knew we’d play one of them [Carson or San Pedro] in the finals. These kids wanted it so much.”

Narbonne was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct numerous times following touchdowns. There were no postgame handshakes as the teams were ushered to opposite end zones — one to celebrate another championship, the other to reflect on a 9-4 season.

Nazarus Williams caught three touchdown passes — the last from freshman backup quarterback Kingston Stokely with 2:35 left and the clock running. Redlew caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from Marcus Jeronymo to close out the scoring as time expired and no extra point was attempted.

Mark Iheanachor gave Narbonne a 7-3 lead on a six-yard run late in the first quarter and later scored on a 45-yard interception return. Michael Ashford had touchdown receptions of 64 and 36 yards and Trey’Shaun Jackson scored on an 84-yard punt return as Narbonne captured its 11th section crown, tying Carson for third most all time and its first since 2018 (a title that was later stripped).

Narbonne had 24 players transfer into the program since spring ball, prompting all four league opponents to forfeit their games against the Gauchos because of alleged rules violations. Then, after waiting 49 days between games, Narbonne got word before its playoff opener against Dorsey that seven players were declared ineligible. Several Narbonne coaches wore sweatshirts with those players’ numbers displayed Friday.

Another player had to sit out Friday’s championship game after being ejected in the game with Birmingham, but the Gauchos had all the players they needed.

This is the second time Narbonne’s football program has faced sanctions for ineligible players. The program was banned from the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 and had its 2018 championship stripped under previous coach Manuel Douglas.

Seven days after stopping Birmingham’s record 48-game win streak versus City opponents with a 27-7 semifinal victory, the top-seeded Gauchos (7-6) left no doubt that, despite all the controversy swirling around the program, they are the best team in the section.

Understanding there is no possibility of a repeat as Narbonne will be banned from the playoffs next fall because of City sanctions for using ineligible players, Manuel’s message was to concentrate on the present, not an uncertain future, and his team embraced it fully.

“It was all about expressing ourselves and showing our dominance,” O’Neal said. “I have a high level of confidence in my wide receivers. They did a great job getting open. It was lots of repetition in practice and keeping our chemistry even all that time we weren’t playing.”

San Pedro, which overcame a 24-0 deficit in the third quarter to beat Carson in overtime in the semifinals, was seeking its seventh City title and first under coach Corey Walsh.

“Jaden did a phenomenal job and even though we were up big at half we stressed finishing the job because we saw what they did last week,” Manuel said. “Initially it was tough not being able to play, we had to make sure all of the players were committed, but in the end it made us stronger.”