Football Preview: Norco Cougars vs. Murrieta Valley Nighthawks
Two dominant backs in Trevor Schneider and Dorian Hoze are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Norco Cougars will venture away from home to take on the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Norco earned a 17-10 victory over Citrus Valley. Given the Cougars' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 111th, while the Blackhawks are ranked 248th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Norco to victory, but perhaps none more so than Schneider, who rushed for 155 yards. With that strong performance, Schneider is now averaging an impressive 110.6 rushing yards per game. Chris Laing also helped out as he racked up 100 rushing yards.
Norco was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 279 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in three consecutive games.
Norco's defense made their presence known, laying out Dominic Robles. five times. The heavy lifting was done by Marshawn Dunning and Kaden Cryer, who racked up four sacks between them.
Meanwhile, Murrieta Valley had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 49 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. They came out on top against the Tritons by a score of 35-25.
Hoze continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 210 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in October of 2023. Another big playmaker for Murrieta Valley was Cam Connor, who returned a punt for a touchdown.
Norco's win ended a six-game drought on the road dating back to last season and puts them at 2-3. As for Murrieta Valley, their record is now 4-1.
Norco was dealt a bruising 48-19 loss at the hands of Murrieta Valley when the teams last played back in October of 2023. Can Norco avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
