Coachella Valley humbles Desert Hot Springs, 47-21, in matchup of valley's last unbeaten teams

To fire up his team and show his players that he believes in them, Roy Provost said something recently during a television interview about beating Coachella Valley High School on Friday.

With his words, the first-year Desert Hot Springs coach instead fired up the Arabs, with Coachella Valley players writing down his remarks on sheets of paper and taping them to their football lockers.

The result was, as Provost said, “a piece of humble pie” for the Golden Eagles. Coachella Valley won the game, 47-21, in a matchup of the last two unbeaten teams in the valley. Now the Arabs (4-0, 2-0 Desert Valley) are in the category all by themselves.

“Oh boy, was I fired up for this game,” Arabs running back Aaron Ramirez said. “We wanted this win bad.”

The anticipation for the game was palpable. More than 100 fans from Desert Hot Springs made the 45-minute drive to Coachella for the game. The home bleachers were nearly full.

But while the Golden Eagles’ unbeaten start to the season through four games was becoming the story of the year, the Arabs quickly deflated any optimism Desert Hot Springs (4-1, 1-1) had of pulling off the upset. Coachella Valley has won three consecutive DVL titles for a reason.

Ramirez scored on the Arabs’ first drive of the game to give Coachella Valley an early lead, then Ramirez scored again before the Golden Eagles had recorded a single first down.

Coachella Valley dominated the line of scrimmage, with more size and physicality, and a coaching staff that did not allow the offensive and defensive lines to take plays off or miss assignments.

The game was physical and emotional for both teams. Multiple personal foul penalties were assessed, even after the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“I’m happy about the win,” Arabs head coach Bill Johnson said, “but we still have things that we have to do. We have to grow, man, we still have to mature as a team.”

The moment

Desert Hot Springs was down 21-7 at the intermission, with a half remaining to forge a comeback. But Coachella Valley didn’t allow the Golden Eagles to find their way back into the game.

The Arabs put it away quickly.

On the opening drive of the second half, Ramirez scored for a third time. Following a three-and-out possession for Desert Hot Springs, Ramirez found the end zone for a fourth time in the game. Coachella Valley led 34-7 and the win had become out of reach for the Golden Eagles.

“Yeah, it was a tough loss,” Provost said, “but we’ll bounce back. I believe in these kids and what we’re building here. We never gave up in this game and we’ll keep that same mentality next week.”

The stars

Ramirez ran for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. His fourth touchdown came on a 5-yard reception. Ramirez, a junior, now has 16 touchdowns in four games this season and is on pace for at least 40 this season.

Receiver Ernesto Recio caught five passes for 74 yards and a touchdown for the Arabs. Receiver Mikey Rodriguez caught a touchdown pass and an interception.

Coachella Valley quarterback Derek Calderon was 13-of-22 passing for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

For Desert Hot Springs, quarterback Messiah Smith was 7-for-13 passing for 80 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Christian Davis didn’t have the blocking holes that Ramirez had but still managed 67 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

The takeaway

Well, I said earlier this season that Desert Hot Springs may have the best defense in the DVL and I'd like to backtrack on that statement after Friday. I still really like several of the Golden Eagles' defensive players. They play hard and some of them are tough and athletic.

But this Desert Hot Springs defense doesn't have a lot of size up front, and they got overpowered by a much bigger Coachella Valley offensive line. That was where the game was won.

Coachella Valley is really good but needs to be tested at some point during the rest of the regular season or else when they are finally tested in the CIF playoffs it won't end well.

My second takeaway is that Desert Hot Springs might still be the second-best team in the DVL. Indio bounced back Friday and maybe the Rajahs jump into the conversation with Cathedral City and Yucca Valley. Yucca Valley has more offensive firepower than the Golden Eagles, but I think Desert Hot Springs has a moxie that I haven't seen too often when watching football games in the valley.

Next up

Coachella Valley will play Banning at home on Friday, while Desert Hot Springs looks to rebound at Yucca Valley.

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: Coachella Valley tops Desert Hot Springs, 47-21, in matchup of unbeatens