Lomax promises defense will take a stand -- and it does, with four turnovers in 22-9 victory in much-anticipated intersectional game.
Click photo to enlargeNarbonne s Keishawn Bierria tackles Serra s Adoree Jackson in the fourth quarter at Serra. Bierria had a 50-yard fumble return as part of Narbonne's strong defensive performance in a 22-9 win.
Heading into the South Bay's Game of the Year at Serra, Narbonne linebacker Marquis Lomax wanted to assure his quarterback, Troy Williams, of one thing.
"The defense had his back tonight - that's what I told him," Lomax said.
Narbonne flexed its proverbial muscle defensively, forcing four Serra turnovers to prevail in a 22-9 nonleague defensive duel Friday night to improve to 4-0.
Lomax picked off Serra quarterback Jalen Greene - twice.
Aaran Afalava came up with the initial penetration on a key fourth-down play at the start of the third quarter deep in Narbonne territory.
Then came Kieshawn Bierria's heroics. Bierria delivered a back-breaking 50-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter after an incredible strip by Kwentin Polk. Bierria also recovered a Serra fumble at the goal line on a late fourth-quarter drive.
Though the Narbonne defense allowed its first points of the season, it might have been its most impressive performance against its toughest opponent to date. Serra is now 4-1.
"I'm loving the defense right now," said Williams, who went 13 for 20 for 175 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. "I'm not even going to get mad at them at practice anymore when they shut us down on offense.
"When Keishawn scooped up that ball and ran it to the house,
I knew. I knew our defense would hold up. We just had to run that clock down."Bierria credited Polk with the game-changing strip of Serra running back Marques Rodgers. Bierria's 50-yard dash down the sideline turned a 16-7 lead into a 22-9 advantage with 6:07 left in the game.
"When Polk stripped it, it just popped into the air," Bierria said. "After that - I always tell my teammates this and they think it's funny - but I was gone."
Narbonne led 13-7 at the half, but Serra used a 12-play drive to march to the Narbonne 16 on the opening series of the second half.
Then came a pivotal point: fourth-and-1 at the Narbonne 16.
Greene was met by a wall of Narbonne defenders, led by Afalava.
"We were set to go with a toss initially, but with the way they lined up, we went for a quarterback sneak," Greene said. "They just stuffed it. They fired off real good on it.
"That's Narbonne football: hard and fast."
Narbonne has rode its imposing defense throughout the season. And the Gauchos continue to impress with their swarming speed and physicality.
"We always talk about 11 to the ball, and we talk about flying to the ball," Narbonne coach Manuel Douglas said. "We had 11 to the ball when it popped into the air and Keishawn grabbed it. If Keishawn is being lazy, we don't come up with that play. If we don't have 11 to the ball on their fumble at the goal-line, then we don't get that ball.
"Our guys have bought into that and have a lot of pride. We've given up just one score all year - against a powerhouse, a team that matches us guy for guy, if not better in some spots."
Serra became the first team to take a lead on Narbonne this season when Darrell Fuery hauled in a 24-yard touchdown catch from Greene with 8:33 left in the second quarter.
It was the first points allowed by the Narbonne defense this season, a span of 13 quarters.
"Narbonne's a good team, and we wanted to come in and get a score on them," Fuery said. "We played good and fought until the end, but we made a lot of mistakes, especially with turnovers.
"We have a lot of respect for Narbonne."
Greene completed 26 of 39 passes for 275 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Besides the touchdown pass to Fuery, Narbonne did not give up many big plays. Everything was short and controlled.
"We were terrible mentally on the offensive side of the ball - we didn't back up our defense," Greene said.
Lomax came up with his first interception right before the end of the first half, stopping Serra's two-minute drill and helping Narbonne take a 13-7 lead into halftime.
Lomax also came up with an interception at the start of the fourth quarter.
"We worked to the receivers," Lomax said. "We never wanted to leave no one open. Then I read the quarterback's eyes and knew that he was looking for their key player Taz (Anterio Bateman).
"We're real excited. We practiced real hard and took no days off, and we fought until the end."
Narbonne won its first three games against Palos Verdes, Long Beach Poly and Lakewood by an average margin of 51 points per game.
Yet Narbonne held just a 13-7 halftime lead, using a 24-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Roberson in the first quarter and a 4-yard scoring run by Tony Gates in the second quarter.
Then the defense began making game-changing plays.
"This was like a grudge match," Bierria said. "We grew up with most of these guys. I don't think we came out like we were supposed to in the first half, but in the second half, we took it to them and started making tackles."
Cesar Montiel added a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter to make it 16-7, a two-possession game with 6:01 left in the third quarter. Then Bierria expanded it to 22-7 with his fumble return.
Serra did get two more points in the final minute when Narbonne allowed its snap on a punt to roll out of the back of the end zone, but the defense held up.
Williams said this was a bit of vindication.
"This was a big win, a tough win. We just were grinding it out," Williams said. "They were yapping all week, saying that we were overrated and that the opponents we played were not that good. They were trying to get in our heads, but but we knew we'd get our chance."
tony.ciniglio@dailybreeze.com
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