Narbonne quarterback Troy Williams scored on a 16-yard touchdown run to give his team a 21-0 first quarter lead over perennial power Long Beach Poly.  The score was 42-0 at halftime.  Photo by Ken Brooks.  

 Narbonne is not only legit, they are 56-0 over Long Beach Poly legit  

Narbonne was considered a legitimate contender when they entered the season.  With a number of All-City players returning from last year’s City championship team, they were the front-runners in the City Section and they have the potential for qualifying for the State Bowl.  

But did anybody think that they were 56-0 over Long Beach Poly legitimate

Nobody does that to Poly.  They dish out that type of punishment, not take it.  

What Narbonne did Poly was more than demolish them, they sent out a message to any premiere program that if you cross Narbonne’s path, you’ll end up in the headlines, and it will not be for good reasons.

Poly had not been beaten that bad since 1916, when they lost to San Diego High School by a score of 62-0.  It was so bad that a running clock was used in the fourth quarter.

So far this season Narbonne has not been scored on.  They opened the season with a 41-0 win over Palos Verdes.  Their non-league schedule was supposed to be extremely tough, but if they continue to play like they did against Poly, then Lakewood, Serra, and Mater Dei might not have much of a chance to derail Narbonne’s State Bowl hopes.  That’s saying a lot for a City Section team, who usually do not have some of the advantages that some Southern Section teams have.  

Narbonne is a team that everybody should go out and watch.  Check them out this Friday night as they will host Lakewood.

The one team that could give Narbonne a run for their money is Crenshaw.  They lost a close one against a really good Westlake team, but looking at it right now, a Crenshaw/Narbonne match up in the City Championship game would be awesome.

Crenshaw had a chance to remain undefeated, just like Narbonne, but a last second field goal from Westlake kept the game from going into overtime, and gave Westlake a 44-41 victory.   

Crenshaw appears to have the fire power to give Narbonne a good game, and their talent will be on display this Friday night when they host Fresno Edison, who is one of the top teams in central California, and then a week later at Oaks Christian, which is a long overdue match up.  Oaks Christian fans were complaining that they should have gone to the State Bowl in 2009 over Crenshaw.  Now they will finally get a chance to settle the score on the field instead of in the rankings.         

 

Fairfax has big and punishing back

Fairfax running back Marquise Brown is big, strong, and defensive players have a hard time tackling him.  Through two games he has 260 rushing yards, mostly right between the tackles.  Photo by Jason Lewis

 Two years ago Fairfax rode a big running back to a Division II City title.  Matt Bowen led the city in rushing in back-to-back seasons, as he topped the 2,000-yard mark in a season twice.   

Bowen is gone, but Marquise Brown looks like he’s following in his footsteps.  Brown has the same body top, which is big, and defenders are not to quick to tackle him.  At 5’8” and 225 pounds, it takes multiple players to bring him down.  

Against Dorsey in the season opener, in only 11 carries Brown ran for 112 in a 24-14 loss.  This past Friday night against Canoga Park, Fairfax decided they had to ride the big man to get the victory, and Brown came up big time.  He rushed for 158 yards on 25 carries, mostly right between the tackles, and he rushed for two touchdowns.   

Brown and Fairfax’s offensive line enforced their will on Canoga Park, and that led to a 35-20 victory.   

“My team played amazing,” Brown said.  “I wouldn’t have had any of those yards if my O-line wasn’t blocking.  A running back would be nothing without an O-line.  We played as a team, and we won as a team.  God is good.”   

Fairfax head coach Shane Cox knows that he has a special running back on his hands, and that Brown compares to a couple other really good backs.  

“Marquise Brown is probably one of the most explosive running backs that we’ve had a Fairfax,” Cox said.  “He has a nice combination of size, speed, and strength.  He’s very similar to Matt Bowens, but I’ll tell you who he really reminds me of.  I coached Maurice Jones-Drew (UCLA, Jacksonville Jaguars) in an all-star game.  They’re built the same way.  I would compare him between a Matt Bowen and a Maurice Jones-Drew.” 

 

Last week’s scores  

Dorsey 33, Garfield 21

Westlake 44, Crenshaw 41

Narbonne 56, Long Beach Poly 0

Fairfax 35, Canoga Park 20

Oaks Christian 35, Venice 17

Santa Monica 53, Palisades 12

Franklin 68, Los Angeles Jordan 20

Gardena 27, Jefferson 20

South Gate 34, Locke 24

Lincoln 48, Los Angeles 12

University 28, Panorama 12

Mater Dei 48, Carson 13

Redondo 13, San Pedro 9

South Gate 34, Locke 24

Washington 40, Manual Arts 13

Westchester 53, Fremont 13

Banning 23, Hamilton 19

Cathedral 35, Pasadena 21

Compton 14, Dominguez 10

Culver City 41, Peninsula 15

Gardena Serra 27, Mira Costa 20

Morningside 18, Lawndale 8

Lakewood 31, Mayfair 0

Loyola 42, Newport Harbor 7

North Torrance 56, Leuzinger 14

Paraclete 45, Compton Centennial 27

Bakersfield Stockdale 54, Inglewood 14

Hawthorne 31, Animo South Los Angeles 14

View Park 30, Verbum Dei 0

South East 31, Lynwood 14

Upland 57, Long Beach Jordan 28

 

This week’s games

 All Games Friday at 7 p.m. unless noted

Dorsey vs. Paraclete at Antelope Valley College, Thursday 

Fresno Edison at Crenshaw

Lakewood at Narbonne

West Adams at San Marcos Mission Hills

Westchester at Cathedral 

Palisades at Crespi

University vs. Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium (Long Beach), Thursday

Fremont at Huntington Park

Garfield at Venice

Carson vs. Santa Margarita at Saddleback College

Jefferson at Marshall, 3 p.m.

Locke at San Pedro

Los Angeles at Belmont

Los Angeles Jordan at Washington

Panorama at Manual Arts, 3 p.m.

Reseda at Fairfax

Sun Valley Poly at Hamilton, 3 p.m.

Burbank vs. Inglewood at Coleman Stadium (Inglewood)

Compton at Morningside, 3 p.m.

Culver City at Redondo

Lancaster vs. Lynwood at Lynwood Middle School

Leuzinger at Lawndale

Long Beach Jordan at Dominguez

Loyola at St. John Bosco

Bakersfield vs. Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium (Long Beach)

Gardena at Hawthorne

Banning at Serra 

 

• < Prev in High School
• Next in High School >