Advertisement

Desert Valley League showdown highlights Week 8 high school football slate

shad powers, palm springs desert sun
·4 min read

Somehow, it's already week eight out of 11 in the high school football season, and that means it's time to shift our view strictly to the two league races.

The Desert Empire League and Desert Valley League are both underway now and jockeying for playoff position has begun. The top three teams in both leagues get an automatic bid to the postseason and that, along with a league title, is what everybody is playing for.

Let's take a closer look at the two leagues and how they are shaping up so far:

Shakeup in high school football rankings after top two teams

Desert Empire League

THE STANDINGS

  • Xavier Prep 1-0

  • Palm Desert 1-0

  • Rancho Mirage 1-0

  • Palm Springs 0-1

  • Shadow Hills 0-1

  • La Quinta 0-1

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Palm Desert at Xavier Prep

  • Palm Springs at La Quinta

  • Shadow Hills at Rancho Mirage

The opening week of Desert Empire League sent off a few shockwaves to prove what many figured in the first place -- this was going to be an unpredictable year. Palm Desert trounced La Quinta in the Flag Game despite entering the night 0-5. Rancho Mirage scored twice in the final three minutes to take down a Palm Springs team that had beaten them by 40 last year. And Xavier Prep's opportunistic defense led to a lopsided score over Shadow Hills.

After that reality check of a first week, the second week promises to bring just as much uncertainty. I mean it seems like Shadow Hills vs. Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs vs. La Quinta are virtual toss-ups that would have a "pick-em" line in Vegas. Xavier Prep is a favorite over Palm Desert, but is there any logic to counting the six-time defending league champs out, especially after last week.

Palm Desert High School football defeated rivals La Quinta High in the annual Flag Game at Palm Desert High School in Palm Desert, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.
Palm Desert High School football defeated rivals La Quinta High in the annual Flag Game at Palm Desert High School in Palm Desert, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

Some things I'll be looking for: Will Palm Desert be able to keep the fire burning now that the motivation of a rivalry game and shaking off a winless start are no longer driving them? ... After six consecutive years of double-digit losses to Palm Desert, can Xavier Prep handle business as the favorite in the matchup? ... The Shadow Hills defense vs. what I consider to be the best passing attack among the DEL teams in Rancho Mirage. ... And which team licks their wounds and bounces back with some fire in the Palm Springs vs. La Quinta game. The loser of that game will fall to 0-2, and all but kiss their league title hopes goodbye.

Desert Valley League

THE STANDINGS

  • Coachella Valley 3-0

  • Yucca Valley 3-0

  • Indio 2-1

  • Desert Hot Springs 1-2

  • Cathedral City 1-2

  • Twentynine Palms 1-2

  • Desert Mirage 1-2

  • Banning 0-3

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Banning at Desert Hot Springs (Thursday)

  • Coachella Valley at Yucca Valley

  • Cathedral City at Desert Mirage

  • Twentynine Palms at Indio

Coachella Valley quarterback Derek Calderon (16, left) and running back Aaron Ramirez (23) celebrate a touchdown during the first quarter of their game at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, Calif., Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
Coachella Valley quarterback Derek Calderon (16, left) and running back Aaron Ramirez (23) celebrate a touchdown during the first quarter of their game at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, Calif., Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

In the world of sports, anything can happen, but it's pretty hard not to look at Friday's game in which Coachella Valley heads up to Yucca Valley as the de facto DVL title game. Before the season I believed that Yucca Valley was a small step ahead of Coachella Valley. The Trojans were stacked on offense with a stud QB, three stud wide receivers and a stud running back. The Arabs had the great Aaron Ramirez, but a new quarterback in Derek Calderon and filling in at some other positions. But then injuries started piling up for the Trojans. They are getting healthier but running back Stephon Rogers won't be available this week. Meanwhile, the Arabs haven't skipped a beat from their championship run last year. Calderon has played well and the defense appears stronger than advertised as well. Last year, this game was an instant classic with Coachella Valley winning 40-39. What will this week bring?

Meanwhile, the fight for that third spot in the DVL and the coveted playoff spot that goes with it will be fascinating down the stretch, and I'm considering it a three-team race right now between Indio, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs. Right now Indio holds the spot, thanks to a crucial win over Cathedral City. If you look at the remaining schedules though, you might favor Desert Hot Springs who is 1-2 but has already played both heavyweights and has a win over Indio. Now if Cathedral City beats Desert Hot Springs later in the year, then you could have a three-team jumble as those teams would all be 1-1 against each other.

And I don't want to forget to shout out Desert Mirage. Kudos to the Rams for breaking their five-year league drought with an impressive road win at Twentynine Palms last week. It is believed to be only the second time Desert Mirage has beaten the Wildcats. A win this week over Cathedral City and the Rams would jump in the race for that playoff spot.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

Shad Powers
Shad Powers

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: High school football: DVL showdown, Week 2 of DEL make for fun Friday