For Narbonne, a bitter aftertaste

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Two days is not be enough time for Narbonne to get past its humbling 38-20 loss to Crenshaw in the City championship quarterfinals. And I’m not sure how much time the Gauchos will need.

Before Wednesday’s game, several Narbonne players on their side of the field were talking pointedly about how badly they wanted revenge for the 45-7 drubbing Crenshaw planted on them in the 2006 playoffs.

Then how, even though they had enough turnovers to open a bakery -- Narbonne finished with four lost fumbles and three interceptions -- the Gauchos were poised to take the lead in the third quarter.

But then came the game’s defining play.

Down, 24-20, but on the Cougar’s 26-yard line, Narbonne running back Chris Ervin broke free from the Crenshaw defense and was running unencumbered to the end zone when he fumbled at the goal line. Crenshaw (8-4) recovered for a touchback, and eventually scored to boost its lead to 32-20.

The Cougars were headed to the semifinals.

‘That was the game right there,’ Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas said. ‘We’re going into the end zone but we don’t score. Then we stop them but fumble the punt ... You never want to lose the last game. But if we were going to lose, I certainly didn’t want to lose like this.’

-- Mike Terry