Jefferson Sprints Lead Narbonne to State Title
The 2017 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games were headlined by 3 games on Saturday at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento. Jermar Jefferson rushed for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Narbonne to a 28-21 win over Pittsburg in the Division 1A game.
This is Narbonne’s second state title in three years. This 2017 team joins the 2015 team that won the 1-A title on this same field 28-14 over Clayton Valley Charter.
Narbonne (12-3) rebounded from a rough start with a 2-3 record after non-league play. They steamed through the Marine League, Los Angeles City Section playoffs and the state regional game by winning each game by at least 34 points.
Pittsburg (9-3) was denied its first state title. The Pirates went undefeated through the Bay Valley League with their only losses being to Corona Centennial, De La Salle in the section final, and now to Narbonne.
Saturday evening was a tale of two different games and runs. Pittsburg controlled the game and momentum leading 21-0 with 10:34 left in the first half. Narbonne settled down, forced a punt and later a turnover on downs en route to the next 10 points in the first half and they controlled the rest of the game.
Narbonne scored the next 28 unanswered points and took their first lead in the fourth quarter on Jalen Chatman’s strike to Aaron Magee from 7 yards out to give them a 1 point lead, 22-21, (the two-pt conversion failed). Logan Taylor had a 70 yard fumble recovery for touchdown to make it 28-21 with 4:23 left. Demontii Peoples’ interception at the Narbonne 15 yard line in the final minute sealed the victory.
The Gauchos defense and the running game was what took control of the game.
Narbonne held Pittsburg to 42 second half yards including -1 total yards in the fourth quarter. Its offense took a big step in their 21 point second half in which they had 148 of their 230 yards of offense. Jefferson’s 103 second half rushing yards was a major chunk of it.
Narbonne was led by Jefferson and his 28 carries. He scored the first points of the game for Narbonne and his 35 yard touchdown early in the second half inspired his team.
Rutgers commit Chatman was 10-19 for 57 yards and a touchdown. He added 55 rushing yards on 12 carries. His leading receiver was Magee who had 4 receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown. Their 7 yard connection midway through the fourth quarter gave the Gauchos their first lead.
The defense was led by their senior linebacker duo of Darien Butler and USC commit Raymond Scott. Butler led the game with 10 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble, while Scott had 7 tackles and a sack.
The defense also received strong performances by a trio of defensive backs. Taylor had 2 tackles, a pass breakup, and the aforementioned 70 yard fumble return for a touchdown. Peoples contributed a tackle and his key interception. Jordan Patterson had a strong game at cornerback with 4 tackles and a pass breakup.
Pittsburg was led by Willie Harts III and Justin Boyd. Harts III had a pair of touchdown receptions in the first half and an interception. He also led the team in rushing with 38 yards and receiving with 55 yards on 3 catches.
The second of the pair of juniors, Boyd, was 10-20 for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sophomore Darrion Bartley added 36 yards and a rushing touchdown, the first score of the game.
The Pirates defense was led by senior safety Justin Sanders and junior Jacob Bandes. Sanders had 7 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 pass breakups. Bandes had 4 tackles and a pair of tackles from his defensive tackle position.
The first quarter was all Pirates. Harts III intercepted Chatman on the first drive of the game. He returned the pick for 36 yards to the Narbonne 43 yard line. They went 7 plays for 43 yards including a 15 yard QB keeper by Boyd to the 1 yard line. Bartley scored on the next play to make it 7-0 with 5:43 left in the quarter.
Pittsburg forced a quick 3 and out with back to back sacks by Bandes and Sanders on a safety blitz. They scored on the next play after a bad punt, as Boyd hit Harts III as he broke a pair of tackles and scored from 21 yards to make it 14-0 with 3:42 left in the quarter.
The Pirates scored again after they forced a Chatman incompletion on fourth down. They got the ball on their own 41 yard line and scored in four plays. Boyd hit Harts III on a 40 yard catch and run for a touchdown across the middle on a broken play scramble. The Pirates led 21-0 with 10:34 left in the half.
Then Narbonne capitalized after a one yard punt by Pittsburg gave them the ball on the 13 yard line. They scored on the fifth play as Jefferson went untouched on a 4 yard run into the end zone, which made it 21-7 with 3:12 left in the half.
Narbonne capitalized after Pittsburg gained only one yard on 4th and 16 inside their 20 yard line. Edgar Ramos drained a 40 yard field goal with 23 seconds left in the half to cut the deficit to 11, 21-10.
Narbonne struck first in the second half. Travis Faavae recovered a Bartley fumble at the Pittsburg 42 hard line on the first drive of the second half. Jefferson scored on the third play and his third run of the drive as he went 35 yards on a handoff. The two point conversion was no good as the Gauchos trailed 21-16 with 10:05 left in the third quarter.
Narbonne took their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter. On 4th and goal from 7 yard line, Chatman hit McGee for a 7 yard touchdown. The two point conversion pass was a yard short and no good which made it 22-21 with 8:25 left in the game.
Narbonne’s Taylor returned a fumbled snap on a Pittsburg field goal attempt 74 yards to the end zone in style with a front flip. The long two point conversion after multiple penalties was no good and Narbonne led 28-21 with 4:23 left in the game.
Peoples ended the Pirates’ evening and sealed the state championship in the final minute. He intercepted Boyd at the Narbonne 15-yard line and returned it 61 yards to the Pittsburg 24 yard line with 36 seconds left in the game.
