REDLANDS -- In a nonleague rematch from exactly one year prior, Etiwanda relied on a familiar script and used a dominant second half to hand Citrus Valley another lopsided loss, 35-13.
Citrus Valley, which lost to Etiwanda, 27-3, last year, began its 2025 campaign with a solid offensive showing, producing scoring opportunities on four of its first five drives and converting on three of them.
Senior quarterback Dominic Robles headlined the Blackhawks' offense, throwing for 111 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 39 yards in the first half.
"Oh my gosh, (Robles is) phenomenal," Etiwanda head coach Paul 'Unga said. "Really quick and shifty guy. We were really alert about him."
Despite the first-half success, the Citrus Valley offense went quiet after halftime and mustered just 48 yards.
"We had a great first half," Blackhawks head coach Kurt Bruich said. "I'm concerned because when we got down, some of our heads went down. It's like we were great when we were in front and as soon as we went behind, things for tough for us and we didn't really battle adversity very well."
Following a solid first drive that ended with a fumble on the 3-yard line, Etiwanda went quiet offensively in the first half. Three of its first five possessions were three-and-outs, and the others ended in fumbles.
Flipping their offensive scheme, the Eagles (2-0) scored continuously from their final drive of the first half - a six-play, 80-yard effort - through the second half, when they scored touchdowns on four of their five possessions.
Etiwanda senior running back Jaleel Sutton made a statement to open the third quarter, beginning the half with a 24-yard run, followed by a 20-yard gain then capping the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run.
"They bullied us around a little bit, because they're huge," Bruich said. "They have great running backs and took advantages of what they could do."
Sutton finished the night with 161 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
"(My coaches) don't accept fumbles, so I already knew the standard was higher than how I played in the first half," Sutton said. "I just had to lock it in minus the penalties and major stuff I was messing up on."
The victory allowed 'Unga to remain undefeated in the early stages of his new role as head coach.
"I couldn't ask for a better start honestly," 'Unga said, "and the way it happened with a bit of adversity in our first game, and our second game. It's just showing us a lot of grit and hopefully when we get into the second half, we can show our conditioning that we've been getting into over the summer."