Isaiah Johnson throws four TD passes to Rayshawn Williams to lead Crenshaw past Carson
In a showdown between two of the City Section’s proudest programs, Isaiah Johnson threw five touchdown passes — four to Rayshawn Williams — to lead Crenshaw past Carson and into the inaugural Open Division championship game with an impressive 41-13 semifinal victory Friday night at Crenshaw High.
The second-seeded Cougars (10-2) advanced to their fourth section final in six years and will meet top-seeded and defending champion Harbor City Narbonne next Friday night at El Camino College in a rematch of last year’s Division I quarterfinal matchup when the Gauchos routed Crenshaw 47-7.
“I saw a mismatch with Rayshawn all game, so I just kept going to him and he made the plays,” said Johnson, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 190 yards in the Cougars’ seventh straight win.
Johnson threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Williams to end the Cougars’ first drive, then found Williams on a seven-yard slant to give Crenshaw a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Dejonte Thomas ran 56 yards for a score to pull the third-seeded Colts (8-4) within 13-7 just 20 seconds later.
Sultan Moala scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper early in the fourth quarter for Carson, the Marine League runner-up.
Carson, which won the last of its 11 City titles in 2003, was denied its first trip to a section final since 2014 when it lost to Narbonne 33-20.
Williams caught an eight-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter and added a nine-yard touchdown reception midway through the fourth quarter.
He caught seven passes for 138 yards and inter- cepted a pass to set up the Cougars’ final touchdown, a 14-yard run by Dennis Patrick.
James Day had five receptions for 98 yards, including a six-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter for the Coliseum League champions, who defeated Narbonne 20-13 for the last of their five City titles in 2013.
“To beat Narbonne, we’ve got to play even better than we did tonight,” Johnson said. “We have to have heart and prove ourselves. I have faith in my guys that we can take them down.”
Defensive tackle AJ Moala sacked Johnson on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to keep the Colts in the game, trailing only 13-7 at halftime.
Solomon Hassen was held to 30 yards in 15 carries for Crenshaw.
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