Preview: Centennial Huskies vs. Norco Cougars
Centennial is 8-1 against Norco since November of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Centennial Huskies will head out on the road to face off against the Norco Cougars at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Centennial has five straight wins, Norco has four straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Last Friday, Centennial faced Murrieta Valley in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Centennial claimed a resounding 62-27 victory over Murrieta Valley on the road. With Centennial ahead 42-20 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Cornell Hatcher, Jr. continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 245 yards and six touchdowns on only 14 carries. Hatcher, Jr. is on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Husan Longstreet, who threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns while completing 88.9% of his passes.
Meanwhile, Norco was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap on Friday as they fell 17-13 to Chaparral. While losing is never fun, Norco can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while Chaparral is ranked 35th).
Centennial's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which bumped their overall record up to 7-2. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 57.4 points per game. As for Norco, their loss dropped their record down to 3-6.
Everything came up roses for Centennial against Norco in their previous meeting back in October of 2022 as the team secured a 42-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Centennial since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
