Desert Valley Blitz

EP#12-From Undefeated Runs To Bracket Breakdowns With KESQ’s Kenji Eto

• CV Hustle Studios • Season 1 • Episode 12

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The valley just punched eight tickets to CIF, and the storylines are electric. We open with a clean Week 11 wrap-up—Palm Desert’s trench clinic in the flag game, Palm Springs grinding through a real test, Shadow Hills flexing on defense—then pivot straight into a layered playoff preview you can use on Friday night. KESQ’s Kenji Eto joins us with grounded scouting, real numbers, and what travel, tempo, and scheme actually mean when the bracket gets real.

We break down the Game of the Week, Coachella Valley vs Banning, as a true race-to-40 shootout, and why CV’s midseason reps at QB might be the best insurance policy in Division 12. Palm Springs holds the top seed in D7 and will need controlled swagger, a balanced run package, and tight pocket poise to handle a road-tough Claremont. Palm Desert headlines D8 as a No. 1 seed with a front seven built to wreck read-option rhythm, while screens and timing throws can turn pressure into chunk gains. La Quinta draws a harsh road at Fullerton, but protection and fewer drops can flip the narrative fast.

Shadow Hills snagged a dream D11 draw; expect conflict routes, four dangerous targets, and disguised blitzes to test Jurupa Hills’ run-first plan. Division 12 becomes the desert bracket: Yucca Valley’s Aiden Pope and Clyde King face a surging 9-1 Costa Mesa with turnovers in its pocket, and Desert Christian Academy’s perfect run meets a legitimate step up in speed and physicality against Arroyo Valley. In D13, Desert Hot Springs gets a big-enrollment Woodbridge that found form late, yet the Golden Eagles just proved they can close.

If you want stats that matter, matchups that translate, and a bracket view that respects how games are won—fronts, explosives, and travel legs—you’ll find it here. Subscribe, share with a desert football friend, and tell us: who survives to week two and why?

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

SPEAKER_05:

Welcome back, everybody, to Desert Valley Blitz. This is our week 11 wrap-up. I can't believe we're at the end, Coach. We're here, man.

SPEAKER_00:

It's been a good season, man.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, it's been a great ride. But today we're really excited because we got a real special guest. We actually have a professional in the house. Yeah. Mr. Kenji Eto of KESQ. Kenji's Corner joining us today. Thanks for coming in, man. Welcome.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, thank you guys for having me. And uh, you know, I'm I'm excited to join the Desert Valley Blitz. Yeah, well, we're happy to have you, man.

SPEAKER_05:

But before we get into the wrap-up, we want to hear a little bit about you, man. How'd you get into the to this sports media game?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, uh, well, I went to uh Costa Mesa High School and I was actually a trumpet uh player in the band and I played for a lot of years. Um, and uh I was like, I want to be involved in sports because I love sports. I love all sports football, hockey, baseball, you know, so be it. But my favorite has always been football. And I always said, okay, I have option A, which is be a sports journalist, pundit, etc., or I can be a coach. And I looked at all the different segues. I looked at sports journalism had like more, I would say, leeway and legways for me to make a career than you know, being a coach, because I saw a coach being like, okay, I have to be a teacher, and then also had to be a coach at the same time.

SPEAKER_00:

So not a lot of money in coaching either. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So um I ultimately chose that. I went to Arizona State, got my bachelor's degree in sports journalism, and uh I got the job at News Channel 3 uh a couple a couple weeks uh after I graduated. Really? Graduated college, yeah. That's awesome. So how long have you been in the valley? Uh a little over a year and a half. Okay. So January 9th uh of 2026 will be my second year at in the desert.

SPEAKER_05:

So this is your second football season that you've covered. It feels like you've been here longer. Yeah, I know. It does really be you already feel like you've a native, man.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I I you know what I what I think it is is that when I visit all these high school practices and, you know, you know, do the student athlete of the week profiles or um, you know, just get some, I would say, pre-game sound to talk about like, you know, the upcoming game ahead. You know, I've built such a good connection with every athlete from every school and especially all the coaches, because you know, the coaches are gonna let you interview the players, film the practice. So I think just building a great relationship with all those people is really made the difference.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I I remember coaching. It feels like uh it we're in the big time when the news is out. Like we we're doing something right when the news is asking um you know to get interviews from the kids. So I know I'm I'm I'm sure the coaches always love you when you when you come out.

SPEAKER_03:

So and I'm always respectful too with the coaches because you know I I know how the sport of football is, right? Like they want to get as much practice time as possible. So I always say to them, it's like make sure those lights are on uh up in the stadium because I'll do the interviews after practice in there. Oh they're always like, Thank you so much for doing that. Instead of like at the start of practice when they're like warming up.

SPEAKER_00:

So right in the middle. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, distracted the players.

SPEAKER_00:

We're doing a pup session, we're trying to grab the quarterbacks. Yeah, it's gonna be tough.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, that's that's true. So, what are your some of your uh since we have you as the professional in here, what are some of your storylines for this year? Uh, we're getting towards the end of the season here. What what kind of storylines do you see developing this year?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, uh I would say I like the storyline of that Palm Springs was undefeated for so long. Um, and I know they finished nine and one on the year, uh, which is great because you know, the year before they finished three and seven. So I think that's an amazing story. Uh Palm Desert repeating at DEL champs as well, or I should say co-DEO champions because they shared it with Palm Springs. I think that's a great story. And I think how many teams, and I know we'll get to it later, but how many teams are making the playoffs again? I mean, that's that's incredible because you know, all these kids, you know, they want to play for that extra chance, that extra game. So uh I think it means so much to all these kids.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, and we're real excited to kind of go into that. A lot of desert teams be represented this weekend. Make sure you get out there and support. We'll get into that in the next segment, but we're gonna go ahead and start the roundup. A game of the week that Josh had picked that we all three were at. What was your game of the week, coach?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh Palm Desert Lakinta, man. I thought it was gonna be a better game. It's probably the worst like uh competitive flag game I've seen personally. It was tough. Uh Palm Desert just came out and completely shut down the offense. Lakinta, they really struggled on that side of the ball. I thought for the most part, the defense for La Quinta kind of kept them in the game enough. Um, I think if they would have had more help from the offense, uh, I don't know if Palm Desert would have scored 35, maybe they scored 27 or something, but it was tough.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, it was tough. Uh it was pretty lopsided. What what were you some of your takeaways, Kenji?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I was at that full game, and you know, when I usually like film a game, I'm only there for a half, but this was a special occasion. Obviously, it's the best rivalry in town, in my opinion and Blake's personal opinion. Uh, he's told me that m multiple times. And uh, you know, I was surprised. I'm like, this is the flag game? It's like there's no way. It's like 35 to nothing, the final, that's unbelievable. But what I think it was at the end of the day is that you know, the big men win up front. The lineman is what really carried the game. And, you know, looking back at the I would say not the film, but the footage that I filmed, Roman Ansley, the Laquinta quarterback, had no time back there. Yeah, he had to get rid of that ball within three seconds. Yeah, so I think that made the difference. And then Palm Desert's offense is on such a tear right now. Yeah uh funny enough, I have a friend who goes to Ohio State University, and I said, you know, this high school team called Palm Desert High School, they're on an Ohio State run because they just put up points, they're a stout defense, and they're winning games.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, they're peeking at right when you wanted right before playoffs. Um we talked about um we had 40 in here and they they put all their good players on defense. So at the beginning of the year, they're their their defense is stout, but you can see that offense getting better and better and better, and now they got two very good units. Um, uh they're they're ranked number one in their. We'll get into that later in the playoff bracket, but um, yeah, they're they're doing they're peaking at the right time.

SPEAKER_05:

So that's what you want as a coach. Yeah, that 40 got them going. Yeah, right at the time. Xavier loss, I think that's a big time storyline. DEL, the recovery of Palm Desert, and just how sharp they've been on offense. I mean they look good on offense. I have not seen no anybody do what they did to Palm Springs on that in that first half of the Palm Springs game. They that offense just looks spectacular. So shout out to the Aztecs, man. They they came in and handled it in a surprising 35-0 score. Um, and you know, once again, Palm Desert has the flag. But Lakinta, they get a consolation prize. They they still get third in the DEL. Yeah, they'll be still playing.

SPEAKER_00:

So, you know, they are in the same bracket. We might see it again. Uh, we could.

SPEAKER_05:

That's a long way away, coach. I know, you don't know. That's a long way away. But you know, hey, we can dream. We can dream. We can dream, right? So that's so game of the week, one side of the fair this year. Um, Lakinta will be looking to rebound this year. And that's the thing, great thing about football. It's week to week, right? You can you can look horrible the first one week and then look spectacular the next week. Yeah, so that's what Lakinta's kind of betting on. Um, moving on to another game in the DEL this week in our wrap-up. Palm Springs 33, Rancho Mirage 21. Did you get to watch any film?

SPEAKER_00:

I didn't watch this one. Um, I got to see the Shadow Hills one, but uh sounds like Rancho Mirage played really well.

SPEAKER_05:

Rancho Mirage had their guys back. Uh Kenji, did you get any footage of this one?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh no, I did not, but we still like got coverage of the game, and uh, you know, it made the difference that you know Jeremiah Johnson and a lot of those key players for Rancho was back. Um, and I really like that you know Rancho stays true to their system. You know, they're kind of uh like an RPO type team, and I don't hopefully I'm not giving too much away, but you know, uh but their season's done, so you can we can we can spill all the beans. But uh I really like how they stayed true to the Drew system. LD Matthews is a great, awesome coach, and he really uh makes his players like be humble and you know never be too high or too low just in the middle. But I think Palm Springs was just different this year. Uh Koaroppola, Jordan Johnson when he was healthy. Um and then uh this freshman, Kalon Smith. Yeah, we call him Tank. Tank uh he's just a beast. And then I think the biggest improvement of the whole team is Bishop Miller, of course. Um, when I saw him last year, I just said, Man, who is this quarterback that just keeps on running and running and running around and throwing the ball and making a miracle throw? Yeah. Now he's you know comfortable in the pocket and just dices up defenses like it's like he's a I would say a dual threat college, you know, level system. So I think uh Palm Springs, what a year.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, and they're gonna continue on, hopefully. We got that, we'll get to their draw here coming up. A little bit more about that game though. Rancho was actually winning that game. They were winning 14-7. Um, Rancho's looking like Rancho because they had all their guys back. What could have been, right, if they didn't have that fight? You know, what could have been for Rancho Mirage?

SPEAKER_04:

But Shadow Hills too.

SPEAKER_05:

Shadow Hills 2. I mean, that one incident, players listen up, man. That one bone hit instant can really totally turn your season on a dime. So, word to the wise, do not come off the sidelines. Stay on that sideline. Stay on that sideline. But Rancho was right there in this game. Paul Springs had to kind of churn this thing out in the second half. Bishop Miller got him going in the second half. Um, Rapoa kind of was running the rock again. So, you know, it was not a it was not a blowout by any means. I think, you know, this is just you know, Rancho Mirage will be back. Coach Matthews will have them back. You know, he's a great coach and he'll have to be a good one. And we love Matthews. Yeah, yeah. He'll be back. We'll uh we'll be looking for brighter days for Rancho. They got some real good young players on that team. A real, I think their freshman team went undefeated. So that's always a good sign. So they're gonna, and they already have freshman on varsity. So no kidding. Yeah, so Rancho will be a threat to contend with for many years to come. Le Palm Springs onto the playoffs. They get that, they get that number one seed, co co-champions. You know, shout out to the Indians, man. What a turnaround! Great year, what an amazing story. Um, moving on to the next DEL matchup, Shadow Hills 23, Xavier Prep 7. So, you good coach, you got to see a little bit of the film.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I was really looking forward to this game because I'm a big fan of Xavier's defense. I have been for a couple years. Um, they they really play sound defense. Um, and then on the flip side, Shadow Hills got that explosive offense. And uh Shadow Hills does such a good job of putting um uh players in conflict. Like they'll have a uh a shallow route, uh maybe like a flare or a bubble or even a wide receiver screen, so that wider or the outside linebacker will come up and they'll throw that 10-yard stick right behind them. And so if there's guy, and then if they drop back, they'll just throw the the bubble real quick. So they do a good job, not just on the outside linebacker, they'll put the inside linebacker on in conflict. Um, and then if you think you're gonna stop that stick route with the safety, they'll go, Oh, cool story, bro. We'll just throw the post over that. So um it was I was looking forward to it. Um, and it was a real back and forth the first few series. Uh Xavier was they came out in a 30, they were playing their defense, they were stopping them. And um eventually, though, that Shadow Hills offense started to wear them down. The wide receivers started to find the holes, they started to adjust the routes a little bit, starting getting some momentum, and they they went down and scored. And at some point in that second quarter, uh Peeling went down. Yeah, um got hurt. Uh the the new quarterback whoever came in, he did a good job. Um I think his number is 15. Okay. Um, he came in. His first two uh pass attempts were completion. He hit a uh a stop route, five-yard stop route, and then he threw a wheel, a nice wheel down the sideline for about 40 yards. I was like, okay, who's this guy? Um But Shadow Hills on their defense, they were doing a good job in their blitz packages. They were bringing two off the edge. You know, that's always tough to block. And um they were having to tuck the ball and run. And and at the end of the day, it just wasn't enough offense to overcome um Shadow Hill. So it was a good game. I I enjoyed watching it from start to finish. It was fun.

SPEAKER_03:

So you get to chick check out any of that game, or yeah, I did uh check out that game a little bit. Uh and uh I would say my biggest two takeaways is that I'm not like surprised that Xavier was held to seven points, not just not because like you know, their offense is not good, their offense is great. I mean, they put 19 points up against Palm Desert in the Battle of Cook Street. Um, but you know, David Palmer, the head coach at Shadow Hills, he is such a defense first head coach, and he is gonna he's gonna do whatever it takes to hold a team to zero points. Um Xavier preps' defense is just as good as any defense in the whole valley. Um and it really helps that you know head coach James Dockery played at the collegiate level, yeah, played in the professional level. I mean, he he knows so much, and then he also went to PD when you know PD was at an all-time peak, too. Um and then Shadow putting up 23 points. Um honestly, I'm a little surprised, but not too much, because I feel like that they were resting some guys to like kind of get ready for playoffs in in a sense, because you know, it was kind of a it was kind of a toss up who was gonna get into the playoffs, Xavier Prep or Shadow Hill. So I think it was kind of a I was I would say it was a hit or miss. So almost like a play-in game, right? Whoever's gonna win is definitely getting in.

SPEAKER_05:

Even though I think Xavier at six and four probably should have got in. I I completely six and four, you know, they played in the tough one of the toughest leagues in Southern California. So we were we were I was kind of surprised when Xavier did not make it because they had a pretty good resume coming into the and they beat the number one team pretty you know in the first game of the season, first game of the league. So 100%. They had a good resume. I'm I was kind of shocked that that they didn't get in, but hey, you know, that's that's above our pay grade. We can only give our opinion. Yeah, um, the only score by Xavier in this game was a uh was a strip fumble took in the other way. So technically, technically, Shadow Hills didn't give up anything on defense. Oh wow, yeah. So that's you know, like you guys, like you guys, like you guys said, man, that defense, that defense showed up. It's gonna they they got a pretty good matchup coming up this week. We'll get to. We're kind of excited for Shadow Hills. I'll talk about that. We want to talk about them and give them their flowers, but uh good job by Shadow Hills getting winning and getting in. So um we're gonna move on to the DVL now. So we had a couple Bell games that you know I've been associated with one of these particularly. So Coachella Valley 37 Indio 7. Um like we said we weren't on paper, this wasn't gonna be a very competitive game. The score.

SPEAKER_00:

You never know.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, you never know, you know. But the score says 37-7, which is not, you know, not too embarrassing. Um, it was 37-0 at the half, I believe. Um, but you know, the Coachella came out and did what they had to do and won the DVL handily. So shout out to them. Garza play? Garza did not play.

SPEAKER_04:

All right.

SPEAKER_05:

They're kind of saving him for the smile. I would say they didn't really, they had uh Xavier Hernandez in there, the sophomore slinging the rock uh and did well enough, almost put up 40 points. Beautiful. Yeah, did you get to check out any of the bell game?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I uh I I would say when I do like see these games, you know, I'm just seeing the highlights and like what we do get. And in a sense, it's like I'm glad that you know they did start uh Xavier Hernandez because it's like, okay, what if Garza doesn't play in you know the next week? You know, let's get this sophomore quarterback. Get him ready. Like get him ready to get his feet wet because you know, it's completely different when you know you're just you know going through the motions in practice, or maybe like doing a little bit of hitting in practice versus like you know, when you know D-line men are hungry and game speed, they're like they're like, I'm gonna try and hit you so hard that you know you might not get up. Yeah, exactly. So uh like every bone in your body breaks. I mean, like, of course, we don't want that, but you know, that's the D-line mentality, I know that for certain. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05:

And yeah, Xavier Xavier Hernandez got a lot of rep, so he's he's gonna be seasoned now. So if anything does happen in the playoffs, and Coachella can make a run, they're in division twelve, and we'll we'll get that in the next segment. But they may be one of the better, looking at them in in that division, they may be one of the better teams, and that's gonna be a fun division. We'll talk about that in the next segment. But um, they're gonna need to be healthy at the right time. So they seem like they're kind of clicking at the right time. So, shout out to the Arabs, they keep that bell again.

SPEAKER_00:

Hopefully, Gaza's ready to come back.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, this Raja's not happy that we haven't had that bell in 13 years, and we gotta do something about that at some point, but that's for next year.

SPEAKER_00:

That's another podcast.

SPEAKER_05:

That's another that's a whole long podcast. So um moving on to the another bell game. So they play for a bell up in the high desert. Yucca Valley 29, 29 palm zero. So Yucca Valley coming off that that forced bye week. They were not messing around. They were they were kind of upset, you know, kind of upset, and took it out on the Wildcats. Uh pretty convincing victory.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I thought the Wildcats would score some points.

SPEAKER_05:

You was thinking a rivalry game, there would be a little bit a little bit more uh a little bit more point scored by the opposition. But uh Aiden Aiden Pope, our guy Aiden Pope, three touchdowns, kind of back got back on track. He had almost two almost 200 yards receiving. Yeah, um, looked like that offense kind of got back on track. Um their running back uh Clyde uh King King, he kind of got going over 100 yards. Yucca Valley might be back on track. That bye week might have done some good for them.

SPEAKER_00:

When Clyde King's going, man, Yucca's tough to stop because it just makes it makes the defense do I want to stop the run now or do I drop back and drop the pass? So uh I'm glad that King got going.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, especially if you're you're bracketing Pope, right? Yeah. Then you only got a seven box and now the run game's wide open. 100%. So Bell game, that was that DVL kind of fell into place. Both Coachella and Yucca make the make the postseason, kind of as we predicted. But same bracket, right? Yes, same one. We'll get to that. Pretty awesome. Pretty awesome. CIF did us some favors on that one. Um, moving on to oh, so another really interesting game, Desert Christian Academy. So my conquerors, I've been touting that they might go undefeated since week one, right? Coach, you're not gonna make a lot of things. Looking at their schedule, just knowing what they had. Uh, they so they the they're probably their toughest game of the season. They had to go up to this school called Vasquez, who was undefeated as well. Um, and they DCA takes care of business 48 to 6.

SPEAKER_00:

I got to see a little bit of it. It was uh just the first couple series. Um, both teams came out running and they, you know, they traded blows. They, I mean, they stopped each other um a couple times. Uh they both wanted to run the ball a little bit, and then uh DCA just started dialing up their wide receiver screens. They got a big wide receiver. Um, they were they were doing that uh alleyway screen, and then they'd fake it, they'd fake that and then go up top over the top, and they hit that um for a couple quick scores. Then before you knew it was 21-0. So 21-0, and I'm looking back at it. I can see why they're scoring so many points. Yeah, we got a good system.

SPEAKER_05:

That offense is potent. What do you know about the Conquerors?

SPEAKER_03:

Um, that their whole coaching staff is awesome to work with, uh, for sure. Uh Coach Roy, he is he is like one of the best. Chris Johnson, one of the best. Um I I can go on and on about the coaching staff, but what I really like about DCA is that like they've like implemented like that new like system, right? It kind of reminds me of Coachella Valley's system. Um, I don't know if they brought over a coach from Coachella Valley.

SPEAKER_05:

Coordinators from from TV, yeah. Okay, so that makes it. Yeah, they all look the same, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Because I remember covering DCA last year, and um, and I was like, you know, this team's great, but man, they're running like a triangle offense, and it's like it's like, how are they even putting up points here? And uh just to see how much DCA has grown, evolved, and the young talent they have too. The Guile twin brothers are or the Guile twins, I should say, and and uh and Kevin Bowles, uh, they're just like beasts, and you know, they're future sprite for sure.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, and they got a lot of young talent out there, but they're gonna be tested this week. And we'll finally uh finally uh uh a formidable opponent's coming into DCA this week.

SPEAKER_00:

So but whatever happens, it's still a great season. 10 and 0. We're excited though, man.

SPEAKER_05:

That's what that's what you play these games for to get those home games because coming coming down the pipe. You gotta win a tough game in the playoffs at some point. So awesome job by the Conquerors, 10-0. Only undefeated team in the valley, and it's not easy to do. I mean, it hasn't been done in seven years of them, correct, right? It's been a while, 2018.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, it has been a while.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, so I don't remember the last time. It's hard to do. It's 2018, it was the last desert, uh, desert undefeated team. Who was it, Palm Desert? I think it was Palm Desert. So not easy to do.

SPEAKER_00:

We have we as coaches can attend saying that you gotta be perfect, you gotta be perfect, and and they're just high school kids, and you know, mistakes happen, and and it's tough to have kids, uh a unit lock in that for that long and and be that perfect. And they were able to do that, man. That's that's fantastic achievement. Yeah. Awesome job.

SPEAKER_05:

Awesome job, DCA.

SPEAKER_00:

Good job, DCA.

SPEAKER_05:

All right, so moving on. So Desert Chapel went up to Hamilton. Desert Chapel 48, Hamilton 46. So Desert Chapel gets their second win. How about these stats, though, coach? You'll you'll enjoy this. Their quarterback, Sam Maurice, Morehouse, I'm sorry. 598 yards passing in one game. Wow. Yeah, 35 of 48 passing. That's pretty impressive. Like, I don't care who you're playing again. You're playing as air, that's pretty impressive, right? It is 600 yards.

SPEAKER_00:

Do that on air is pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_05:

That's like video game type numbers. Yeah, that's crazy. That's crazy. So, I mean, and then their their receiver, Jayvon Garcia, he had uh three touchdowns and 216 yards.

unknown:

Wow.

SPEAKER_05:

Four touchdowns, sorry, four touchdowns. That's that's a quite a day at the office. He's competing with Pope with those kind of numbers, man. So DC, so Desert Chapel, not a not a great, not a great season in terms of wins, but I think they're building blocks, right? They've got they've got some young talent. They end the season on a on a winning note. So shout out, shout out to Desert Chapel, man.

SPEAKER_00:

Those games are good memories to take with you, man. Yeah, they'll stay with you for a life time.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, you know, they're gonna be, I know that's what what the coaches have a little bit of.

SPEAKER_00:

Have you got to see them play a little bit this year?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh I haven't got to see them. I've got to see them at practice um because I do those annual team previews on each uh team from the valley. Uh we go like we do every D E L D V L Sun Valley League. I love the way. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. And uh and when I was at Desert Chapel, I was like, Who's the quarterback and who's the receiver and all stuff? Because you know, they wear different numbers at practice. And I go, It's like, oh, Sam and Jayvon. And I go, Why are you guys wearing different numbers? And they go, Oh, because you know, because of reasons. And they gave me the reason why I kind of forgot. But um, but like just their connection from one one another. It's like it's like Sam knows what uh Jayvon is gonna do like automatically, but it feels like that. It's like a connection is like this. It takes time to get that too. So and uh, you know, they're both underclassmen. I think uh Jayvon is a sophomore and Sam is a s junior, I think. So uh it's gonna be it's gonna be pretty scary next season and uh uh when you go against uh Desert Chapel.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, and they they just gotta find some defense. We've been talking about that all year. Yeah, you gotta get a couple stops. With that offense, you only need two or three. You're good, right? You only need with those guys.

SPEAKER_00:

When you come in, you want to fix the offense first and then just a couple stops, coach.

SPEAKER_05:

That's all you need, and and you're gonna be you're gonna be right on track to have a nice winning season. Um moving on to the SVL. Um, so Banning goes out to Desert Mirage on Friday night, uh a Halloween night game. Banning 50 is Desert Mirage 22. So if Banning puts up another 50 burger, that offense is looking nice.

SPEAKER_00:

It's easy when you score in bunches, you know, and and uh Desert Mirage, you know, they got that power running game. It takes a while, a lot of plays to get downfield, but on the flip side, banning will just throw a couple of seam routes in there in the end zone. So I can see why they put up such a big, big so many points. Yeah. Um, it's easy when you're scoring 50-yard touchdowns. So I didn't get to see the game, but based on the score, I'm pretty sure they passed the ball, right? Oh, I'm sure sure.

SPEAKER_05:

For sure. So but that puts Banning at 8-2 on the season, a heck of a season, man. They're good. Desert Mirage, uh, they they go out, you know, fighting, but that'll probably be their last game of the season. Yeah. They had a good season, too, though. Great season. Don't sleep on sleep on Desert Mirage. They won a couple tough. Coaching staff did a great, great job with those guys. They run the ball and they stick to what they do. So, but banning is gonna win win that division pretty handily, and they're gonna have a pretty interesting game first week that we'll talk or first round that's coming up. So, you know, shout out to the Broncos on that one. And then finally, Cat City and Desert Hot Springs on Halloween night. So they play a hot you play a Halloween night game, and not a lot of press are gonna be there. Not a lot of the play, not a lot of uh people outside of parents will be there. So I think you'll be able to find a ton of information on this game, but the final score was DHS 30, Cat City 22. So this is basically a play-in game for the SVL's final spot. So Desert Hot Springs is gonna make the playoffs um in the 13 in the division 13. They basically play their way in. And from what I hear about the game, Cat City was up, and then Desert Hot Springs had to do a Desert Hot Springs rally at the end, and kind of they had that quarterback, uh Turner had to lead them back to to victory. So pretty exciting game on Halloween night to get into the playoffs for the for the yeah, they're a little bit more balanced on offense.

SPEAKER_00:

I can see them why they put up a little bit more points. But hats off to the Lions, man. What a great season.

SPEAKER_05:

Right. Um I I mean for that for the Lions to even be in that situation is a great job by their coaching staff because the for the numbers that they had, and you could probably speak to that, that they were kind of down in numbers this year. And you know, only 29 guys in the whole program to be almost in the playoffs is a great job by that staff.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and I love that, like, you know, also every player on that team is just like, you know, they play until that whistle blows, like, and like they they love to be physical, they might be small, but they're a physical team that will like like not get dirty, like in a sense of like chirping at you know the opposing player, but you know, they're they're gonna put they're gonna clash helmets with one another. And uh, you know, Richard Lee, he does such a great job there, and uh, you know, all props to him.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, yeah, they did a great job. Fantastic job, Cassidy. Great job. I mean, to even be in that conversation, and you almost pulled it off. You're only eight points away from making the playoffs. So excellent job. I think Cat and Cassidy was young. I know there was a lot of freshmen starting on that team. They'll be back soon. They'll be back, and they'll be probably much better coming up next year, but that's gonna do it for their season this year. And that's also gonna do it for this week 11 wrap-up. We'll be back with the preview of the first round of the playoffs. Very exciting stuff right after 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_05:

Welcome back, everybody, to Desert Valley Blitz. We're going to move on to our playoff first round southern section preview here. We're super excited. Got a lot of great matchups. We got eight teams in the valley playing this week. So that's an awesome job by the desert football community. We want to commend all the teams that made it and say congratulations also to the teams that didn't make it. You know, you guys that most of you guys had great seasons, and we look forward to covering you next year. But Coach Josh, man, we got a lot of good games on this slate. What is your game of the week?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, game of the week's got to be Coachella banning. I mean, it's two local teams going at it, high-powered offenses. Um, I kind of lean towards Coachella Valley, but banning, I wouldn't sleep on them, man. I seen them play earlier this year. They're very efficient. Um, quarterbacks got great timing. Um, they got a good receiver, can play in the slot. Um, it runs a great seam route, and they got great timing on it. So um, yeah, it's gonna be a game.

SPEAKER_05:

I mean, a lot of points scored. Kenji, what do you think of that that that pick?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, uh, I think it is the game of the week for sure. Um, I don't uh like you said, two high power offenses. And I just looked at, you know, because I I would say our station doesn't really cover banning. I would say we just cover the scores of banning because, you know, that's such a far trip for us. Um, but just seeing how crazy the talent is at banning, uh, their quarterback has uh over 3,200 yards uh and 36 touchdowns. Yeah, and then their star wide receiver, Jamari Garlington, uh averages 137 yards per game, has uh 1,300 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. I mean, those are like they're ranked in the state. Those are like best in the state, maybe. I mean, like that is ridiculous. And like you just have to figure, like you just have to ask, how in the world does he always get open with those type of numbers?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, so and then Coachella, you know, they're known for their high power offense. So I think it's literally, I think it's literally gonna be a shootout. Yeah, both schools. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

I mean, remember when they went up to Yucca Valley and both teams, they've scored a hundred points between the two teams, I think. That could happen again this week because these two teams know how to light up a scoreboard. Banning is eight and two, coach, so it's it's not gonna be no cakewalk for the arrows, man. They're gonna have their work cut out for them. No, but they're peaking at the right time.

SPEAKER_00:

I think I think Goachella's maybe a little bit better of a schedule. Maybe they're a little bit battle tested for this, but you know, that's what we play. We don't know.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, we'll find out, but it's definitely gonna be awesome. And one team from our area is gonna be in the second round, guaranteed.

SPEAKER_00:

Guaranteed.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, somebody's gotta win.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you, football gods.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, we'll have somebody, we'll have somebody uh in the second round, so that's awesome. And uh yeah, we're looking forward to that one. That's Going to be a great, a great game.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's gonna be a good one.

SPEAKER_05:

Moving on, though, we do have seven other teams. Uh, the top, so the top team in the valley, according to this, is Palm Springs. They're in division seven, the highest rated team. Also, number one seed in the bracket, which is pretty amazing. Um, they're gonna take on a Claremont team, a seven and three Claremont team. Um, what what did we know about Claremont?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh they're very good on the road. Uh they're four and one on the road, uh, which is like no easy task because you know, any road environment is gonna be really tough. They're gonna be rowdy, they're gonna not necessarily heckle, but they're gonna make a lot of noise just to throw all the timing off. Um, and because you know, I know what it's like being on the sidelines, you know, just as a reporter, you know, at every level, uh, high school and college. And, you know, it gets loud and I can only imagine what these what these players feel. But I think, you know, I think with Palm Strings, I think the keys to their success is that they need to stay true to their identity. I think like I think the big thing is that they play with a lot of swag. They play like that, like nobody can stop them, nobody can beat them, and I think that's what really is key to their success. Another, I would say, another point is Bishop Miller as well. Uh, I know I mentioned him earlier, but you know, he just has to stay composed in that pocket because if he starts running around all over the place, you know, it's gonna be bad news bears. Um and then also I think that Palm Springs need to keep Claremont on their toes as well. Because if you have Kobro Pola in the backfield or Kaylon Smith in the backfield, you know, it's an obvious run play or an obvious like you know screenplay, you know. So you kind of have to be, in a sense, mysterious in a sense, but also like kind of keep that Palm Springs culture still alive.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, definitely. And they got it. Palm Springs is talented, man. They got stars at every level. Um, but they're at home, so and the number one seed. So we're expecting them to definitely the toughest draw, though, as far as bracket wise. Yeah, but once you get past this game, I mean, we don't want to talk about that yet, but Palm Springs is in division seven. There's no there's no gonna be no easy games in this division. So no easy games at all.

SPEAKER_00:

It's kind of a testament how good they they played this year, just how much respect they got around the you know, around the state for them to be ranked so high.

SPEAKER_05:

So I mean they Palm Desert beat them and they're on the lower bracket. So that just speaks to what you know CIF thought of their schedule. And like I said, I thought I thought they had the hardest schedule preseason. Oh, yeah. And they were undefeated. So, you know, those things kind of those things some come some sometimes hurt you in these situations, right?

SPEAKER_00:

This new algorithm computer age, it seems too. I mean, we'll talk about that later, but some teams got a really nice draw.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, absolutely. So Palm Springs at home, number one seed. Let's go, Indians. Let's get this, let's get this get to the second round. We'll worry about the second round when we get there. But we'll be pulling for you guys, uh, all you guys out there at Palm Springs. Let's go try Palm. Moving on to the next next uh division. So Palm Desert, DEL co-champions, gets the number one seed in division eight. They're gonna take take on a Marina team from Huntington Beach, California. What do we know about Marina?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh what I know about Marina so far, and you know, this is just based on Max Prep's, you know, their stats and what they provide for us, or me, I should say. Um, but I do know that they kind of have like a one-two punch, uh, a ground game that's one-two punch, a kind of quarterback and running back. So if I were Palm Desert or if I were a fan of Palm Desert, maybe you know, watch out for the read option because it's like it's like their quarterback has 635 yards and five touchdowns. I mean, and then their running back, their starting running back, has 709 and one touchdown. So I mean, I think that kind of gives a hint away. But also at the same time, what we were talking about earlier about Palm Desert, right, is that they're just unstoppable to stop on offense. And I think that the only thing that is gonna change from this Palm Desert team, in my personal opinion, is that is that AJ Rivera, the quarterback, is gonna have to, I would say, buy a little more time and like kind of evade the pocket because this uh Marina team has 45 tackles for loss and 33 hurries.

SPEAKER_05:

Okay. Um they're good up front.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, they're good up front, and I would say in general, good front seven. So I think that you know it's gonna be a little bit of a different Palm Desert team that we've seen in the regular season, but it they're still gonna, I would say, play PD football.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. I can see that. The the key to stopping that Palm Desert offense is is like you said, hurrying the off uh quarterback. If you get a little bit of pressure on that, maybe get him to run outside the pocket a little bit. I can see that working. Um I I I think Palm Deser is gonna win just because they just saw uh a similar offense in La Quinta, uh power running game with the running quarterback. So I mean that plan worked good last week, so I would keep it the same. Um, it'd be nice because I think Palme Dez is gonna win, but yeah, and Palme does is hot.

SPEAKER_05:

They're playing their best football the season. They've beaten two really good teams back or three really good teams back to back to back pretty convincingly.

SPEAKER_00:

And they have a good screen game. If they're getting pressured on the quarterback, they can get that ball out really fast.

SPEAKER_05:

And best defense in the valley. I mean, their front seven is nasty, and I could think that's if that that this team can't really throw the ball, it's gonna be a long night for them offensively because their Palm Desert's really good up front. So we're expecting Palm Palm Desert to do their thing at home. At home, at home too. So that all hey, you get that. Huntington Beach is a long bus ride, man.

SPEAKER_03:

Uh about two to three hours. Yeah. Yeah. Because I'm originally from Orange County, so I know that kind of that drive to come down here. Because you know, I once in a while visit my parents uh here and there, and you know, it's a sometimes it can be a brutal drive because of all the freeways you have to take and a little bit of traffic here and there, a little bit of traffic here and there, and then also like that hill, like windy road. I mean, that's that's just the worst like road imaginable. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

And plus, if you got to get on a uh yellow bus, it's even worse. Yeah, even worse. Double all the misery. You think they have a charter? They're from Orange County, they probably have a charter. We'll be taking yellow buses. But um, let's go Palm Desert though. Number one seed. Let's get it done at home. We want to talk about you for a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_00:

I think it's a good draw for him.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, good draw. Um Division Eight. We're excited. And speaking of not a not so good draw, we're gonna move on to Division Eight. Lakinta at 7-3 is going to Fullerton, 8-2, man. That's another bus ride that's in the wrong direction for Laquinta. Um, coming off that that flag disappointment, what are we expecting in this game, Coach?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, well, they gotta play better this week, that's for sure. But I think they will. Um every now and then you just have an off night, you know. You just show up and for whatever reason things aren't working. I think they're gonna go back to the drawing board and figure that out. Fullerton, you are they pretty good? Eight and two. Um, man.

SPEAKER_05:

Eight and two.

SPEAKER_00:

They're they're offense. All the games are touched on.

SPEAKER_05:

Their offense is legit. The films that I the film that I saw. Really? They look like they got pretty good, pretty good skill guys. I know they played Indio earlier in the year and just 50-0, but yeah, but I mean that's no indicator of what the king is gonna see. Um, but Fullerton, Fullerton's a pretty good team, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, uh five and oh at home, which uh like I mean, undefeated at home, that's pretty impressive within itself. Uh the quarterback for uh Fullerton is uh 14 and 5, 14 touchdowns, five interceptions. And at home, they only uh the defense only allows 10 points a game. So it's gonna be no easy task. And then uh the running back and wide receiver Cadewise, uh 1,100 yards and 17 total touchdowns. That's quite a season. So Lakinta's got they got their hands full. They got their hands full, but I think the key things for La Quinta is that you gotta protect Roman Ansley, the quarterback. Uh the the defense is pretty good within itself. I mean, like just stay healthy. And then also, I think we saw in the flag game, but you know, the receivers just need to catch the ball. Like, I mean some big drops. Ansley just puts it on a dime, and I know. Yeah. They look at the ball and it's like, where's it? Yeah. Oh, it's on the floor. You know, that was third.

SPEAKER_00:

That was third down, by the way.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, third down. So uh yeah, so uh catch the ball and protect Ansley.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

And I think they will. They'll play better.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, we're expecting a better performance. Um, but like I said, Lakinta's got a got a got a nice little road trip. We're pulling for the Blackhawks. We want you guys to come home, get to that second round, and so we can talk about you one more week. So let's go, let's go Blackhawks get on that bus and travel like the old the Quinta days when La Quinta would go on the road and beat everybody. So um, we're excited, we're gonna be rooting for you. Moving on to uh another uh DEL at-large team that got in. Um Shadow Hill. So Jarupa Hills is Jarupa Hills at four and six is coming into Shadow Hills in a division eleven matchup. So Shadow Hills is is a much lower division at with the at-large seed and gets a pretty good draw.

SPEAKER_00:

I think they got the best draw from the desert team. I think they have the best chance to go the farthest in the playoffs, just based on brackets, you know, they still got to play the games. Yeah, um, but Shadow Hill is a good football team. Um they they put up a lot of points. Uh uh defense, you know, we talked about it. Uh Palmer's a defensive-minded coach. Uh, I love the way he blitzes his butt blitz packages. Um, he will bring two off the edge, he will blitz from depth, meaning, you know, they're not showing the blitz, and he just comes late. So the the you know, the guard thinks that he's not coming, he's looking this way, and then he just comes right in. So um, yeah, don't sleep on Shadow Hills. I think I I have a strong feeling they might make it to that championship game that Barack is. Wow, okay.

SPEAKER_05:

That's a bold prediction right here. Well, they they were the last team standing last year. Yeah. I mean, so they're used to this.

SPEAKER_03:

They've been around. And they and they barely lost last year, too. It was it was kind of it was kind of heartbreaking when I was uh covering that game last year. I'm like, man, that's how you go out. It's like that's that's unfortunate. And then the worst part of it, like of it all, is like interviewing the players after a loss.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, that's like especially a senior, right? Last game, uh that's brutal.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, like I mean, it's nonstop crying, it's nonstop like uh stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

Like, I mean, it's it's tough, but those losses stay with you, man. It's tough. Oh yeah, it's we all can remember we can all remember our last game as a player.

SPEAKER_05:

Never ends well for any of us. So um, so what do we know about Jerupa Hills? Do you know anyway?

SPEAKER_03:

Jarupa Hills, um, you know, I was actually so they're a ground and pound team. Uh their uh their leading rusher is 80 yards per game, uh, out of and I would say uh they have a total of 1,400 rushing yards. Uh so big big rushing team. Uh, but a thing that I couldn't believe, and I don't know if the coach is not putting these stats in max reps, I have no no clue. But I didn't believe it for my life. Defense is a struggle, no sacks or no interceptions. I don't believe that either. I don't believe that. Our youth teams have someone slacking.

SPEAKER_05:

Somebody said it was a sack or an interception.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that coach is offensive-minded. Yeah, so that's right.

SPEAKER_03:

Or he's not keeping up the stats. But um, you know, no matter what, I think Shadow, you know, when I talked to Palmer like earlier in the season, he was like um our receiving core, which is uh Anthony, Anthony Garcia, Brandon Peffers, uh uh Shaheem Sama and Rahe uh Reef too. I mean, he just told me they're gonna be it's gonna be a nightmare for opposing defenses to cover, and I think it's gonna be the exact same case because Jesse Rodriguez can also sling the road. He's getting really good at running that offense. Yeah. I mean, I feel like he's comfortable now. He had a couple like you know, weeks he was struggling, like he didn't he didn't, like I would say, find his rhythm, but I think he's now like fully locked in and he's dicing up defenses like a he's like gamifying those concepts, like he's they're they're starting to become easy for him to understand, and he's he's actually almost ahead of the play sometimes when he goes to throw it.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, he's he's good, man.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and in the DEL as well, like I mean, all those four receivers are top ten in receiving yards. So I mean, like, watch out for all those four receivers for the show.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, they got weapons, man. They've always had weapons. Um, yeah, I I like their draw. I think the knights can do something, and we're gonna be we're gonna be rooting for them, man. We want to see, we want to see all these teams get to the second round.

SPEAKER_00:

Make some good memories, yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

And it's represent the desert. It's good for valley football. So if you're out there, you know, not playing, we should be supporting the teams that are that are still around because they represent us, you know. We whether you want to admit it or not. Moving on, okay, so division twelve now. We gotta talk about division.

SPEAKER_00:

It's interesting here.

SPEAKER_05:

Division 12 is a very interesting division because we have four of our desert teams in the get placed in division 12.

SPEAKER_00:

Call this the desert bracket.

SPEAKER_05:

It is the desert bracket, uh, except for Costa Mesa.

SPEAKER_01:

Costa Mesa ain't the desert.

SPEAKER_05:

But um, so one of those, so Yucca Valley, we got Desert Christian, uh, C V and Banning all in Division 12.

SPEAKER_00:

What a all good teams, too.

SPEAKER_05:

And that's awesome. I mean one of these guys is gonna have to make a range. It's a game of numbers, right?

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

So we'll talk about the first matchup. Um, Costa Mesa at Yucca Valley. You're an alumni at Costa Mesa. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

So what do you know about your your Elma Moder? Yeah, it's gonna play play close to home, and I'm actually gonna be at that game. So, Jeremy Johnson, uh head coach at Yucca Valley, I'll see you there. And Gary Gonzalez, the head coach at Costa Mesa, I'll see you there as well. Um, but um, you know, it's unbelievable to see the turnaround at Costa Mesa High School. Um, being an alum, I graduated in 2019, and the my senior year, I was in the band, I didn't play football, but uh my senior year we went 0-9. And and one week we lost 77 to nothing, and the next week we lost 81 to nothing. So like two bad weeks my senior year. Yeah. So now to see like my alma mater, like kind of hand teams losses and like you know, put up points and you know, um, like I would say just be dominant. It's awesome to see. Um but I think Yucca is gonna make a I think Yucca is really gonna make a statement because you know they're so like mysterious, you don't know what they're gonna do. Yes, they're an air raid offense, but you know, you can either give it to Pope and he'll take it to the house uh through the air, or you give it to Clyde King and he'll take it to the house. He'll take it to the house through through the ground. Um but I think Yucca Valley, and I'm pretty sure they saw the film already, but they have to watch out for this junior running back for the Mustangs. Uh that's what Coast Mesa is, the Mustangs. Uh, and then Gavin Garza, he's a junior and he has 2400. 2400? Uh 24 touchdowns, sorry. Okay. Okay, geez.

SPEAKER_00:

I was gonna start pounding on his table for Costa Mesa first.

SPEAKER_02:

Actually, I have I have his um I have his yardage, his yardage. He has sixteen hundred yards.

SPEAKER_03:

Hell of a season. 10 games, that's a lot. And then their quarterback, Andrew Wise, he has uh 2,000 total yards, 29 touchdowns, and four interceptions. Wow. Oh, so they're they're yeah, they're a good team.

SPEAKER_00:

Going through the air and on the ground.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, they're nine and one, so they're a good team. I mean, you play 10, win nine, you're a pretty good team.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and then good defense as well, 28 and a half sacks, six interceptions, and 13 force fumbles.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, Yucca's got their work cut out for them.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, but I I think like the mystery mysterious like playstyle that Yucca does play with, I think it's gonna be quite the battle. Yeah, a lot of points, right?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, a lot of points. Expecting an offensive battle. I mean, they got they got Yucca got offensive guys all over the place. They got their top line guy, Aiden Pope. He's just coming off a three touchdown performance. They're gonna be ready. They they look like themselves, I think, in the last game, putting up 50 points.

SPEAKER_00:

They can score it in a second, and they're at home.

SPEAKER_05:

I mean, Costa Mesa's a long bus ride out here. It's hard to get guys ready after a three-hour bus ride to get ready and play at their top.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's gonna be a good game.

SPEAKER_05:

So I think a lot of points being scored. Kenji will be there to let us know what's going on.

SPEAKER_00:

So we'll I don't want to put you on the spot who you don't play.

SPEAKER_05:

Oh man, that's who are you gonna root for? That's tough, man. You got no cheering in the press box, man. Yeah, can both teams win us? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I'll let you out of that one.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, because it was kind of it was kind of funny. Uh uh Coach Mesa actually was in division 14 last year. Uh so yeah. So now to uh now for that school to move up, it's uh it's pretty cool. Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, what a what a great draw for you personally. And I told Blake, I'm like, please put me on this game. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, you got your worst. You get to go see your Elmo Moder. Kind of cool. But we'll be rooting for the Trojans. We want we want Yucca Valley to make a run.

SPEAKER_03:

So hey, more more coverage for our desert, so that'd be great, too. Man, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05:

And we think Yucca got the team to do it. So we'll see. Hopefully, hopefully, Yucca gets out there and does what they're supposed to do. Moving on to another Division 12 matchup. So this one, I think, would be the co I'd say this is like co game of the week because it's real interesting to all of us. Arroyal Valley at 8-2 is going to Desert Christian Academy 10 and 0. So this really step up in competition for DCA. So all the haters and doubters of DCA, you're gonna find out this week because this is a good football team coming in here at Arroyo Valley.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think they even want to play this game. I think they want to prove it and and see what they're made out of. I mean, um, that win last week against Vasquez was big, but this is another step up. Um it's gonna be a good game. I'm I'm sure they're gonna come out fired up, ready to go.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah. What do we know about Arroyo Valley?

SPEAKER_03:

I don't know much about Arroyo Valley, uh, but I think the I think the biggest like key takeaway is that DCA goes from Division 14 to Division 12 as well.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, like, you know, you can look at the numbers, you can look at, you know, anything, but you know, no matter if you go up a division or down a division, it's still gonna be tough no matter what. Yeah. Um, so I think, like you said, that DCA is ready to prove a point, saying, hey, we can beat those good teams. And, you know, I I think it's I think it's gonna be another dogfight. I think, you know, both teams love to put up points, and it's just I think it's gonna be one of those games, whoever makes the first stop will win that game.

SPEAKER_05:

Offensive shootout, huh?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, offensive shootout.

SPEAKER_05:

Well, I saw some film on Oroyo Valley playing Cat City, and they are a run, look like a run heavy team, but they're but they've got some guys on the outside that can play, they've got some backs that can take it to the house. Um, so I think I think it's gonna be a test. I mean, Desert Christian gonna come and have to come play, even though they're 10 and 0 in the favorite. This team, this team's not bad. This is definitely the best team they've seen all year. Coach Johnson will have them ready. First uh, first uh game of the year at home playoffs. It should be an exciting time out there for me.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm looking forward to this game too. This is my favorite time of year.

SPEAKER_05:

Let's go Conkers, man. Let's get out there. Everybody, all these doubters, it's time to prove them wrong, right? This is why we play. So we're we're excited for that one. Uh moving on, still in Division 12. We already kind of talked about Coachella Valley and Banning, so that's another that's another Division 12 game that we've already kind of covered. But I mean, Division 12 stacked, man. Yeah, unbelievable. I mean, even you think about like how many divisions are on this other section, there's a lot of good teams in the Division 12 bracket that are that are really good. Um, so just exciting football all the way around. And then finally, um, the last uh the last team in the Valley into the playoffs, Division 13, Desert Hot Springs is going to Westbridge. Uh Desert Hot Springs is coming in at 5-5 second in the in the Sun Valley League, and then we got Woodbridge at 2-8. So the team with a losing record. We did some research on Woodbridge. It looks like they won their last two games in league to get into the get into the get into the playoffs. Um what do we know about Woodbridge?

SPEAKER_03:

That's from your old uh Yeah, I I just know they're I just know they're a big school, uh, to be quite frank. Uh I remember uh they had like a like when I was still in high school, they had like a 500 student graduating class. So I know they're a huge school.

SPEAKER_05:

Huge school, so big population. Yeah. So it'll be a population disadvantage. That's that's any school, I think, at this point when we go over the hill, right? It's just in the playoffs, we're always playing a bigger population base from the valley, and that's we just got to get used to that. But Desert Hot Springs, man, those those golden Eagles are sometimes magical. They came back came back in the second half and got into the playoffs. A two and eight team, not necessarily a powerhouse. So we're all they're on the road. They probably got a good chance of getting to that second round. So we're gonna be room for Coach P in the desert. Yeah, Desert Hot Spring, Golden Eagles. Let's go, Golden Eagles. Let's go, let's get it in. So that's eight teams, man. We got eight, eight teams in the playoffs. We're looking forward to at least getting seven to the next round. That would be awesome. We know we're not gonna get eight, but we're because of the banning uh Coachella Valley matchup. But you know, I think there's a lot of games that we're gonna be competitive in, and some we should be we should be winning pretty handily. So we're we're real excited about the playoffs and and what's coming next. So that's gonna kind of do it for the preview of the first round. KG, thanks for coming in, man. You're awesome.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, thank you guys for having me. I uh greatly enjoyed my time here.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, you were great, and we'll have we're gonna have to have you back as we continue on in this playoffs. Man, we need we need a professional pick.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, professional in here. I'm no pro by any means. I just I just love the game and uh I do a I do a lot of research, you know. I was going on every Max Prep's team website on you know who who each team was playing. And you know, I kind of have a feel of like you know who the stars are for our our local teams. Uh, and I'm like, okay, this guy is good, this guy's good, let me mark it down. Uh so it's just a bunch of research, and uh I greatly appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh well you're a big part of this community, even though you've only been here a couple years, and and I know the kids love it, so do a good job. Yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, so everybody check out Kenji's Corner on K E SQ and thanks for coming in, man.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_05:

So if you guys found some value in that, you guys know the routine, like, subscribe, and follow. And we'll see you next week on Desert Valley Blitz.