Gauchos get stop, and go

With a trip to the Coliseum at stake, Harbor City Narbonne sent its fans and coach on a wild roller-coaster ride Friday night, and when all had finally settled, the Gauchos were able to pull out a 25-24 victory over Los Angeles Crenshaw in a City Section Championship Division semifinal game.

Crenshaw had a 24-17 lead with just over two minutes left after showing off an array of impressive performers, from DeAnthony Thomas (163 yards rushing in 20 carries) to Geno Hall (four catches for 104 yards).

But four missed extra-point attempts left the Cougars vulnerable to a comeback, and top-seeded Narbonne (12-1) was given the chance when Crenshaw decided to go for it on fourth and two from its own 39-yard line.

“Of course, I’m grateful,” Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas said of the decision.

Narbonne stopped the Cougars on the 40, setting up the final drama.

Quarterback Josh Moten, who completed only eight of 17 passes for 74 yards, drove the Gauchos to the four-yard line, and Dannie Farber caught a touchdown pass with one minute left.

“In the huddle, the quarterback said, ‘I need somebody to make a play for us,’ and I had to make a play,” Farber said.

Down by one point, Douglas faced a difficult decision. He screamed into his headphones, asking his assistants for advice on what to do.

“Do we go for two or play for overtime?” Douglas said. “No one would answer. It was silence. I decided we’re going to go for it.”

Melvin Davis, 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, took the handoff from Moten and ran in the two-point conversion, and Narbonne had come away with an improbable victory by scoring the only points of the second half.

Crenshaw (9-3) was so good for much of the game. Sophomore quarterback Marquis Thompson completed nine of 15 passes for 172 yards. Thomas, another sophomore, was outstanding running the ball. Noel Grigsby had a 52-yard touchdown reception and came up with an interception. Marcus Andrews had another interception.

But Narbonne was able to stay close behind USC-bound Byron Moore Jr., who returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown and returned another punt 58 yards to set up a field goal.

Now the Gauchos get a Marine League rematch against San Pedro next Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.

My congratulations to Douglas and San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh, both of whom deserve to be recognized as survivors in getting their schools into the City final. They’ve overcome many obstacles, and I’m not necessarily talking about on the field. It’s so challenging to be a coach in the City Section that the good ones are hard-pressed to stick around.

Take Ed Croson of Lake Balboa Birmingham. His team won the championship the last two seasons and four out of the last six. But he might step down after the holidays because his job has become too difficult, from finding assistant coaches to tracking players from morning to night.

Douglas, in his seventh year at Narbonne, is a special education teacher who has steadily built up the Gauchos’ program. But he also has encountered road blocks.

He tried to hire an assistant JV coach from Lakewood to be the offensive coordinator for his freshman-sophomore team. He offered him a $1,900 stipend.

“He laughed,” Douglas said. “He was paid $4,000. He makes more than me as a head coach.”

Coaching is charity work for Douglas and many of his City counterparts.

“We are firemen,” Douglas said before the game. “We put out fires all day long. It’s tough and wears you down. I’m exhausted, but I’m glad.”

After the game, he said, “I’m recharged.”

See what a trip to the Coliseum can do.

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eric.sondheimer@latimes.com