Narbonne’s Victory Is Not Without a Fight

Harbor City Narbonne High won its Southern Pacific Conference opener and earned its third consecutive victory Friday, but not before getting all it could handle from Washington.

Narbonne’s Nnamdi Asomugha broke the Generals with an 81-yard kickoff return late in the fourth quarter to set up the final touchdown in a 31-20 victory at Washington.

Washington had used a 14-play, 58-yard drive pull to within 24-20 on a one-yard run by quarterback Davon Jones with 3:59 left.

“They were kicking away from me the whole game and I was frustrated,” said Asomugha, a defensive back who is regarded as one of the top college prospects at his position in the Southland. “Our coach told me to move up on the kickoff because he knew they would try to keep it away from me again.”

Asomugha maneuvered into position, caught the ball on the 15 yard-line and broke up the middle before cutting toward the right sideline and sprinting toward the end zone. Washington finally pulled him down at the four.

Narbonne running back Jonathan Smith, who gained 153 yards in 20 carries, scored his third touchdown of the game to give the Gauchos (3-1) a 31-20 lead. Asomugha secured the victory by intercepting a pass by Jones on the ensuing possession.

“We thought it was going to be rough today and it was,” said Asomugha, who also helped set up Narbonne’s second touchdown with a 24-yard pass reception. “In this conference, a team can be 0-5 and still beat you.”

Washington (0-3), which lost its opener to Southern Section power Los Alamitos, was without its top rusher, senior running back Danny Urquhart, who was recovering from a concussion suffered last week against Westchester.

But the Generals got 100 yards in 17 carries from running back Marquis Watson. Washington overcame a 14-6 halftime deficit to pull even, 14-14, on a three-yard touchdown run by Jones with 4:17 left in the third quarter and two-point conversion run by Watson.

Narbonne went ahead, 21-14, on its next possession with a 61-yard drive that Smith capped with a two-yard run. After a Washington fumble, the Gauchos extended their lead to 10 points with a 39-yard field goal by Bobby Rosales with 10:23 left.