Norco's Trevor Schneider voted top running back in the CIF-Southern Section by fans

Schneider helped Norco transition into a new era with 1,107 rushing yards as just a freshman

Trevor Schneider had a freshman season to remember when Norco football really needed one.

It was the first season after the departure of head coach Chuck Chastain, who kept the Cougars inside Southern California's highest rung in the pecking order or close to it throughout his decade at the helm. Norco also graduated most of its top players in 2023, and a few of its top returners transferred out as soon as Chastain stepped down.

To call it a tenuous time for Norco, relative to the standards of one of the West Coast's most explosive public school programs, would be an understatement. With their 2023 schedule brutal as usual, the Cougars were at risk of the kind of tumultuous season that signals a program's fall-off.

Instead, Norco showed in its first year under Daniel Barlage that its future is bright. And as just a freshman, its top offensive threat proved to be the kind of cornerstone player that can anchor a rebuilding program.

Schneider was a workhorse, steamrolling defenses for 1,107 yards and eight touchdowns on a hefty 292 carries. To top it off, he was Norco's leading receiver as well with 21 catches for 234 yards. That meant an average of 134.1 yards of offense a game against the best teams in the Inland Empire, despite them knowing Schneider was probably getting the ball. For a freshman to sustain that production for a full season against that level of competition is a rare feat.

Although the Cougars went 3-7 and missed the playoffs, their losses came against outstanding competition and some were very competitive. For instance, Norco played Roosevelt (Eastvale), Chaparral, and even Rancho Cucamonga down to the wire against all odds. Combine that with big wins over Citrus Valley, Leuzinger, and Santiago (Corona), and the underclassmen-heavy Cougars showed that the program is still a stronghold.

For his productive and impactful freshman campaign, fans have voted Schneider the top running back in the CIF-Southern Section, awarding him 69.6-percent of votes. Schneider was also named SBLive Athlete of the Week roughly a year ago after rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns in Norco's 47-7 drubbing of Santiago.

Joining Schneider and the Cougars is three-star quarterback Tre People, a senior transfer with 11 D-1 offers, including Louisville, Michigan State, and Maryland. People had an uncommonly efficient junior season at Adelanto, completing 75.3 percent of his passes for 1,941 yards and 23 touchdowns to just two interceptions, good for a 151 passer rating. He also ran for 272 yards and a touchdown. And tight end Lincoln Longfellow is also back as a senior. It's lofty, but Schneider and People may well prove to be a top-10 RB/QB duo in the Southern Section.

Norco also returns two dominant defensive linemen, 3-star edge rusher Kameron Brown and Marshawn Dunning, and other important defensive contributors in Maddox Barrios and Cash Jensen. It opens the regular seasonon Friday at Cajon.