No. 11 Narbonne Gauchos 2019 High School Football Preview
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
One could argue that Narbonne High School was one of the more undervalued football teams in the nation during the 2018 season. The Gauchos put together a 10-4 record with a CIF LA City Section title and a run to state, but three of the squad’s losses came while five-star Class of 2021 quarterback Jake Garcia was sitting out five games due to transfer rules. When the 2019 season begins, there will be no holding back a loaded Gaucho team with a quarterback ready to pick teams apart from the jump.
Stats can paint a picture, but the details tell the story. Narbonne lost three of their first four games in 2018 including falling to nationally ranked teams in St. Louis (HI) and Centennial (CA). The team caught fire sprinting to state before colliding with California runner-up state champs Cathedral Catholic. Through all the tough games, and breezing through Marine League action, the offense average 31 points per game. Garcia accounted for 2,130 of the team’s 3,545 passing yards and 15 of their 27 touchdown passes.
With a great line giving Garcia time to throw, the big guys up front also helped produce a trio of running backs (Jojuan Collins, Marceese Yetts, and Jack Brown) that compiled 664 or more rush yards led by Brown’s 728-yard season with nine touchdowns scored. The receiving corps had a quartette of targets that were seemingly unstoppable. Four-star Class of 2020 receiver Josh Jackson (USC) led the way with 50 passes pulled in covering 915 yards with eight touchdowns scored. Eren East paced the group with 54 total receptions for 772 yards with and three scores. The lone senior in the group, Steve Jenkins (UNLV), was good for 44 receptions, 600 yards and six touchdowns. Another junior in the bunch was three-star Elijah Queen. Queen added 33 receptions for 386 yards with four touchdowns.
The defense was led by seniors Andrew Berrueco, and his 91 tackles, and Malik Horne, with his 88 stops. Talent that will be missed from a year ago includes defensive backs Brionne Penny (SDSU), Ja’Maree Boone (Idaho State), Paul Edwards (EWU), and defensive tackle Juice Tupua (UTEP). As a unit, the defense held the opposition to an average of 17 points per game.
Narbonne takes the field in 2019 not only as one of the top ranked teams in California at No. 4, but the Harbor City team is nationally ranked at No. 11. When possible, opposing teams will load up to try to take down one of the nation’s best teams.
QB Jake Garcia on how the Gauchos look in fall camp: “We are looking really good through fall camp. We have made big strides both offensively and defensively. On the offensive side of the ball we are looking very explosive and expect to put up a lot of points.”
2019 Gauchos Offense
Narbonne will be set at the skill positions with so much returning talent. The one area of concern is replacing all the talented linemen who graduated. Big shoes need to be filled are from Jonah Tauanu’u (Oregon), Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (SDSU), and Tilini Livai (USC). When Garcia does drop back, he has a pair of senior four-stars in Joshua Jackson and Traeshon Holden (Alabama) along with three-star talent Kobe Stewart and the speedy Eren East. The backfield will once again feature a dynamic duo in Yetts and Collins.
QB Jake Garcia on how the offense is looking leading into the season: “It’s hard to pin point the strengths of our offense this year because I feel like we are very well rounded. My receivers are constantly making big plays and the same goes for my running backs. We also have a very talented offensive line and without them we wouldn’t be able to move the ball at all.”
2019 Gauchos Defense
Player to player, Narbonne’s starters are about as talented as any other squad in California. The high praise starts up front with four-star senior defensive tackle Jordan Berry (LSU). Teams will have to account Class of 2021 for newcomer DE/DT John Hala (6-4, 288) and three-star defensive end Andre Jenkins. The linebacker unit has the heart and soul of the team returning in four-star inside linebacker Jordan Banks. Running next to Banks is 2020 three-star backer Alonso Person. The do-everything hybrid linebacker, rover, safety making plays all over the field is four-star 2021 talent Anthony Beavers. The all-business tone set in the secondary comes from four-star corners Darion Green-Warren and Brandon Jones (Stanford).
LB Jordan Banks on how the Gauchos defense looks: “We look great. We are flying around the field and are everywhere. We are ready to win state!”
The Schedule
The 2019 schedule lacks the national firepower from a year ago, but there are challenging games ahead starting with the opener against Buchanan. The Bears posted a 10-3 record in 2018 and open the year ranked No. 23 in the state of California (MaxPreps). Lone Peak High School is yet another challenge ranked No. 3 in the state of Utah. The Highland area squad is already 1-0 with a season opening 30-20 win over Timpview.
The three-game stretch against Orange Lutheran, Serra, and Lawndale presents an obstacle, especially with two of the three on the road. OLU might be young, but the shelves of talent have been restocked after graduating a wealth of five-, four-, and three-star players. Serra is another team that has athletes across the board and a talented quarterback in Doug Brumfield (UNLV) ready to take on the Gauchos’ defense. Lawndale, ranked No. 18 in California, also has a gun slinging quarterback in Jalon Daniels (Middle Tennessee State) ready for the challenge.
If Narbonne makes it to Marine League play against San Pedro undefeated, there will be no slowing this group down until the playoffs… even if then?
WR Joshua Jackson on what to expect from the Gauchos in 2019: “We’re really good and can be dominating when we are clicking on all cylinders!”
Gauchos 2019 Schedule
Aug. 24 at Buchanan (Clovis, CA) – ranked No. 23 in CA
Aug. 31 vs. Lone Peak (Highland, UT)
Sept. 6 at St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs, CA)
Sept. 13 at Orange Lutheran (Orange, CA) – ranked No. 24 in CA
Sept. 20 vs. Serra (Gardena, CA) – ranked No. 18 in CA
Sept. 27 at Lawndale (Lawndale, CA)
Oct. 4 at San Pedro (San Pedro, CA)
Oct. 18 at Gardena (Gardena, CA)
Oct. 25 vs. Carson (Carson, CA)
Nov. 1 vs. Banning (Wilmington, CA)