San Diego, CA – Narbonne erased a 21-point deficit on Jalen Chatman’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Tyronne Marshall with just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Cathedral Catholic responded with sophomore Shawn Poma’s fourth touchdown of the game to help the Dons with a 35-28 win over Narbonne in the CIF State Regional playoff on Friday night.
The Gauchos had one last shot to tie the game from the Dons 17-yard line but Chatman was sacked on the final play of the game.
“We thought we had them (Narbonne),” Cathedral Catholic coach Sean Doyle said. “They stepped their defense up and brought it down to the wire.”
Poma put the Dons on the board first with a 12-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead. Chatman hit Tre Walker on a wide-receiver screen for a 7-yard touchdown to even the score in the second quarter.
The Dons capped a 9-play, 78-yard drive with Poma’s second touchdown of the game to give Cathedral Catholic a 14-7 lead with 3:04 remaining in the second quarter.
Poma rushed for 174 yards on 26 carries and four touchdowns to lead the Dons.
“I give all the credit to my offensive line,” Poma said. “I got saw the hole and hit it.”
The defending state champion Gauchos had two punts partially blocked, which led to back-to-back touchdowns for the Dons and a 28-7 lead in the third quarter.
Narbonne rallied back with Chatman’s 5-yard touchdown run and Kameron Denmark’s touchdown run from a yard out to pull within 28-21 with 10:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Chatman completed 30 of 45 passes for 294 yards with two touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown. Cathedral Catholic quarterback Tate Hayes, the son of former NFL Hall of Famer Michael Haynes, threw for 143 yards and a touchdown.
Poma’s 25-yard touchdown run with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter gave the Dons a 35-28 lead and set the stage for the dramatic finish.
“He has unreal balance and speed,” Doyle said on Poma’s four touchdown performance. “He’s a stud.”
The City Section Division I champion Narbonne Gauchos end the season 14-1.
