HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Narbonne Runs Wild Against Taft, 48-21

Taft High running back Donald Carpenter already showed signs of a rough night three plays into the Toreadors’ City Section 4-A Division first-round playoff game with Narbonne.

Carpenter sported a three-inch rip on the back side of his jersey near his left shoulder, courtesy of a tough tackle by a Gaucho defender.

But that tear was nothing compared to the ease Narbonne was able to shred through Taft’s defense for five first-half touchdowns, a 48-point lead and a 48-21 victory Friday night at Torrance High.

Eighth-seeded Narbonne (9-2) will play top-seeded and defending City Section champion Sylmar Wednesday night. The Spartans (11-0) will have their hands full with the Gauchos’ unconventional double-wing offense.

Narbonne gained 300 yards rushing in the first half in only 17 carries. By the end of the third quarter, the Gauchos had gained 375 yards, all on the ground. And that was without Cameron Taylor, one of Narbonne’s best running backs who is academically ineligible.

Junior wingback Barry Yarbough did the most damage, rushing for 221 yards in nine carries and scoring four touchdowns, all longer than 36 yards.

“It wasn’t just one guy,” Taft Coach Troy Starr said. “They had five guys with that kind of speed.”

On the Gauchos’ second play, Yarbough took the handoff and beat cornerback Sedric Hurns, one of Taft’s fastest players, to the corner. By the time Yarbough reached the line of scrimmage, no Toreador could catch him and Narbonne had a 6-0 lead.

The Gauchos’ second drive was similar to the first except it took three plays. On the scoring play, quarterback Sidney Smith handed off to Rashad Boyd, who handed off to Yarbough, whose 50-yard run gave Narbonne a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

A 54-yard run by Vince Figueroa set up an 11-yard scoring run by Smith for a 19-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Yarbough scored twice more before the half, on runs of 36 and 50 yards, the latter with 16 seconds left.

“It just broke our heart to see them run down the field like that,” senior linebacker Clay Carter said. “We knew they were good, but we didn’t think they were that good. We got real down emotionally real early.”

It would get worse for ninth-seeded Taft (7-3-1). The Toreadors had to kick off to start the second half.

“I didn’t know how to react,” Starr said. “We’ve never been in that position before, ever.”

Narbonne extended the lead to 48-0 on a 30-yard run by Willie Wilkes in the third quarter.

Taft’s offense finally got going in the fourth quarter with a 26-yard touchdown pass from running back Antwan Simpson to Donald Cooley.

Taft quarterback Nick DiPadova (eight of 16, 153 yards) hit Hurns for an 88-yard touchdown and scored on a two-yard sneak.

Carpenter finished with 52 yards in 16 carries.