Posted by Accounting on 3/9/10 at 05:55 AM
Crenshaw beats Narbonne in CIF City section football championship
Shotgun Spratling | 12-12-2009 | Comments |
[UPDATE: DECEMBER 13]The Crenshaw Cougars will play the De La Salle (Concord) Spartans on Saturday, December 19 at 8 pm in the Home Depot Center.
Drenched not only from the steady rain, but from the water cooler his players poured on him, Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett didn’t seem to mind as he stood on the muddy playing field in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Flashing a wide smile, Garrett accepted the CIF City Section championship trophy and took it to his players, who had just dismantled the Narbonne Gauchos‘ (8-6) defense in a 34-14 rout to complete an undefeated regular season 14-0.
“It’s a great feeling. I’m just so proud of [the players],” a beaming Garrett said. “I’m happy with the effort.
“I’m real pleased. I’m real happy. Can’t you tell?” he said with a chuckle.
Leading the way for the Crenshaw Cougars was the backfield duo of senior Geoffrey Norwood and junior DeAnthony Thomas. Norwood carried the load with 21 rushes for 108 yards, but Thomas will be the one in Narbonne coach Manuel Douglas’ nightmares.
Thomas only ran the ball 12 times, but even in the sloppy conditions, there were twelve electric carries that kept fans on the edge of their seat every time he touched the ball.
His third quarter 69-yard touchdown run, which all but sealed the game, was emblematic of the fits he gave the Gauchos. Thomas received a toss sweep to the right and took it wide outside of the right hash before seeing a cutback lane open up. Not paying attention to the two defenders that attempted arm tackles, he burst through the hole eyeing the next line of defense.
Seeing a defender coming across from his left, Thomas planted on his right foot and cut inside of the defender. He then turned on the after-burners and wasn’t touched until after reaching the end zone.
“I just saw daylight,” Thomas said.
In fact, cramps were the only thing that was able to take Thomas down; he had to be helped off the field after his teammates caught up with him in the end zone. He finished the game with 193 yards and three touchdowns.
Thomas’s first touchdown run capped Crenshaw’s opening drive. They drove down the field in just over four minutes to take a 7-0 lead.
Narbonne players responded with a strong drive of their own, but on third-and-nine at the 13-yard line, quarterback Chad Dashnaw tried to sling a pass while he was being pulled down by a defender. The ball bounced off a Gaucho receiver, but instead of being an incomplete pass, as it should have been ruled, the referees said it was a fumble recovered by Crenshaw.
Narbonne eventually tied the game in the second quarter when senior running back Melvin Davis scored from two yards out.
But the Cougars immediately responded after being set up by a 61-yard kickoff return by Geno Hall. Six plays later, Hayes Pullard bulldozed his way 17 yards running through four defenders along the way.
Another gaffe by the referees killed the Gauchos’ next drive and swayed the momentum of the game. Driving inside the Crenshaw 40-yard line, the Gauchos rushed right on back-to-back plays. A timeout was called, and coming out of the timeout, it was inexplicably fourth down rather than third. Dashnaw’s tossed an incomplete pass on the subsequent play, and the Cougars took over on a turnover of downs.
Even the director of officials, who was watching the game from the press box, admitted the referees had made a mistake.
Crenshaw took advantage embarking on a 12-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that used all but the final seven seconds of the first half. The drive culminated with Thomas’second touchdown of the day on a fourth-and-one play. Thomas took a sweep to the left side and went untouched thanks to key blocks by Pullard and senior Shannon Penn.
Qujuan Floyd added a second half touchdown for the Cougars while Norbonne’s Davis had the final score of the game.
With the win, Crenshaw now will wait to see if they are selected to participate in one of the CIF state bowl games. The announcement will first be made on Twitter (http://twitter.com/cif) Sunday, December 13 at 3:30 p.m.
Will the Cougars get an invite to travel up the road to the Home Depot Center in Carson?
“It should happen due to the format,” said Garrett. “All of the intangibles the committee has asked for, we have surpassed that. It’s a great group of kids and they should be commended.”
And if Crenshaw does get the opportunity, don’t expect to see Garrett’s smile fade any time soon.
Tags: cif football championship crenshaw cougars narbonne gauchos raymond spraling
