Narbonne continued to prove why they're worthy of such a high national ranking (5), and defeated the Mater Dei Monarchs 18-17 in a hard-fought battle in Harbor City on Friday night.
The Gauchos were stopped cold after taking the opening kickoff when Washington Huskies 2013 quarterback commit Troy Williams watched a pass skip off his receiver's hands for a Mater Dei interception.
The Monarchs got on the scoreboard first with a 38 yard field goal after taking over in Gauchos' territory.
It wasn't long before Narbonne made things happen, and once again it was senior defensive captain Keishawn Bierria who came to the rescue. Bierria fielded a punt return and then darted through a seam on his way to a 95 yard trip to pay dirt. Last week against Gardena Serra, Bierria was Johnny on the spot and snatched a Marques Rodgers fumble out of the air and took it to the house, giving Narbonne the lead for good over the Cavaliers previously undefeated and California state-ranked Cavaliers.
On the offensive side of the ball for the Monarchs, quarterback Ryan McMahon (USC Trojans baseball commit) threw darts all over te field compiling nearly 200 yards passing. McMahon's favorite target was receiver Thomas Duarte, who hauled in a 29 yard touchdown pass late in the first half to cut Narbonne's lead to 12-10 and finished the game with over 100 yards receiving.
Narbonne added to the scoring when 2013 Cal Berkeley commit A.J. Richardson took a bubble screen 65 yards for a touchdown. Richardson ran to daylight after a punishing block by fellow senior wideout Robert Wood opened the flood gates.
Both Narbonne and Mater Dei feature high-powered offenses, but it was a battle of defenses on Friday night in Harbor City.
Late in the game, junior slot back Johnell Jackson skated up the sidelines and made a nifty move to stay in bounds and elude a defender before cutting back across field for a 40 yard touchdown reception.
Williams' touchdown pass to Jackson gave Narbonne everything they needed to hold on to an 18-17 victory after the Monarchs punched one in late in the game.
Narbonne faces Carson next week, who will be the first opponent on their league schedule for 2012.
