Murrieta Valley is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Friday. They will head out to face off against the Norco Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Murrieta Valley comes in on three and Norco on five.
On Friday, Murrieta Valley was able to grind out a solid win over San Clemente, taking the game 26-14. Those 26 points were actually the fewest the Nighthawks have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Jeremiah Watson
| 09/26/25 @ San Clemente | 207 |
| 09/19/25 vs King | 187 |
| 10/11/24 @ Chaparral | 149 |
| 09/12/25 @ Murrieta Mesa | 110 |
| 08/29/25 @ Servite | 107 |
Jeremiah Watson was his usual excellent self, rushing for 207 yards and two TDs while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. Those 207 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
Murrieta Valley didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited San Clemente to a completion percentage of just 47.6%. The team can thank Mekhi Criss for the heroic effort on defense: he. Murrieta Valley hasn't an opponent to post a completion percentage of 0.6 or higher in three consecutive games.
Murrieta Valley didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Derrick Johnson II and Joseph Rodriguez. Rodriguez is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in each of the last six games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in San Clemente's side was Abelardo Leos, who picked up a sack and made 11 total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Norco over Citrus Valley in every quarter on their way to victory two weeks ago. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Cougars blew the Blackhawks out of the water with a 52-21 final score. The final result isn't all that surprising considering the Cougars' considerable advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 50th, while the Blackhawks are ranked 195th).
Norco's win came from a few key players Murrieta Valley will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Dylan Troelstrup, who rushed for 138 yards and three scores while picking up 7.3 yards per carry. Norco also got a significant boost from Lee White, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 101 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Norco's defense and their five sacks. Taevin Black was especially locked on to Citrus Valley's QB and sacked him twice. Norco got some further help from Tony Gonzalez: he picked up a sack and made four total tackles in addition to snagging two interceptions.
Murrieta Valley's record now sits at 4-1. As for Norco, their record is now 5-0.
The upcoming matchup will be a clash of competing strengths. Murrieta Valley has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 206.2 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Norco has preferred to attack from the air: they average 297.4 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Murrieta Valley strolled past Norco when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a score of 42-27. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Nighthawks since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
