EP#11-Palm Desert Upsets, Playoffs Scramble, Rivalries Ignite

Rivalry week is here, and the valley is buzzing. A single upset lit the fuse: Palm Desert stunned previously unbeaten Palm Springs with a ruthless first half, then survived a furious rally thanks to red‑zone grit and a game‑saving interception. That pivot didn’t just change a scoreline—it scrambled the DEL, turned tiebreakers into a maze, and set up a finale where a team could credibly finish anywhere from league champ to the four seed.

We walk through every hinge moment. La Quinta and Shadow Hills traded haymakers in a wild shootout where Roman Ansley’s dual‑threat brilliance met a fearless aerial attack, and a dropped fake‑punt pass became the one defensive “stop” that mattered. Xavier Prep showed the other path with a 14‑0 clinic: field position, disciplined coverage, and a late Kingston Palone burst to seal it. Those styles collide now as Shadow Hills’ receivers test Xavier’s touted secondary, while Palm Springs regroups behind Bishop Miller and braces for Rancho Mirage’s spark with Jeremiah Johnson returning.

Beyond the DEL, the DVL crowned Coachella Valley after a savvy shift to a run‑heavy plan while the starting QB heals, adding intrigue to the Bell Game with Indio—a rivalry where noise can rattle timing and pride shortens gaps. The SVL surges behind Banning’s precise passing and explosive balance, setting up two true play‑in games: 29 Palms at Yucca Valley for DVL second and Desert Hot Springs at Cathedral City for SVL second. Meanwhile, Desert Christian Academy rides a 9‑0 wave into a league title trip at unbeaten Vasquez, a perfect gut check before the bracket drops.

We map every scenario without the fluff: who owns head‑to‑head, where an at‑large makes sense, and which matchups travel in November—red‑zone efficiency, special teams swings, and quarterbacks who create on schedule and off. If you love high school football at full volume—flags, bells, and bragging rights—this week is your soundtrack.

If this breakdown hits the spot, follow the show, share it with a friend, and drop your Flag Game pick in the comments. Your takes might make next week’s rundown.

#highschoolfootball #coachellavalley #football #mayorscup #indiohighschool #shadowhillshighschool #palmdeserthighschool #laquintahighschool #coachellavalleyhighschool #palmspringshighschool #xavierprep #ranchomiragehighschool #cathedralcityhighschool #desertmiragehighschool #desertchristianacademy #desertchapel #deserthotspringshighschool #yuccavalleyhighschool #29palmshighschool

Transcript

Week 10 Setup & Stakes

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Welcome back everybody to Desert Valley Blitz. This is our week 10 wrap-up. All right. The last one. This is going to be the last one in the regular season. How fast it goes by, coach. Yeah, that was fun. It was awesome. It was awesome. Quick, quick. So uh what was your your game of the week, coach? Was Palm Desert against Palm Springs? Palm Springs coming into Palm Desert, big time league implications on this one. I had a feeling it was gonna be tough.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Yeah, Palm Springs, man.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

It would, and I mean, Palm Springs, they got caught, man.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Undefeated coming in there, and Palm Desert caught them. It's it's hard to go undefeated the whole season. I mean, it's you got to play perfect football for 10 games. Um, you know, you're you're gonna take a play, like it's just tough. You're their kids, they they're gonna take a week off here and there. But um, it sounded like they were battling, I didn't see it, but sounded like they were battling back towards the end, but just couldn't pull it off.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Yeah, it was uh it was a great game, actually. Uh Palm Desert, man. Coach 40 had those guys ready. That offensive game plan was beautiful that first half. Um Palm Springs was on their heels defensively. Making uncharacteristic mistakes. Um they they just they kind of Palm Desert jumped all over them in the first half. Um, Bishop Miller threw uh interception, not like himself, and it kind of just spiraled from there. Um it was really a tale of two halves, the game. Uh kind of my takeaway. The the first half was all Palm Desert. I saw a little bit of the second half, but yeah, it was all Palm Desert. They came out, uh Jonah Tolin, AJ Rivera, they had that all they had that offense rolling in the first half. Man, I told you that he's got a great deep ball. Right. And usually Palm Springs' back end is pretty pretty sound, and they're not going to give up the big one. Uh, Coach Brown defense doesn't really give up those big plays.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Yeah, he likes to keep stuff in front of him.

Tale Of Two Halves

SPEAKER_02 1:47

But this night, man, it was just it was just something in the air that first half where you know Palm Desert could really do no wrong on offense and uh uh some uncharacteristic mistakes by Palm Springs on defense, especially towards the end of the half. They kind of turned one loose with about a minute left in the half, and uh they let a guy free and and he he scored on it. And that was that was kind of uncharacteristic. It's kind of surprising knowing what we've seen out of Palm Springs all year.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

The the parts that I saw I I I saw Palm Desert go deep um in their playbook on the defensive side. They've always come out and played that 4-2, but I saw him pull out a little 30. They they were it looked like they were trying everything they could to kind of curtail that offense for Palm Springs. Um it was interesting because uh I have never seen them go out of their base defense, and um Palm Springs was pushing. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Um they did that. Palm Desert, shout out to that coaching staff, man. They they did an excellent job in that first half. Uh Coach 40 had a great game plan offensively, defensively. That was their Palm Desert's strength, and it really showed. I mean, they slowed Palm, they slowed Palm Springs down. Palm Springs, you know, Bishop Miller had a couple big plays on him, which you're gonna expect. But um at the half, it was 35 to 13. And I remember thinking, like, wow, this could either go one of two ways. It could this could either be a blowout, you know, a blowout city, and we're kind of taking the fourth quarter off, or you know, Palm Springs gonna find that magic. And to be undefeated, you got to have some magic.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

And they they found it in that second half. They came out, they came out, got the ball, marched right down. Bishop Miller had a moving, and you know, number nine's not gonna let them go down without a fight. No, he went down there, scored, and uh Palm Desert kind of went into the more conservative play calling, I would say. They got the lead. Yeah, Jonathan Tolin kind of didn't really get the ball as as much. And I, you know, when you got a lead like that, that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to milk the clock, right? Milk the clock. Go into that four-minute offense and just run it first down, first down, first down. The problem is that Palm Desert didn't really couldn't really churn it out in the on the running game. So they would they would give the ball back. And honestly, Palm Springs in the second half had opportunities to win the game.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

I mean Oh, they got to the red zone?

Red Zone Stands And Costly Picks

SPEAKER_02 3:52

They got they were in the red zone three times and didn't score in the second half. So they they had the opportunity. It was a good game. Palm Springs had opportunities, man. They were they the shout out to the Palm Desert defense zone. That red zone's defense stood up and it kind of slowed them down there. And three opportunities in that second half where they didn't where they didn't score. Um, they did throw an interception on one of them too in the end zone. Uh Angel. No, uh Palm Springs. Oh shit. Bishop Miller threw one in the end zone to Angel Rangel, the nice little safety from Palm Desert. He caught him. So that was kind of the difference in that second half. But it but Palm Springs started to look like Palm Springs in that second half. They were moving, Colo Rapo was running the ball, running the rock. He's tough, man. I would not want to tackle that guy when he gets going downhill. Yeah. But it was really, it was really, they kind of, and with all that being said, was as good as Palm Desert played in that first that first half, Palm Springs had the ball with with about 15 seconds left to try and score and win the game, or even tie the game, basically. And so they had a couple, they had a couple Harrow Mary attempts. One got called past interference. Uh huh. So they got another attempt. So all that being said, Palm Springs was right there with the last play of the game trying to win it. So as bad as they play in the first half, they're still in it. They still could have won the game. So you got a good quarterback. That's what happens, man. Yeah, I think I still Palm Springs is still gonna be right there in the playoffs. Yeah, they're gonna be right there in the playoffs. Yeah, um, they're they're they look like themselves in that second half.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Sometimes you want to get a loss in the season, so you go deeper in the playoffs. Sometimes if you don't get that like loss off your back, it's weird, you right? Like uh uh go back to New England, remember their undefeated season, and they lose the Super Bowl. So who knows? This might be for the better. I'm a positive coach. You never know though.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Yeah, you want to be battle tested, right? You don't want that first tight game in the playoffs. No, because the kids don't don't are not comfortable in that situation.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Now they've been there before, they know how to dig themselves out.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

So yeah, and I think Palm Springs is still like like I said, Pawn Springs look like Pawn Springs in the second half. It's just like and if you I'm sure if you talk to Bishop Miller, he'd just say we ran out of time because we were about to win.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Another you know, so they're one minute there, they're they're scoring.

What The Loss Means For Playoffs

SPEAKER_02 5:56

It may be so great game though. Shout out to Pawn Desert. They kind of throw this whole DEL league into uh upside down in one game. So they're right, they're right there. So we'll kind of bring that up in the next uh segment about what's gonna happen going forward. But this whole thing is uh this whole thing is upside down, it could go multiple different directions.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

That's what happens when every everybody's good. Yeah, it gets it gets a little messy at the end sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 6:20

Yeah, so Palm Desert, great game, man. Yeah, shout out to Coach 40 and the Palm Desert Aztecs, man, turning this thing in, turning this thing upside down on the last week. So that's that's what it's all about. That's why this is fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Because you never know what's gonna happen. Moving on in the wrap up, uh Coach Josh Special, Lakinta 36, Shadow Hills 33. What a game, huh?

La Quinta vs Shadow Hills Shootout

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah, it was, I mean, Shadow Hills came out ready to play, man. They came out hot. Uh that offense passing attack uh was not gonna be denied. Um, and but shout out to La Quinte, they answered back with their running game. Uh, they weren't gonna be denied. It was like a really back and forth offensive firehouse, firepower game. But I I just I wouldn't want to be a DC on either squad, man, because it was like they could not get a stop. Nobody could stop any movie. Nobody, nobody. It was like, what is going on here? And every time Shadow Hills La Quinta plays, there's some crazy plays that happen. I remember like last year um I was coaching La Quinta, they got us, and the quarterback spinning around there, throws up like a Hail Mary, and and the La Quinta safety touches the ball and it bounces to a receiver just standing in the end zone touchdown, and it it happened again this game. And it that's what happens when both teams really want it. Both squads were playing hard. Um, it was a real fun high school football game to watch. You really didn't know who was gonna win, man. It was halftime. The scores were close, they were changing uh back and forth who had the lead. And um, but hats off Lakinta pulling off. They end up getting a stop towards the end. Uh Shadow Hills goes for it on or actually they fake punt it, so they look like they're gonna punt, and then the punt rolls out, the center goes out for like a corner route, throws the ball. He's like he's open, hits him in the hands, he drops it. Ugh. La Quinta gets it and scores. So that's how the game goes. That was the difference. Was a fake punt? Yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

That's how they that's how La Quinta got their stop.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

Wow. Um, I heard Roman Ansley had a got himself right back in the VIP uh MVP conversation.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Yeah, he might be the best dual threat quarterback in the league right now. He he can hit open receivers um all day, but man, he he drops back, and if you don't like it, he will take it and run. And it's not like he he doesn't just go to the outside, he'll go right up the middle. They run that um, we call it flash. It's where it's like that outside read, and uh you get that in floating, and then he just tacks it. They ran that a bunch. And um, man, he's a big, strong kid, and he made some nice runs, man. He he's deadly in the open field. Uh um, yeah, dude, you you gotta beat pretty much Ansley if you're gonna take that take out Laquinta, and he was not being denied either. So that's it was it's what made it fun, man.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

Yeah, that kid's a great athlete, man. So once he gets going downhill, he's he's a pretty big threat to take it all the way.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah, yeah. And uh defensively, I just don't know. You know, they were just struggling, they couldn't stop Shadow Hills, and then uh Shadow Hills couldn't stop La Quinta. I don't know. I'm I'm sure both coaches be like, dang, I wish I had that one back. But that's what happens, man.

Ansley’s Dual‑Threat Surge

SPEAKER_02 9:03

It's they both got a lot of weapons, man. Shadows, shadows don't slouch on offense, they got a ton of guys over there that can hurt you. And it looked sounded like a great game.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

It was fun. It was it was it was fun. I was uh I got to sit in the back and just kind of kind of watch it. They had some uh first like 30-year reunion for my old high school football team. So yeah, we just put our feet up and got to eat some tacos. That's awesome, man. Watch the game.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Sounds like a good night, man. Tacos and and some high school football. Yeah, it's a perfect night. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Well, Shattle Hill's gonna be deadly, man.

Xavier Prep Locks Down Rancho Mirage

SPEAKER_02 9:34

They they they're good, they're a good football team. Yeah, they're they're uh they're kind of up against it in terms of trying to get into that top three, but I think, and we'll kind of talk about this in the next episode. They're gonna put they're gonna be an at-large team, I would imagine, with that record and just how good they are. It'd be a shame if they got left out. They'll be somewhere. They played hard, man. Yeah, they'll be somewhere in that playoff bracket, I'm assuming, but we'll we'll find out. Kind of all depends on this week coming up. Yeah. Um, moving on, the last one in the DEL. Xavier Prep 14, Rancho Mirage Zero.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Didn't get to see this game, but it sounds I kind of like a low-scoring game sometimes. Defensive battle, man.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Defensive battle. Um, both are kind of playing for their lives. You know, both defense are pretty desperate. I guess the difference was the Xavier defense.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

It's tough, man. It's it's tough. They they they don't mess around defense over there.

SPEAKER_02 10:21

They're good on they're good on that side of the ball. They're consistent on that side of the ball. They also haven't been as consistent as Coach Doc would probably like, but they got it done. You know, they went, I so apparently they went down, scored the first drive. First drive. Yeah, Kingston let them down their first drive, got a score. Um, and then it was basically a defensive stalemate to the fourth quarter. Both teams just exchanging punts. Yeah. It's a defensive coordinator's dream, you know.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

See, there's a lot of stops on that game. Yeah, keeping the other one done.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

So keeping that punter busy, man, that that that that night. And those that's what you want as a defensive coordinator. That's your job is to get that punt unit on the back. Yeah. So um Xavier Prep goes down in the fourth quarter. Um uh Kingston Palone bust bust a pretty nice run to kind of seal the deal and score it in the fourth quarter. And that was it, man. 14-0. Rancho's still playing without their superstar receiver, which is coming back this week and it'll make be a little bit, give Palm Springs a little bit more, and we'll talk about it. He's gonna be hungry.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

Yeah, he's he missed some games, man.

Coachella Rolls, Indio Forfeits

SPEAKER_02 11:20

So, but this will be the last game that Rancho's without some of their main guys. So, but Rancho Mirage moves to 0-4, basically eliminated from contention from from the top three. Yeah, it's been tough. That'll be it'll be all or nothing for Palm Springs this week coming up for them. Um, moving on to the DVL. Coachella goes up to 29 palms, Coachella Valley 28, 29 palms, zero.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Quarterback sat, I heard.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

Yeah, so Garza, their uh starting quarterback for C V was out. And we kind of saw that on the in the second half.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

A little bit of an arm injury, a shoulder injury or something.

SPEAKER_02 11:53

They were working on because he didn't throw the ball at all in the second half, they just ran the ball. Um, so they decided to kind of Coach Johnson decides to hold him out, apparently, and they started a sophomore named Xavier Hernandez, who's a pretty he's a he's an up-and-comer, he'll probably be the starter next year in two years. Yeah, so I think Coachella probably with 28 points, that's you know, so that might be a little bit of an underscore for them because usually they're putting up 30, 40 points every game.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

If you have an offense like them, and as you know, a quarterback goes down, that's a pretty big piece to your puzzle.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

So apparently they leaned on the run game pretty heavily. I would, yeah. Ivan Ivan Camargo, he's he's a stud. We saw him with our own eyes. Yeah, that kid's a stud, man. He's doing a great job back.

SPEAKER_01 12:36

They do a good job with the running game when they do run it. Up front, the um Coach Hondo does a good job with those hoggies up front, and um they can run the ball.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

So yeah, they had to lean on the run game this week. Yeah, so 20. So that uh basically clinches the DVL for Coachella. They're they're they're the number one seed coming out of there, they're gonna be the champion. So the bell game against Indio is really just for pride at this point, which you know maybe Coachella gives Indio the bell this year. I don't know what you're saying. I don't think yeah, that's not gonna happen, but I don't know. Raja would like that to happen. Um, but so they're basically sealed up the DVL, so everybody else now is playing for second. Um another game that in the DVL that we need to talk about is so Indio forfeited their game. We haven't seen this in a while, right, coach? I can't remember a varsity game being forfeited in the middle of the season like this. Apparently, Indio with that with that altercation lost six guys, weren't unable to really field a competitive varsity squad. So on Thursday they made the call to kind of to kind of forfeit the game.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

Unfortunate because uh the kids lose a game on both schools, you know. It's it sucks. You want to you want to give those guys every opportunity to s to to play and get better. Um kids lose reps, you know.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Yeah, even if it is not a closed game, you get your younger kids' reps. So there's value in playing the games and and not 100%, you know, even if you're not even if you're not competitive.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

You gotta think if there was some way for them to to fill the team, they would have.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Yeah, I uh it probably was just something that they didn't feel comfortable doing with the suspensions. Um Yucca Valley moves to one and one with uh without having to lift a finger, which is kind of nice. They get basically a bye week to kind of get healthy. But I'm sure Yucca probably wanted to play that game, just coming off that CV loss, you know.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

It would have been nice. You still want to work to get better for playoffs. There's always stuff to get better at, so yeah, so I'm sure they would have played.

Banning’s Air Raid Emerges

SPEAKER_02 14:32

That'll set up a pretty interesting game next week, though, um, for between Yucca and 29. We'll get to that in the next thing. Yeah, it'll set up some pretty big time playoff implications. Moving to the SVL game of the week on that side. Banning 37, Cathedral City six.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah, I got to see a little bit of this game, not the whole game, but I was really impressed with Bany, man. I I think we got to start talking about him more. Um the the quarterback, uh, what's his name? Um is it Jacob?

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Putting up big numbers that quarterback.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Jacob and uh I'm gonna mess this up, Enzal Dua. He's he's got like 3,000 yards passing. 3,000 yards. He's number one in the state of California. Wow. We got to start talking about Bany a little bit more. Yeah, and uh the the receiver they got, what's his name?

SPEAKER_02 15:17

It's uh they've got a couple receivers up there.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

Jamari Garlington. He's he's ranked nationally too. He's he's like number three in the state of California.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Wow. Um banning Broncos, man.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Yeah, I know they're in a smaller school, but the first play of the game they come out and spread. Uh Cass City's in a single high safety look. And um, I know we as coaches we always say you got to look out the safety, you gotta look out the safety. But just to see a young man so poised, just collect, you know, get the snap, take a look over here and just fire a dart on that steam route the other way, hit the guy in stride, and the guy almost walks in for a 60-yard touchdown. First play of the game, you're like, oh, okay, I can see it's not by accident. Right. Um, he's got some, I'm sure the coaches uh are doing a great job that you don't just wake up and know how to do that. So someone's taught him really good timing. Um, and they executed uh at a high level. They they have a fun offense. They ran some some bunch uh wide, which and you know, that's where you get that the three receivers wide. They had some cool concepts out of that. Um, I saw uh a trap play out of pistol, which is always fun, man. And um, yeah, Bany, man. Their first game, I was super impressed, man. The coaches are doing a good job over there, and they have a really fun offense to watch. And that quarterback's the deal, man. He can he can sling it.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

Yeah, pretty impressive win. They break uh a three-game winning streak for Cat City. Yeah, and Cats, I mean, it sounds like Cat City couldn't really get their offense going this this game, huh?

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Um they they had some luck with running. They had some long drives, but they they just get kind of bogged down in that red zone, you know, and the other the other offense that you know it's nice when you can score from 60 yards out. I mean, it makes it easy. You don't have to drive so long. Yeah, those long drives are what are when the mistakes start to occur, you know. It's easy to do one or two, three plays in a row, but do 10 to 15 play drives without a penalty or penalties are gonna pop up and someone's gonna miss a block, and and that's seems to be what happened with uh with Cassidy. It's hard to once you get behind with that running game to catch back up.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Not a good not a good matchup for Cassidy. A little tough, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

But they played hard, they had some good runs, um, long drives. They just couldn't get the points done. You know, they kind of bogged down in the red zone.

SPEAKER_02 17:25

So well, Banning moves to seven and two, man.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

It's pretty impressive. Yeah, hats off to them.

Desert Christian’s Late Surge To 9–0

SPEAKER_02 17:30

One to know, they got one more, one more game to wrap up the SVL um this week coming up, and we'll kind of get more into that. But impressive, impressive job by the Broncos. Even though they're not technically in the valley, we still gotta we still gotta give them their props and their flowers because they are in our our league. 100%. We want to shine some light on the best guys in our league. Good job, Benny. Good job, man. So we'll we'll give you we'll give you some more air time as you guys move on to the playoffs, we promise. Um, okay, so the SVL, and then we got two into other independent games. Uh, well, I guess not independent. Desert Christian played a team viewpoint, Desert Christian Academy 30, viewpoint six. This is in Desert Christian's league. So um score's kind of deceiving on this one because the score going into the fourth quarter was 10 to 6 for Desert Christian. Oh, tight game. They're not used to they're not used to tight games over there at Desert Christian. Uh, they go on a 20 20-nothing run in the fourth quarter to kind of seal the deal, um, you know, and move to 9-0.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

That's what happens when you have a high-powered offense. You can score in bunches, man, and it doesn't take much. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

Well, apparently the defense played pretty well, too. I guess there were some turnovers in in uh the fourth quarter, the Pazos brothers out there turning the ball over. Um, you know, you can't count those guys out there flying around. But uh a competitive good game, that's what I think Desert Christians coaching staff will quietly tell you they want some competitive games because they want to make a run.

SPEAKER_01 18:51

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you yeah, I agree. You want to it'd be nice to see Banning and DCA play. So if there's a football god out there, maybe in the future.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Well, hey, CIF may want the gate. You know, they're pretty close together. So in the first round, we maybe we speak it into existence. You know anybody over there at the CIF office will just call them and say, hey, this should be the first round matchup.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

That'd be a really good game, and you heard it here first.

Vasquez Handles Desert Chapel

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Uh-huh. That would I mean they might break the scoreboard in that that game, but a hundred-point game. We can only wish on that one. But the Conquerors moved to uh nine and oh. But they're gonna they're gonna be tested again this week, and we'll kind of get to that. Um I heard.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

I heard.

SPEAKER_02 19:29

Yeah, they they got they got a big one coming up, which um we'll talk about in the next segment. Lastly, Vaz uh Desert Chapel and Vasquez, Vasquez 48, Desert Chapel 14. Um, so Vasquez is a is a team in their league, and that's another undefeated team. DCA and Vasquez and DCA are playing this week at Vasquez. So we'll get to that. We'll get to that one in the next little teaser for the next segment. But uh Desert Chapel, um, you know, they go on the road, tough place to play, apparently. Um their offense got I saw a couple highlights though. Uh that receiver Garcia. Yeah, that guy's the root that guy's the real deal, man. He was he was he he took a screen that should have been a five-yard gain and took it to the house and basically outran the whole defense. So, you know, there's there's uh hope for Desert Chapel in the future that kid's only a sophomore. The quarterback, I believe, is coming back too. So that helps. Yeah, next year Desert Chapel will probably be much improved.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

So really something to build around.

Rivalry Week Preview Begins

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Absolutely. So that's gonna do it for the wrap-up of week 10. We'll we'll get into the preview for week 11, rivalry week coming up right after a word from our sponsors. Looking to upgrade your home, Tile Designs by Fina is your one-stop destination for beautiful flooring, hard surfaces, and countertops. From timeless design, modern styles, they've got the perfect look for every room. Stop by today and transform your space with Tile Designs by Fina. Let's design together. Tired of payroll headaches? iPay Solutions is your local payroll and HR partner right here in the Coachella Valley. From direct deposits to compliance, we handle the details so you can focus on growing your business. iPay Solutions, local, reliable, and built for your success.

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SPEAKER_02 21:30

Welcome back, everybody, to Desert Valley Blitz. We're gonna move on to our week 11 preview, rivalry week, man. I'm super excited. There's some big time implications. This week. Big time playoff implications this week, and we're gonna kind of roll through them for you. Um, first off, though, coach, what's your game of the week? There's a lot of good ones to choose from.

The Flag Game: LQ vs Palm Desert

SPEAKER_01 21:49

I mean, it's game of the week's flag game, man. I mean, that's a game of the year for me. I mean, it's always every year's just it's a huge game. Um, you you you always have it circled, ready to go, and and it's just a plus that there's like uh a league title on the line.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

So yeah, and this year is gonna be pretty epic because not only is there a flag to play for which everybody in those schools wants to have, there's a big time, big time DEL playoff implications, seeds involved. Yeah, uh Palm Desert and Lakinta can still technically win the league. Yeah, um, there's there's a lot of there's a lot of things going on in this game. Um, so um what are you kind of looking forward to in that game?

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Well man, I I if La Quinta plays defense like they did last week, it's gonna be a tough game for them to win. I mean, Palm Desert has been looking sharp on offense.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

They look great, and they look great on offense in the game.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Shadow Hills last game threw a ton of wide receiver screens. It gave La Quinta a little bit of problems, and Palm Desert's very good at running wide receiver screens. The receivers do a good job of blocking. Uh, they get that ball out in a hurry and they get downfield. I mean, uh Jonah Tolan just just ate up uh very good Palm Springs defense and Lakinta's gonna have their work cut out forffensively. Like Lakinta, they got Roman Ansley and they got that strong running game. Um I don't I I don't see them getting stopped. I think it's gonna be a very good um high scoring game, uh maybe 50 points each almost. Really? 50 points. You think Lakinta can put 50 points on Palm Desert, huh? I think they're gonna have to, man, because they're gonna win. Yeah, I mean, Jesus. Uh just watching them last week defensively, I was just it was it was tough to watch. I mean, um, I know we talked about it earlier, but anytime you give up that many points as a DC, you gotta be like, God, going back to the drawing board. So I I think they'll have a good plan. Um desert it's been hot though, Coach.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

I know, and defensively is tough too, but and Coach 40 got them peeking at the right time.

SPEAKER_01 23:52

But it's the flag game, man. So it's true.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

You throw everything out, man. Those guys are gonna go out there and play their butts off. It's gonna be a hard fought battle, yeah. To win that flag. So and so the playoff implications are pretty deep in this one because both come in with one loss each in the league. Yeah. So technically, if Lakinta wins, Palm Springs, Palm Springs would then, if Palm Springs wins, then they're gonna be the top, it'll be Palm Springs, Lakinta.

SPEAKER_01 24:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

And then depending on what Xavier does against Shadow Hills, and that's another good matchup. Then Palm Desert, there's a there's a as good as Palm Desert's looked, there's a there's a small, I wouldn't even say it's small, there's a there's a scenario where they're not the they're the fourth seed coming out of this with with Xavier beating Shadow Hills and them losing to Laquinta.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

So that's how crazy because they beat Palm Desert earlier.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

That's how crazy it is because the head to head comes into play. Um Palm Desert wins, then La Quinta now has two losses. If Palm Desert wins and Palm Springs wins, then basically it kind of sorts itself out. Palm Desert would then jump Palm Springs because they have the head to head, and La Quinta would go down to third. So it's there's some crazy, there's some crazy. It gets messy, man.

DEL Tiebreakers And Scenarios

SPEAKER_01 25:00

I expected this, man. All the teams are very good this year. We knew it was gonna be a bloodbath, and here we are, week week 11. And it's it's up, it's up for grab still. We don't know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

So it may it makes strange, uh, strange rooting partners because I know Doc's gonna be uh you know calling Coach Reese over there and give him every secret he has about Palm Desert because he needs he needs the Quinton to win that game, you know, to keep them alive for that three seed. So there's a lot of a lot of strange things that happen in week 11.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

And I wouldn't be surprised if there's an at-large bid.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Yeah, uh we'll we'll get to that at the end because there should there definitely should be. So we're gonna we're gonna pound the table for the DEL at the end. Um, so that that flag game is gonna be interesting. Um, we're gonna try and we're gonna try and be out there and cover it because you know people are gonna say, hey, you've been at Palm Spring or Palm Desert a lot this year. Well, Palm Desert played some pretty consequential football. And you know, for us to be a legit show and a legit voice, we gotta be honest. Yeah, follow the game. Yeah, we got to be honest about um the state of football in in the valley. So that's where the main game is. That's the biggest game for playoff implications. So that's where we're gonna be. So um moving on, but all these games have big time playoff implications. Next in the DEL, we got Rancho Mirage going to Palm Springs. Yeah, so this is another interesting matchup. 0-4 in the league versus you know, three and one. But you would say, okay, Palm Springs got to be a heavy favorite there at home. Sure. But this is the week that uh Mr. Jeremiah Johnson comes off of suspension, the all-world, uh, all-world receiver and be coming in hot for the Rattlers. And that guy is probably gonna put on a show because he's been sitting for three weeks. So he's been chomping at the bit to get in. So luck, so just Palm Springs luck. I know, I know Coach Gore is probably not not too happy that he's the one that gotta welcome this guy back, but so they're gonna Palm Springs, it may be a tougher challenge than we're kind of expecting on paper just because of that. You know, they got that Rancho's getting everybody back. Um, and they don't, they are kind of they're out of contention for the league and top three, but you know, they coach Matchuth will have them ready to roll. They're gonna have a lot of pride and get out there and try and make it.

Rancho Mirage At Palm Springs Wildcard

SPEAKER_01 27:07

They probably felt they left something on the table there. They might come in extra hot just to prove a point.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

So absolutely. So it's gonna be that's another big time. It's another big time implication game. Because if Palm Springs wins that game, um, they're basically, you know, I think they're in anyway, just because of um who they beat already. But they win that game and LQ wins, then they're league champions, um, even though they have the same record. So there's a lot to play for. Rancho can kind of play spoiler in this scenario. So it's gonna be an interesting game. No easy wins in the DEL. That's another one that we're gonna be keep keeping a close eye on. And then the next one, oh my gosh, another another barn burner and with playoff implications. Xavier Prep at Shadow Hills.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

So interesting game, man. Uh good offense versus a good defense. Um defensively, Shadow Hills didn't play very good last week. I mean, they couldn't stop La Quinta and um Xavier. You know, they've been they've shown hints of good offense, and uh, you know, and sometimes they they've missed a couple drives here and there, but I don't know who's gonna win. That's a close game.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Yeah, it's a matchup of styles, right? Because Xavier Prep is really good on defense. Their defense kind of carried them last week. Yeah. Um, you've always been touting the excellence of that secondary for Xavier. They play it right. Well, we're gonna find out this week because Shadow Hills Shadow Hills has some great stable receivers. They gave Lequinta fits last week.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Yeah, they did not miss.

SPEAKER_02 28:31

And that quarterback is pretty good at Shadow, man.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Your receivers are good. Um, they got talent all over the field over there. So it's it's one of those games where I wish I could be at two different games at the same time because I would love to watch that game too, man.

Xavier Prep At Shadow Hills Matchups

SPEAKER_02 28:43

We'll try and check it out on film, but that that's another one. So Xavier Prep wins that game and Palm Desert loses to LQ, then now we're in a situation where Xavier Prep, because of the head-to-head, jumps over Palm Desert. So Palm Desert's out. And Palm Desert would be the well, I don't think Palm Desert's out, but they would be under, they'd be under the three seed at that point. Yeah, so it's crazy that Palm Desert can win the league or be the four seed in the last week, and that's kind of the scenario. And Xavier Prep's still alive, you know, still alive, still fighting. So that'll be an interesting game. Shadow Hills can kind of play spoiler in this one. They're kind of out of contention just because of who they've lost to, but they're definitely playing to show the the the CIF that they deserve an at-large bid, and we'll kind of get to that. There's no way Shadow Hills wins that game and doesn't get in. So um, you know, a lot of lot to play for this week. A lot to play for.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

That at-large bid you might be seated lower. It's the way the playoffs work. And it's crazy how you can make a farther run in the playoffs because you got seated at a lower division.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

It doesn't make no sense a lot of the times. Well, that's an off season podcast, but we definitely need to talk about that because there's the some of that don't make no sense. Yeah, you know, you don't you know it doesn't make any sense.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

You would think if you win league, you get a little easier a little easier path to uh CIF.

SPEAKER_02 29:58

Sometimes you get seated high.

SPEAKER_01 29:59

Remember. Palm Desert a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

Yeah, this has been going on for years. There's some tweaks that definitely need to be changed. But we'll get to that when it's time. Another Thursday night game. Banning at Desert Mirage. So Banning, man, the Broncos. They've kind of they're kind of sewing up this new league, the SVL. They're going out to Desert Mirage. It'll probably be Desert Mirage's last game. Yeah, they'll probably this will probably be their Desert Mirage's final swan song for the year. So they're going to come out and fight with Bany, man. Those guys put up points. They put up numbers, and I think you know that that's going to continue this week as they get ready for the playoffs.

SPEAKER_01 30:37

Well that that tough running game from Desert, you know, don't sleep on it. They might, if they can get up on the ball. They can control the ball a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

That'd be your best bet is to keep that offense off the field. Well, Banning looked sharp last week, Coach.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

They were very efficient and quarterback.

Banning At Desert Mirage Outlook

SPEAKER_02 30:49

They might be peeking at the right time, too. So 7-2, league champs looking like. I mean, Banning Broncos, we'll give you guys your flowers, man. You guys look really good. Um good season so far. Good season. Good season. And I think it'll continue to move on into the playoffs. So we'll be watching you guys when you guys get to the playoffs as well. Um, moving on another um Thursday night game with so we have a couple uh play-in games here coming up now for the SVL and the DVL. A Thursday night game, basically first round of the playoffs, play-in game, winner gets a second seed. 29 palms at Yucca Valley. That's an old rivalry game. They've been playing forever, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:28

Small towns right next to each other.

SPEAKER_02 31:30

This one means a lot because the winner gets the automatic second seed. Yeah. And there's no guarantee that the loser is gonna get in that large bid in this one. So I think this is gonna be a barn burner. Um 29 Yucca would at Yucca. It's at Yucca. Okay. So I would say Yucca has got to be a little bit of the favorite just because, and they've been off and they're probably pretty angry. At the same time, it's a rivalry, right? Yeah, so you can't, you gotta throw the records out. This is just a bloodbath. These kids are gonna, these kids are gonna be everything on the field. So playing games. Whoever wins that whoever wins that game is in, losers basically out. So basically playoff game, right there. It's your first round of the playoffs. It was your rival. So that's gonna be tough. That's gonna be tough for anybody. Um just another cool game. I was like, I think Yucko will be ready. They've kind of been off. I'm sure they're still upset about the CV stuff. Yeah. TV game.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

And then missing a game last week.

SPEAKER_02 32:22

So coming off a bye, basically. So this will be this will be a great one. We'll be kind of checking that one out. But yeah, winners win and winner go home in this one. You win you in. If you're out, if you lose, you're out.

SPEAKER_01 32:31

That's why we play.

29 Palms At Yucca: Play‑In Stakes

SPEAKER_02 32:32

That's another that's awesome. But it's awesome. This is why we cover because it's it's really it's a really cool scenario. And then then the SVL, we have another playing game on Friday night. It's gonna be Desert Hot Springs going to Cathedral City. So same situation. Both teams are both teams are one and one, and they're gonna be fighting for that second automatic seat.

SPEAKER_01 32:52

Wow, that's another good game.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Yeah, um, Desert Hot Springs.

SPEAKER_01 32:56

That spread offense versus a strong running game.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

Matchup of Styles, right? Yeah. And these two these teams know each other very well. They play every year. So another, hey, I mean, Cat City at this point to be eligible to get to the playoffs, whatever. Not a good season. Heck of a job by Coach Lee out there. Um, getting even getting to this point with you know the kind of numbers that they were started with at the beginning of the season. Desert Hot Springs, those golden Eagles, Coach P has them right usually in the playoffs every year. And he's right. Yeah, he's right back to he's right back to um that spot. So we're we're looking at a pretty interesting game. It's gonna be a Barn Burner. This one will be on for on Halloween night as well. So there could be some weird shenanigans going on there. That might be the only Friday night game this week. Uh I think Desert Christian Desert Chapel is still on Friday. So those haven't been moved. But yeah, that's uh it's gonna be another playing game. So playoff start this week for these teams. Wow, win or go home.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

So here we are.

DHS At Cathedral City: Win And In

SPEAKER_02 33:53

Let's go. So we're looking forward to that one. That's gonna be a real interesting matchup. Um, a ther another Thursday night game, and this one that I've been a part of, and if you have not been a part of this game, you're missing out because this game's been played for damn near 60, 70 years since the Bell game. Coachella Valley at Indio. And uh so Coachella Valley comes in already clinched, they're already the number one seed in S in the DVL. Yeah, and Indio coming off a forfeit. So on paper, this doesn't look like a very good matchup at all. Um and so is Indio still missing some guys? Indio will still be without six six guys that got suspended. Um but they are gonna be able to fill the team this week, and they're they're gonna be they're gonna be trying their best to keep it competitive. Um on paper, it doesn't look like a great matchup, but once again, it's a rivalry game. So you throw everything out. There were years, you know, when I played in this game where we were we were like undefeated, and Coachella had to win a like maybe won one game, and it was a one-score game. Yeah. Because it's just that's how much the community comes out.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

You try your hardest, man. Crazy stuff can happen.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

That's how much the community comes out and supports you. And the stands are usually full and loud, and it's it's a ruckus, it's a ruckus.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

We got to go to a game in Coachella a couple weeks ago. What a great environment. Just a a great is it at it's at Indio. That's at Indio though.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

It'll be sta the Coachella stands will be full. Okay. For sure. They travel well. And um, it's a it's a it's a pretty it's a pretty awesome site, man. High school football, it's fine. It's this game's been going on for decades. Um, a lot of us have played in this and coached in it. So I haven't even seen the bell. It's not that impressive. It's an old bell. It's an old bell. We may need to upgrade the bell at some point. But that's where the history's at. Hey, that's you know, and India hasn't had that bell in 12 years. So 12 years. It's that's too long. That's too long. And and this rivalry's been going on so long that Coachella, Coachella's won 12 in a row and they barely tied the series, I think, last year. Like with all time, like India was that far in front. But now Coachella's got a chance.

SPEAKER_01 36:01

Well, I'm game of numbers, right? Game of numbers, man.

Bell Game: Coachella At Indio

SPEAKER_02 36:05

Hey, you never know. I mean, it would be a pretty big upset. But India's gonna come out and try their best, and we're gonna be looking for the Rajas to put.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

I wonder if Coachella's quarterback um guards is gonna play.

SPEAKER_02 36:15

I would imagine he was gonna play. Yeah, if he could go, he can go. I mean, depending on the severity of it, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:21

You got playoffs. Do you want to sit them for a game? I would imagine I would want to play.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

But he is a junior, so he has one more of these things left. But this is a special game. I mean, yeah. The community comes out for this game, um, bragging rights for the East Valley.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

These are the type of games that that you remember for the rest of your life. Like win or lose, these rivalry games will stick with you forever, man. Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

And that's that's what you know, that's what I remember about my career is being in at Coachella and guys throwing stuff at me on a goal line stand from from the the back of the end zone and getting yelled at the first Palm Desert Lakintha game where we one of our guys went over and stole a flag from them, and that's how it got started.

SPEAKER_01 37:00

They just uh one of our guys snuck to their they were waving this Palm Desert flag everywhere. And I was playing, I wasn't paying attention, but apparently, friend Eddie, shout out to Eddie Carlos, he goes over there and takes that flag and runs it all the way over to our side. So that's how the flag started. I think so, man.

SPEAKER_02 37:18

Somebody actually stole the flag? Yeah, see, look at this inside information that you wouldn't get anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

I was on the field.

SPEAKER_02 37:23

So that flag was actually a real flag that was stolen, right? That's awesome. They just kept the tradition alive.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

I just remember all this commotion going on, guys running over to, you know, during the game? During the game, yeah, it was during the game.

SPEAKER_02 37:34

That's awesome. See, I mean, look at this. This is we're getting the stuff, right? Inside information. So there really was a flag that got stolen, and that's how this whole thing kicked off. So now there's still fighting. Now that we're still fighting for that flag, yeah. But that that flag game's gonna be something else. But yeah, these rivalries, this is what it's all about, man. I you throw out the records, um, and the bell game's no exception. We're gonna be excited to kind of follow that one. Big week. Everybody, this is why you play high school, this is why you get up at five in the morning, go work out in the summer. All summer. Yeah, this is why you you know do the spring, spring football. This is all this is why. This is right here. Chancellor. And it's a lot of family time as a coach and rivalry weekend is the reason because this is make or break time for your season. So we're real excited. Um, moving on in the preview. Uh, we got a couple other games. Um, Desert Chapel is gonna go to Hamilton up in Anza. So they're gonna be Desert Chapel probably be finishing out their season up there in Anza. So looking for that, looking for that third win. Um, and Desert Chapel is kind of trending in the right direction. I think they're they're young, so they're gonna be back next year. They still got that receiver and quarterback, so they're trending in the right direction. I think the coaching staff will be in those halls this this this upcoming offseason. Recruiting some guys. Any any able-bodied young men to come on out and join the team because I think there are a couple players, they need a couple more bodies out there, but it helps when you got a quarterback. Yeah, you got if you got the foundational pieces, you just gotta kind of fill in the rest. So Desert Chapel looking to finish their season up in Anza. And then the big one, the big one on the slate on that, the last one, not really a rivalry game, but a big one. But it's perfect that it's the same. But it kind of works out perfectly for our purposes. So our my Desert Christian Academy Conquerors are going to Vasquez. So if you ask who Vasquez is, we did some research. Vasquez is another undefeated team up there in the high desert up there by Palm. So a long bus around bus ride to get up there. But this is gonna be so this is for um the league that Desert Christian is in. This is gonna be basically the league championship game. Um, Vasquez is another undefeated team, and they played a pretty similar schedule to Desert Christian doing the research. They do have one loss on the record, but it was by forfeit. So technically, they haven't lost on the field. Yeah, so um exciting game. Desert Christian kind of timed this right out pretty well to get this game right before playoffs to get a little battle tested. And this could be this could be the one if somebody's gonna get them. Yeah, this might be the week. You're going up to you're going up to Palmdale on the bus.

DCA At Vasquez League Title Clash

SPEAKER_01 40:09

So they're in the same way as the same. This is basically a league championship game.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

It's basically a league championship game. Wow. Yeah, and two undefeated seasons on the line. I mean, that's it can't get much better than that, right? So this is if there's a week. If there's a week that they get caught, this could be the week. I'm sure Coach Johnson's gonna have them ready. Yeah, they're gonna be ready to go. They have not really been tested this this year. That's what you need. They need this going into the playoffs, I think. You know, hostile environment on the road, you know, and they're gonna they're gonna be tested. So we're we're kind of looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01 40:41

Every game from here on out is gonna be important.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

Every everything. So that that's gonna do it. We're um into rivalry week, coach. It's been a been a really fun, man. It's been a cool ride, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:51

Yeah, it's it went by faster than I thought, but we saw a lot of good matchups, a lot of great football. Hopefully, the kids made a lot of good memories they'll take from with them for the rest of their lives. It's it's it's been awesome, man.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Yeah, this is why we do it because the these rivalry games kind of it's good that we kind of end the regular season on this. So when we come back next week, there will be some teams that we'll not be playing anymore. So all you guys that are playing next week, and just realize that that's special. You know, not everybody gets to play an extra week of football, and we'll get into the the the kind of wrap up what we saw on the rival week and then kind of look ahead and on into the playoffs. Um and and hopefully we got five DEL teams in the playoffs, right? DL deserves five teams. CIF, if you're if you're watching, whoever whoever watching or what algorithm there's out there, whatever team it is, we're pounding the table. Five DEL teams need to be in the playoffs because five are deserving. Very good football players. Two at large biz. There's no question. There's everybody in the DEL. Five out of the six teams deserve to go. So 100%. We put that out there, we put that to the universe. Hopefully, somebody football gods listen to us. Hopefully, somebody listens to us. I don't know if anybody listens to us, but we'll put it out there and uh we'll hopefully get some, we'll hopefully see some results for that. So if you guys found some value in that today, you guys know the routine, man. Like, subscribe, and follow, and we'll be back next week on Desert Valley Blades. Thank you.