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Sports

Tesoro Rallies Behind Defense to Knock Off Narbonne, 22-13

Titans score 10 points in fourth quarter and keep Gauchos off the board for entire second half to win the intersectional game at Tesoro High.

The Tesoro High football team took a big step forward Thursday night in a 22-13 come-from-behind intersectional victory over Harbor City Narbonne.

Narbonne, which nearly knocked off powerhouse Long Beach Poly a week ago, came into Titan Stadium rated No. 2 in the Los Angeles City Section by MaxPreps.com, thanks in large part to junior quarterback Troy Wilson, one of the 10 best signal-callers in Southern California, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Wilson, a 6-foot-3 scrambler with a rocket-launcher for an arm, tested Tesoro's young but aggressive defense from wire-to-wire, completing 23 of 42 passes for 230 yards, including 19 on a fade-route touchdown completion to Antoine Anderson with six seconds left in the first half that gave the Gauchos a 13-12 lead at the break.

That, however, would be the last time the Gauchos set foot in the end zone.

Scoring 17 points after three interceptions, the Titans' offense was both opportunistic and methodical. Tesoro churned out 186 rushing yards, mostly on the back of junior tailback Nate Tago, and finished the game strong, controlling both the clock and the line-of-scrimmage in the second half before putting things to rest on a two-yard Matt Adam plunge with just under two minutes to play.

Adam (11-of-19 passing for 99 yards) wasn't particularly pleased with his offense's performance, pointing out two first-half turnovers, both deep in Narbonne territory.

"We had too many mistakes offensively," he said. "We need to hold onto the football. There were too many turnovers. But Nate's awesome. He does things that nobody knows where they come from. It just comes out of nowhere."

Tago got better as the game wore on. After managing only 16 yards in six first-half touches, Tago gashed the Gauchos to the tune of 102 yards in 14 second-half carries. The junior tailback set up Zach Schottenfeld's 32-yard go-ahead field goal with five minutes left with a 25-yard romp around the right side, then set up Adam's game-clincher on Tesoro's ensuing drive with back-to-back runs of 27 and 13.

"I'm proud of my kids. They rallied when they needed to rally," Tesoro coach Brian Barnes said. "Tago's a big-time football player. We needed him in the third and fourth quarter to help finish the game, and he did. He's a heck of a football player on both sides of the ball, and he's going to keep getting better."

Barnes also pointed Schottenfeld as one of the Titans' key components Thursday night. Not only did the junior drill the go-ahead kick, but he also turned in a 35-yard field goal in the first quarter, and was lights-out in the punting game, pinning Narbonne inside its own 10-yard line twice.

But it was Tesoro's defense, as led by defensive coordinator John Hall, that were the evening's headliners.

Safety Nick Crouch intercepted a Wilson pass as time expired in the first quarter, setting up a 14-yard jump-ball touchdown connection from Adam to Kyle Woolbright that gave the Titans their first lead at 10-7 three minutes into the second quarter.

Four minutes later, senior defensive end Austin Lynch wrapped up Wilson in his own end zone for a safety and five-point lead.

Narbonne threatened to go up by two scores with time dwindling in the third quarter, but cornerback Conor Massey took to the sky at the goal line on fourth-and-nine to break up what looked like a guaranteed Gaucho touchdown. Then, at the start of the fourth quarter, defensive end Jay Perez stepped back in zone coverage and intercepted a Narbonne screen attempt, leading to Schottenfeld's go-ahead boot.

With five minutes left in the game, cornerback Michael McQueen got in on the party, picking off Wilson at midfield and handing off to Tago and the offense, which mopped up from there.

"It was a tough first half. They were getting too much space and getting first downs," Crouch said. "Second half, we kind of figured out what they were doing and we were able to shut down the passing game. Then it was a big help from Nate [on offense], getting down there and scoring some touchdowns."

Tesoro (3-1) will be on the road next Friday, when the Titans head to Temecula for a meeting with Chaparal. Narbonne (1-2) returns home to Harbor City to take on Serra of Gardena.

GAME NOTES

  • The Titans had five tackles-for-loss, one each from Chazz Roberts and McQueen, a shared stop from Tago and Hunter Simmons, and two from Lynch.
  • Narbonne defensive tackle Paulo Lepua had two sacks and a tackle-for-loss.
  • Wilson completed passes to nine different receivers.
  • Greg Clark and Anderson led the Gauchos with six receptions each.
  • Woolbright finished with three catches to lead the Titans, and defended two passes on defense.
  • Narbonne had 12 first downs in the first half and five in the second. Tesoro had three first downs in the first half and 11 in the second.

GAME STATISTICS

                                  1     2     3     4   --    T

Narbonne                 7     6     0     0    --   13

Tesoro                      3     9     0    10    --   22


                                   NAR                 TES

First Downs                 17                   14  
Rushing Yards            113                  186
Passing Yards             230                  99
Total Net Yards           343                  285
Turnovers                     3                     2
Penalties-Yards          7-57                 7-65


SCORING

1st Quarter

NAR -- Tray Boone 18 run; Tyler Harris kick, 10:12
TES -- Zach Schottenfeld 35 field goal, 1:19

2nd Quarter

TES -- Kyle Woolbright 14 pass from Matt Adam; Schottenfeld kick, 9:19
TES -- Austin Lynch safety, 5:16
NAR -- Antoine Anderson 19 pass from Troy Williams; kick failed, :06.2

4th Quarter

TES -- Schottenfeld 32 field goal, 5:35
TES -- Adam 2 run; Schottenfeld kick, 1:49

Complete story and photos to follow. Stay tuned!

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