Murrieta Valley held steady at No. 12 in the IE Varsity football rankings published Monday, Oct. 19, after the Nighthawks beat crosstown rival Vista Murrieta 28-20 on Oct. 16.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Murrieta Valley (3-5 overall, 1-2 Big West Conference-North Division), according to MaxPreps. The Nighthawks had dropped games to Chaparral (52-14), Centennial (42-20) and San Clemente (42-13) before the breakthrough against the Broncos.
Vista Murrieta took the biggest hit among the city's three programs. The Broncos (2-6) fell four spots from No. 15 to No. 19 and carry a three-game losing streak into Week 9, according to the rankings compiled by the Press Enterprise's Eric-Paul Johnson.
That is the steepest drop of any Murrieta team this season.
Murrieta Mesa (3-5, 1-2 league) stayed at No. 9 despite a 47-7 loss to No. 2 Chaparral on Oct. 16. Chaparral quarterback Dane Weber passed for 350 yards in that game, according to the IE Varsity rankings.
All three Murrieta programs now sit at .375 or below on the season.
Week 9 schedule
Murrieta Valley visits Murrieta Mesa on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in the next city rivalry matchup. The Rams beat Vista Murrieta 26-21 on Oct. 9 and will look to complete a sweep of the city's other two programs, according to the IE Varsity rankings.
Vista Murrieta opens the week a day earlier. The Broncos visit Norco on Thursday, Oct. 22, in a Big West-North game, according to the IE Varsity Week 9 schedule.
League's marquee matchup
The biggest game in the Big West-North on Friday is No. 1 Centennial (5-3) at No. 2 Chaparral (5-3). Centennial running back Malaki Davis ran for two touchdowns in a 46-14 win over Norco in Week 8, while Weber's 350-yard passing night powered Chaparral's rout of Murrieta Mesa.
Murrieta Valley closes its regular season Oct. 29 at home against Norco. Murrieta Mesa hosts Centennial the same night.
