NORCO — Friday night’s high school football contest between Norco and Citrus Valley proved to be a battle between teams with successful histories off to slow starts this season. Each team made their share of mistakes. Norco was guilty of too many penalties, while Citrus Valley was guilty of too many turnovers. Norco raced to a 17-3 halftime lead, and held off a Citrus Valley drive in the last minutes for a 17-10 victory in a nonleague game. Norco is 2-3 while Citrus Valley is 0-3. Norco was penalized 11 times for 140 yards. The teams started by exchanging field goals. Kaden Hoekstra made a 38-yard field goal with 3:34 into the first quarter to give Citrus Valley the lead. Norco’s Mauricio Aguilar tied the score for Norco when he converted a 36-yard field goal 3 1/2 minutes later. Norco took advantage of good field position to score two first-half touchdowns. Senior running back Chris Laing had a 41-yard run to the Citrus Valley 16, but the drive stalled on fourth down and goal from the 19. Senior quarterback Joseph Stoffel rolled left and scored with 1:10 remaining in the first quarter. Trevor Schneider, who alternated at running back with Laing, returned a put 50 yards to the Citrus Valley 30. Laing completed the four-play drive with a scoring run of 4 yards. Schneider gained 92 yards on 18 carries. Laing had 75 yards on 15 rushing attempts. “I use whomever seems hot. I go with the flow” Norco coach Daniel Barlage said. “There are no jealous feelings.” Norco continued to have success on offense, but it didn’t show up on the scoreboard. “We left points off the board,” Barlage said. Barlage said his crew learned to finish well and that is why the team won their second game in a row. “We were a couple of plays away from beating Rancho Cucamonga.” Citrus Valley coach Kurt Bruich said Norco’s defensive line was very good. Citrus Valley ran only 16 offensive plays in the first half, while Norco had 32. Citrus Valley only had three first downs in the first 24 minutes. Barlage said there were no seniors in 2023 and said it is a rebuilding process. Both coaches feel their teams are making progress. Bruich has had an exceptionally challenging time of it. Citrus Valley has had one game canceled and the Line fire has disrupted the Blackhawks’ practice schedule. “We went a week without practicing, so it was kind of like we had to start over,” he said. Citrus Valley will face Shadow Ridge in Nevada next week before starting Citrus Belt League action. Asked about the leading problems, Bruich had a one-word answer. “Turnovers,” he said. “There is no number two answer.” Norco intercepted two passes which stopped Citrus Valley drives. That included a drive near the end of the game where the Blackhawks moved from their own 1 to the Norco 28 before Eric Bell intercepted his second pass to finally secure the Cougars’ victory. Related Articles High School Sports | IE Varsity’s football wrap-up: Stories, scores and photos from Week 4 games High School Sports | San Gorgonio football routs Indio with dominant ground game High School Sports | San Jacinto football team displays dominance in win over Cajon High School Sports | Ramona football team scores late to beat Riverside Poly in ‘Solar Series’ game High School Sports | Norte Vista football team holds off Granite Hills to remain unbeaten