Football: Narbonne (6-0) survives trap game against Carson

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Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas had warned his players all week not to underestimate winless Carson.

‘We preached it and preached it,’ he said.

But the players couldn’t ignore the Colts’ 0-5 record.

‘We came out emotionally flat,’ Douglas said.

Narbonne found itself trailing, 14-13, at halftime but came back for a 26-20 victory in its Marine League opener.

It’s a long season, potentially 16 games for the Gauchos, and the bottom line is they haven’t lost and don’t figure to be severely challenged until a likely showdown game in the City Section Division I final against Crenshaw.

Of course, if the players don’t focus, there’s always a chance to lose when they face a tough opponent. San Pedro still has one of the best coaches in Mike Walsh. Venice is getting better and will be the City title favorite in 2013. Crenshaw has proven it doesn’t fear anyone and is certainly capable of beating any team.

But Narbonne is still on a path to a CIF state championship regional bowl game if it continues to take care of business. It has only happened once for a City team _ Crenshaw in 2009.

At least the Gauchos learned a lesson on Friday that each game must be taken seriously.

-- Eric Sondheimer