Ronnell Hewitt provides spark for Birmingham football in win over Narbonne in City playoffs
LAKE BALBOA — A lost fumble on his initial carry proved to be a mere blemish on Ronnell Hewitt’s night. Nine minutes later he had redeemed himself, two-fold, by scoring on a 20-yard run on Birmingham’s second drive of the night and hauling in a pick-6 three plays later.
“I made sure I bounced back,” Hewitt said. “It feels pretty good. It feels like I got more confidence in myself.”
The sloppiness present in the first half impacted offensive coordinator Dario Avila to say, “we should have put them way at this point.”
Instead, the Patriots held a seven point lead over Narbonne with 1:35 remaining. The score was a partial product of Hewitt’s fumble and Peyton Waters’ decision to touch a punt that was muffed, with the ball ending up in the arms of Narbonne’s special teams.
The top-seeded Patriots eventually pulled away in the second half to win their L.A. City Open Division quarterfinal 57-19 over No. 8 seed Narbonne.
Birmingham (9-2) will host No. 4 seed Carson on Friday, Nov. 17, in the semifinals.
Hewitt led the way against Narbonne (4-7) with 18 carries for 146 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Kingston Tisdell went 10-of-12 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Birmingham head coach Jim Rose credited his squad’s slow start to the hour delay caused by Narbonne’s bus being stuck in traffic.
“I think we came out a little goofy because we’d already warmed up, did our whole thing and we were waiting around,” Rose said.
Despite the early fumble, the Patriots used their ground game to set up game-breaking plays through the air.
Rose has referred to their backfield as “lightning and thunder.” Hewitt, the thunder, complemented by El Camino Real transfer, Dredon Fowles, the lightning, because of the former’s strength and the latter’s speed.
Thursday favored the thunder.
“It just seemed a little more effective,” Rose said. “Ronnell, he was moving well.”
On that second drive, Hewitt had four carries for 48 yards. Narbonne responded, showing Cover-0, loading the box on the run game and pressuring Tisdell when he dropped back.
No matter, the Patriots established the running game and Tisdell’s poise in the face of the Gauchos’ blitz helped Waters break free for a 52 yard touchdown before halftime.
Seeing man and press coverage, Waters swam by his defender at the line of scrimmage, darted down the right sideline and hauled in Tisdell’s lob.
“If you got 1-on-1 coverage, it’s hard to stop him,” Rose said about Waters.
In the second half, Hewitt’s instincts covered up a miscommunication on an exchange with backup quarterback Javen Hall, turning what should have been a loss into an 8-yard run.
That play put the Patriots in position to score.
On third-and-15 from the 20-yard line, Hall scrambled to his right, leapt up while he threw and found Devyn Jackson, whose toe-tapping catch completed the highlight and put Birmingham up 36-13.
“That’s what (Javen’s) great at,” Rose said. “Keeping plays alive.”
Hewitt added another touchdown on the ensuing drive. He took a pitch around the right side of the offensive line for an 8-yard score. A fumble that Waters recovered and returned for a touchdown turned what was a tight game at halftime into a 57-19 blowout.