SACRAMENTO - After 93 years of football, a 21-point lead in the middle of the second quarter gave the Pittsburg faithful reason to believe that a CIF title was finally going to find its way into the annals of the storied program. But with nearly three quarters of football left to play, LA City Section champion Narbonne battled back, and scored 28 unanswered points to capture the CIF 1-A Championship, 28-21.
“We play this game for four quarters,” Narbonne head coach Manny Douglas said. “You don't win at halftime, and our boys came back and played four quarters.”
The game was never over, at least until Pittsburg’s last pass attempt.
With 33 seconds left on the clock, Willie Harts III threw an interception straight to the hands of Demonti Peoples, sending the Gaucho sideline into a frenzy. Prior to that play, the touchdown which ultimately sealed the victory for Narbonne came on a play in which appeared that Pittsburg had a chance to take the lead.
Down 22-21, Pittsburg’s Miguel Romo lined up for a 36 yard field goal. As the snap was made, however, he and holder Zach Ellsworth suffered a breakdown in communication, leading to the ball ending up on the ground instead of sailing through the air towards the uprights. Narbonne's Logan Taylor scooped it up and returned it for a 70 yard touchdown, extending the lead to seven points, and producing the final score of the game.
Pittsburg got off to a red-hot start. Harts III recorded an interception that led to Pittsburg’s first touchdown in their first offensive drive, which was capped by a Darrion Bartley one-yard touchdown. Harts produced offensively as well, with a pair of touchdown receptions in the first half, each coming from junior quarterback Justin Boyd.
The first one was set up by a a pair of sacks from Jacob Bandes and Justin Sanders, which forced Narbonne to punt into the Hercules-type winds. That led to a 21-yard strike from Boyd to Harts, who dragged a defender into the end zone with him for a 14-0 lead, with under four minutes left in the first quarter.
The second connection from Boyd to Harts covered 40 yards and resulted in a 21-0 lead with 10:34 still remaining in the second quarter. And that was it for the Pirates' offense.
The following drive began Narbonne’s 28 point surge. Jermar Jefferson ended the drive with a four-yard touchdown run, getting the Gauchos on the board with just over three minutes remaining in the half. Narbonne closed the gap further when Edgar Ramos, with the wind at his back, drilled a 40-yard field goal with 21 seconds remaining in the first half, closing the gap to 21-10 as the teams headed to the locker room.
“We knew we had to come back and be stronger with intensity,” Jefferson said. “Coach pumped our blood up during halftime in the locker room.”
Pittsburg shot itself in the foot to start the second half, as a fumble early in the third quarter led to a 35-yard touchdown run by Jefferson, closing the gap to five points at 21-16. Early in the fourth quarter, Narbonne rolled the dice on a fourth-and-goal play from the seven-yard line, and the Gauchos hit the jackpot when quarterback Jalen Chatman connected with Aaron McGee for the touchdown, and a 22-21 Narbonne lead with 8:25 left in the game, its first lead of the game.
Pittsburg's best chance to go back ahead was with Romo's field goal attempt, which occurred after the Pirates had a first-and-goal from the nine-yard line, but went backwards.
In the end, Narbonne held the state title trophy up high with pride, while Pittsburg had their hands down and eyes watering with tears.
Pittsburg head coach Vic Galli knew they should not have lost the game.
“I'm disappointed for our fans and I'm disappointed for our kids,” Galli said. “We had a 21 point lead and with our defense we're not supposed to lose.”
Despite the loss, the Pirates did go unbeaten this year in the Bay Valley Athletic League, capturing their first league title in three years, and advanced to the NCS Open Division final, which allowed them to get into the CIF regionals. From there, Pittsburg downed Granite Bay, 37-14, to reach the 1-A final against Narbonne, the first state final appearance in school history.
