Pirates navigate wild finish, beat rival Gauchos

San Pedro and Harbor City Narbonne combined for six touchdowns in a fourth quarter that included a botched punt that went for a first down and a two-point conversion on a reverse pass.

It was wild, even by the standards of a rivalry that had included a tie and a triple overtime in the teams’ last four meetings, which had been decided by a total of eight points.

“Wow. Wow,” San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh said. “That’s about all you can say is, ‘Wow.’”

Alas, it was a big defensive play that helped the San Pedro Pirates hold on for a 49-42 victory that put them in position for their first Marine League title since 2006.

Defensive back Deshawn Sambrano intercepted a Troy Williams pass with less than a minute remaining, allowing the Pirates (9-0, 4-0) to run out the clock. Sambrano, who sat out last season with a torn knee ligament, also intercepted a pass on a two-point conversion attempt earlier in the quarter.

San Pedro quarterback Kenny Potter had broken the deadlock with 1:20 left when he ran for a 71-yard touchdown, capping a dazzling performance in which he rushed for 227 yards and three scores in 14 carries.

“It was a fake play to the sweeper and just find the hole,” Potter said. “My line blocked great, and I just had one guy to beat, and I beat him.”

Tray Boone had 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns for the Gauchos (6-3, 3-1), including a 49-yard scoring run with 2:56 remaining.

San Pedro appeared on the way to securing the victory midway through the fourth quarter, when the Pirates had a 35-28 lead and were forcing Narbonne to punt. But Williams corralled a bad snap and heaved a desperation pass to Greg Clark for a 24-yard gain that picked up the first down.

ben.bolch@latimes.com