Football Recap: Norco Falls Despite Big Games from Julian Medina and Blake Wong

If Norco was feeling good fresh off their 52-21 takedown of Citrus Valley two weeks ago, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Cougars fell 55-45 to the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks on Friday. The Cougars were up 28-13 in the second quarter but couldn't hold on to the lead.

Julian Medina

Passing Yards

10/03/25 vs Murrieta Valley	362
09/18/25 vs Citrus Valley	280
09/12/25 @ Etiwanda	325
09/05/25 @ Orange Vista	287
08/29/25 @ Colony	381
+ 1 more games

Norco's loss came despite strong showings from Blake Wong and Julian Medina. Wong picked up 280 receiving yards and five scores, while Medina threw for 362 yards and six TDs while picking up 11.7 yards per attempt. With that strong performance, Medina is now averaging an impressive 308.2 passing yards per game. Dylan Troelstrup handled things on the ground, rushing for 97 yards.

Murrieta Valley got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Jeremiah Watson out in front who rushed for 256 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 11.6 yards per carry. Those 256 rushing yards gave Watson a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Ty Isaia, who rushed for 118 yards and one TD on only 11 carries.

Having lost for the first time this season, Norco fell to 5-1. As for Murrieta Valley, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 5-1.

We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Norco is set to challenge their familiar foe Roosevelt at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Medina and Blake Nadler. Meanwhile, Murrieta Valley will square off against rival Chaparral at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.