Narbonne gives City football another image boost
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Lost in the deserved hoopla Birmingham received for knocking off Sherman Oaks Notre Dame was another interesting intersectional score on Thursday.
The 3-0 Gauchos believe the final score should not have been that close. Narbonne was sitting on a 33-7 lead in the second half when, as Coach Manuel Douglas said afterward, ‘we started playing not to lose. And Mira Costa, those kids play five quarters in four quarters -- they never quit.’
‘Finally we came to the conclusion to go win the game like we did in the first half’ when Narbonne built a 26-7 lead.
Like Birmingham had done with its games against Long Beach Poly and Notre Dame, and Dorsey did against Santa Margarita, Narbonne had targeted its game against Mira Costa as being a ‘critical’ part of the proverbial Big Picture. Douglas was craving a victory over a traditionally strong Southern Section team like Mira Costa to bolster the arguments he will use when playoff seeding takes place in November.
‘This year for us, considering what’s out there, a No. 1 or No. 2 seed is very important,’ Douglas said. ‘It’s something we talk about nearly every day. If we play Birmingham, for example, we want to do it in the finals, not the semi or quarterfinals. And we want three home games.
‘But even if we somehow went 10-0, I’m not sure we’d be ahead of Birmingham if they went 9-1 because of their schedule.’
Still, Douglas is pleased with the progress of his team. ‘We showed some grittiness against Mira Costa. That was the first quality team we had played. They are awfully tough to bear at home.’
- Mike Terry