Narbonne ends Birmingham's City Section winning streak to reach Open Division final

There’s an urgency among Narbonne football players knowing the program won’t be eligible to compete in next year’s playoffs because of City Section sanctions for using ineligible players.

It’s championship or bust, and the Gauchos earned the right to play on with a dominating 27-7 semifinal victory over defending champion Birmingham on Friday night, ending the Patriots’ 48-game win streak against City Section opponents.

It means Narbonne, despite its off-the-field problems, is set to play San Pedro in the Open Division championship game at El Camino College next Friday.

San Pedro was one of four Marine League teams that refused to play Narbonne this season, taking a forfeit in protest of rule violations alleged by its coach and three other league coaches. To say that the Narbonne players will be fired up next week to face the Pirates might be an understatement.

“That’s going to bring some fire,” Narbonne quarterback Jaden O’Neal said.

San Pedro made a miraculous comeback, rallying from a 24-0 deficit to beat Carson 40-34 in overtime when quarterback Marcus Jeronymo completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Elias Redlew.

Narbonne did what few schools have been able to do against Birmingham in playoff action since the 2019 season — dominate up front. On defense, the Gauchos refused to let the speedy Dredon Fowles have any room to break loose. On offense, Jamari Ladd rushed for 136 yards in 15 carries and scored two touchdowns. Narbonne led 14-0 at halftime.

The Patriots had virtually no passing game, so it was pretty much over once they fell behind by two touchdowns. Trey’Shaun Jackson, a transfer from Las Vegas, was impressive with his speed on both sides of the ball. He had an interception in the first quarter — one of three by the Gauchos — that led to an O’Neal touchdown run.

Birmingham closed to within 14-7 in the third quarter on a short touchdown run by Kevin Hawkins, aided by two pass-interference penalties. But the Gauchos’ defense got a fourth-down stop, leading to touchdowns runs by Xavier Atkinson and Ladd.

The game started in strange fashion. The referee informed both teams that every player had been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, serving as a warning that if anyone picked up another, they’d be ejected. Sure enough, Narbonne linebacker Mark Iheanachor, a four-year starter, was given an ejection for picking up another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, forcing him to sit out next week’s final. Three more Narbonne players also were ejected.

The referee said the pregame penalties were assessed in response to what he described as concerns about the players' behavior.

“Extremely,” Narbonne coach Malcolm Manuel said afterward when asked if he was disappointed by the ejections.

It will be just another challenge for the Gauchos, who had seven players declared ineligible before the playoffs began. Because a Los Angeles Unified School District investigation was not finished before playoff seedings, Narbonne was allowed to stay in the eight-team tournament but will be ineligible for next year’s playoffs. The Gauchos also went seven weeks without playing any games because of the Marine League coaches’ boycott.

That leaves the players focused and determined to make the most of this playoff run.

“To be able to keep on is something special,” said O’Neal, a junior committed to Oklahoma.

The last team to beat the Patriots was Narbonne in a 2018 playoff game, but the Gauchos forfeited the victory because of an ineligible player. Last season Birmingham defeated Narbonne 57-19.

The Gauchos have improved considerably with new talent, including Atkinson, a freshman who made plays as a running back and defensive back.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.