CIF football championship: Yucca Valley at Cerritos preview and predictions

Here we are, on the eve of the first CIF championship football game involving a team from the Coachella Valley since 2016.

Four valley teams reached the CIF semifinals in their respective divisions, but only Yucca Valley made it to the title game, where the Trojans will face Cerritos for all the marbles.

The Trojans will pack up and head west, toward Los Angeles, for Saturday's game. If they win, they'll be the first valley team since Palm Springs in 2014 to bring home a CIF football title.

But will they win? Two of our football writers, Andrew John and Shad Powers, are here to break the matchup down for you and offer their predictions.

Yucca Valley (10-3) at Cerritos (8-5)

What: CIF Southern Section Division 12 championship game (Saturday, 7 p.m. at Artesia High School in Lakewood).

Know the foe: Cerritos is the first-place team from the 605 League, and beat Fillmore, Western Christian and Coachella Valley in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Dons run a power rushing offense, using multiple ball carriers to wear down opposing defenses. They are a tough, physical bunch, but not particularly explosive, offensively.

Defensively, Cerritos can successfully pressure the quarterback with a three-man rush and dropping eight players back into pass coverage, if necessary.

The Dons, who are on a six-game win streak, have outscored their three opponents in the playoffs by a combined score of 121-84, with their wins coming by margins of 12, 11 and 14 points.

Common opponents (2): Coachella Valley and Buena Park.

Cerritos beat Buena Park, 14-7, earlier this season, and then topped Coachella Valley 42-28 last week in the Division 12 semifinals.

Yucca Valley beat Coachella Valley 69-45 during the regular season, to capture the Desert Valley League title, and then shut out Buena Park, 35-0, in the Division 12 quarterfinals on Nov. 10.

So, Cerritos beat Buena Park and Coachella Valley by a combined score of 56-35, and Yucca Valley beat them by a combined score of 104-45.

Inside the matchup: While Cerritos runs a rather bland, methodical run offense that is predicated on physicality, Yucca Valley's offense is much more about finesse and speed. Myles Harper, a converted basketball star with a nearly unrivaled combination of quickness, athleticism and field vision, has rushed for 206.7 yards per game and 21 touchdowns in seven games as the starting running back. He's done that on just 102 carries during that stretch, for an average of 14.2 yards per carry.

Receiver Javin Hudson has caught 26 touchdown passes over his last 20 games, dating back to last season. He's also returned a pair of punts for touchdowns this season. At 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he has the size to physically dominate smaller defenders, and the speed and athleticism to blow by others.

Against Coachella Valley, Cerritos surrendered a number of big plays. The Dons allowed seven passing plays of more than 20 yards, including four plays of more than 30 yards, and three rushing plays of more than 25 yards. That won't cut it against Yucca Valley.

But the Dons did force four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions. If they can do that against against Yucca Valley, they'll be in a strong position to win the game.

Offensively, Cerritos will look to slowly move the ball and chew up clock to keep the Trojans' offense off the field.

Yucca Valley has been dominant defensively, with a powerful defensive line of Jasper Stewart, Joseph Natzel and Walker Rauschenberg, who combined for seven quarterback sacks last week against Santa Fe. So, dominating the line of scrimmage is far from a given for Cerritos.

If the Dons turn to the passing attack, particularly if they fall behind, they'll have to contend with Hudson and Myles and Malachi Harper in the defensive secondary. The attacking trio has combined for nine interceptions and three fumble recoveries this season.

What will likely decide the game: The deciding factor will likely come down to which team wins the turnover and field position battles.

During the first half against Cerritos last week, Coachella Valley threw an interception for a touchdown and fumbled near the goal line, which gave the Dons 14 easy points. The Arabs rallied in the second half, but two more interceptions prevented Coachella Valley from completing a miraculous comeback. Cerritos won by creating turnovers and managing the field position much better that Coachella Valley.

That could work again against Yucca Valley, if the Trojans don't take care of the ball, particularly early in the game. Yucca Valley quarterback Michael Ramos, Jr. has not thrown an interception in three playoff games this season, and the Trojans have lost just eight fumbles in 13 games.

But Cerritos is a crafty, scrappy team that will fight for this win. Yucca Valley needs to enter this game with the mentality that it's the Super Bowl or else the Dons could make this a game.

Cal Preps predicted score: Yucca Valley 35, Cerritos 22

Andrew John's predicted score: Yucca Valley 35, Cerritos 17. On talent and explosive athleticism, Yucca Valley could win this game in a blowout. It's an obvious mismatch. But Cerritos is a competitive bunch and the Trojans will be hitting the road for the first time during the postseason, which may or may not be an issue. So, while I like Yucca Valley a lot in this matchup, having watched both teams over the last two weeks, I do think that the Dons will find ways to keep it interesting.

Shad Powers' predicted score: Yucca Valley 44, Cerritos 21. I do worry a little about the Trojans hitting the road. Due to a random confluence of scheduling, they've literally only played one road game in the last two months and that was against Desert Mirage.

But if the Trojans aren't rattled by unfamiliar surroundings, I think they have a talent edge that should be too much to overcome. Cerritos can control the ball with its run game, but as long as the Trojans avoid the big turnovers that lead directly to points, they should be able to outpace Cerritos in this one and bring home the desert's first title since 2014.

Andrew John covers sports in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Yucca Valley at Cerritos: Preview, predictions for CIF football title game