Narbonne wins the turnover battle against Gardena Serra

Despite giving up its first touchdown of the season, the Harbor City Narbonne defense imposed its will Friday night, forcing four turnovers in a 22-9 intersectional victory over South Bay rival Gardena Serra.

The turning point came midway through the fourth quarter with Serra trailing by nine points but driving at midfield. Cornerback Kwentin Polk delivered a punishing hit on Serra running back Marquis Rodgers, jarring the ball loose and into the arms of linebacker Keishawn Bierria, who ran 54 yards up the sideline to put Narbonne ahead 22-7.

“We knew they have a good offense, but we didn’t come to play the name on their jerseys, we came to play the guys in the pads,” said Bierria, a senior who transferred from Carson at the end of his sophomore year. “Kwentin made a great play and all of sudden the ball is floating up in the air right to me. I was running full speed when I caught it.”

The Gauchos recovered another fumble at the goal line to thwart Serra’s last scoring chance with 2:01 left, although the Cavaliers were awarded a safety when Narbonne intentionally hiked the ball through the back of its end zone on a punt in the final seconds.

Marquis Lomax intercepted two passes for Narbonne (4-0), ranked fourth in the Southland by The Times. The Gauchos had outscored their first three opponents, 158-6.

“Serra is as athletic as we are, maybe even more in some positions,” Narbonne Coach Manuel Douglas said. “What cost them is turnovers -- we had none and they had four. And still only one score on our defense. I’m proud of that. We have 10 returning starters and they’re the strength of our team.”

Jalen Greene completed 25 of 38 passes for 296 yards for the Cavaliers (4-1), ranked 10th in the Southland by The Times.

Narbonne’s schedule doesn’t get any easier with Santa Ana Mater Dei up next, but Bierria and the Gauchos are taking it one game at a time.

“This game was as big as the Poly game and as big as last week,” he said. “We treat every game like a playoff game.”

Narbonne had first and goal at the five-yard line but quarterback Troy Williams threw three consecutive incompletions and the Gauchos had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Caesar Moniteil to increase their lead to 16-7 late in the third quarter.

Narbonne drove 75 yards in eight plays on its first possession, capped by a 19-yard pass from Williams to Jon’tae Roberson that gave the Gauchos a 6-0 lead with 8:30 left in the first quarter.

Greene found Darrell Furey wide open in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown that put the Cavaliers in front, 7-6, with 8:32 left in the second quarter.

Aided by three Serra penalties, Narbonne drove 85 yards in 13 plays to regain the lead, 13-7, on a four-yard scoring run by Tony Gates late in the second quarter.

Serra was poised to answer, driving to the Gauchos’ 38-yard line before Lomax dove to intercept an underthrown pass by Greene at the 27 with 26 seconds left in the first half.

“I just read the quarterback’s eyes and got to the receiver in time to make the play,” Lomax said. “All week in practice I’ve been working on getting there before the ball. We take pride in shutting teams down and forcing turnovers.”

It was a statement night for another City Section team as well. Los Angeles Crenshaw had five interceptions -- including two apiece by Mossi Johnson and Dominique Hatfield -- in a 13-2 upset of Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

sports@latimes.com