Football: No three-peat for Birmingham
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There will be a new football champion in the City Section.
Narbonne built a four-touchdown lead and then held off a furious rally by two-time defending champion Birmingham during a 45-35 victory in a Championship Division quarterfinal at Narbonne.
The top-seeded Gauchos (11-1) will play host to fourth-seeded Los Angeles Crenshaw (9-2) in a semifinal on Dec. 5. The Cougars defeated Narbonne in the quarterfinals in each of the last two years.
‘Going to the Coliseum, that’s our goal,’ said Narbonne running back Melvin Davis, who rushed for 109 yards and three touchdowns in nine carries.
A 44-yard touchdown run by Davis on the first play of the fourth quarter gave the Gauchos a 42-27 lead.
‘Their running back is bigger than our linemen,’ Birmingham Coach Ed Croson said of Davis, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior who is quite a contrast to Gauchos senior running back Chris Ervin, a diminutive 5-7 and 175 pounds.
The Patriots (6-6), who had trailed, 28-0, early in the second quarter, closed to within 42-35 on Dominique Flowers’ one-yard touchdown run and Tashawn White’s two-point conversion run with 9:21 remaining in the game. But Narbonne tacked on a 27-yard field goal by Diego Montoya and recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Tajuan Briggs had 116 yards and three touchdowns in 22 carries for Birmingham. Quarterback Morey Croson, playing in his last high school game for his father, completed eight of 20 passes for 135 yards.
--Ben Bolch