High school football: Coachella Valley hangs onto top spot in our Week 5 power rankings
It's Week 5 of the high school football season in the Coachella Valley and four teams remain unbeaten. Conversely, six teams are still looking for their first win of the season.
Yes, it's been a wild start to the 2023 season, with lightning canceling games in Week 1 and flooding canceling games in Weeks 2 and 3.
Now, we are shuffling ahead on the schedule and will get the first real glimpse of valley teams going head to head. We saw Indio and Shadow Hills in the Mayor's Cup in Week 1, but now we'll get a full slate of games involving valley teams that have a lot of motivation, from bragging rights to playoff berths and league titles.
But diving into those matchups is another story. In this one, let's take a look at which teams we're high on and who we're not heading into a pivotal week of the season.
Here is our hierarchy of local football teams entering this week:
1. Coachella Valley
Record: 2-0
On short notice, the Arabs went up to Las Vegas and beat a solid Eldorado team that had easily won its only previous game this season. That means that Coachella Valley has basically traveled to Arizona (Blythe) and Nevada and come home with two solid wins.
It’s worth noting that star running back Aaron Ramirez has run for 441 yards and six touchdowns on 36 carries (12.3 yards per carry) in the two wins. He’s also caught seven passes for 140 yards and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. He’s playing up to his billing as arguably the top player in the valley this season.
2. Xavier Prep
Record: 2-1
It’s difficult to not be impressed by the Saints’ 69-0 walloping of Notre Dame on Friday, which showed off a stellar effort on both sides of the ball. Xavier looks explosive on offense this year, showcasing multiple playmakers, and defensively the Saints are allowing just 10 points per game.
A big test will come this week, with Xavier Prep facing unbeaten Rancho Christian. The Eagles already soundly beat Yucca Valley, so this will be a measuring stick to see where the Saints stack up against a common opponent.
3. Shadow Hills
Record: 2-2
Since a blowout loss to Norte Vista, the Knights seem to have found new life and some fresh motivation. They nearly came back to beat a very good Yucaipa squad two weeks ago, and then drove 66 yards in the final 28 seconds on Friday to beat a solid group from Serrano.
More than wins and losses, Shadow Hills showed a ton of heart and no quit in each of its last two games, and that kind of attitude will always draw high praise in these rankings.
4. La Quinta
Record: 2-1
The Blackhawks notched another impressive road win with a 15-13 victory over Sultana on Friday. What was particularly notable is that La Quinta fell behind 13-0 early and never quit. The Blackhawks managed to shut Sultana down the rest of the game to forge a comeback. That’s grit.
Looking ahead, La Quinta will play at home this week against Southwest EC of El Centro. It’s absolutely a winnable game that would set the Blackhawks up nicely entering Desert Empire League play.
5. Desert Hot Springs
Record: 3-0
The Golden Eagles were on a bye last week yet enter DVL play on fire. Desert Hot Springs has a chance to start 4-0 for the first time in school history and plays winless Indio on Thursday. Can they get it done? Or will Indio turn its season around once DVL play begins, like last year?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I believe DHS has the best defense in the DVL, and an offense that can score. I wouldn’t sleep on this team.
6. Cathedral City
Record: 2-0
Though the Lions are just 2-0 due to their season-opener being canceled midway through because of lightning, this squad has looked great early on. In nine quarters of play, they’ve outscored opponents 72-7. I’d say you’re not being honest if you saw this coming from Cathedral City this year.
In beating Canyon Springs 21-7 on Saturday, the Lions defeated a team that beat Twentynine Palms 38-0 earlier this season. Cathedral City will look to remain unbeaten this week against Yucca Valley, a team that has struggled this season in part due to some key injuries. That’s certainly a winnable game for the Lions.
7. Rancho Mirage
Record: 1-2
I feel like there's a bit of a gap between the top six teams in the valley and everyone else, but the Rattlers are the best of the rest. This team has talent but has only showed flashes of it at times this season.
In fairness, Rancho Mirage has played a tougher schedule than Cathedral City and even Desert Hot Springs. But the Rattlers were not very competitive in two of their first three games, so it's difficult to tell if the non-league schedule has merely been too tough or if the Rattlers are not playing up to their potential. Maybe a bit of both.
8. Palm Springs
Record: 0-3
Call this a "dig" if you want, but the Indians have underachieved this season, plain and simple. Sure, the schedule has not been a cake walk, but Granite Hills and Ramona were both winnable games and Palm Springs came up empty in both instances. This team should absolutely be 2-1, or at least 1-2, in our opinion.
While Palm Springs should still be a contender in the DEL, it's worth noting that the Indians allowed the fewest points in five league games last season yet have struggled on that side of the ball this year. They've allowed 31 points per game so far this season and that should be worrisome.
9. Palm Desert
Record: 0-4
The Aztecs have been outscored 129-28 so far this season and it's clear that this is not the same group of players who were a part of six consecutive league titles. There's still some talent among this group, but it feels like a stretch to say that Palm Desert will be in the league title race at season's end.
10. Desert Mirage
Record: 3-0
The Rams are 3-0 for the first time since 2015, and that makes this week's game versus Coachella Valley to open DVL play quite interesting. While it's still difficult to imagine Desert Mirage pulling the upset in that game, it would be cool to see a competitive game.
To be clear, the Rams are not ranking higher despite their record because the quality of opponents has played a role in Desert Mirage being unbeaten so far. That said, there's nothing but respect here for this group.
11. Yucca Valley
Record: 0-3
Never would have I imagined that this Trojans squad would start the season with three losses, but here we are. The schedule has been fairly tough compared to most DVL teams, and Yucca Valley has dealt with injuries to last year's DVL offensive and defensive players of the year.
Friday's game against Cathedral City should be very interesting, whether the Trojans are fully healthy or not.
12. Indio
Record: 0-3
Indio has also played a fairly tough non-league schedule this season, which partially explains why the Rajahs have been outscored 111-13 in three losses. Indio began last season with a similar start yet found itself in the DVL title hunt at the end of the season. Could that happen again this year?
The reality is that the DVL looks much more balanced this season, with Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Mirage all looking better than they did last year. It will surely be tougher for Indio to handle those teams like they did a year ago.
13. Twentynine Palms
Record: 0-3
The Wildcats barely lost on Friday, so they were competitive and that's something. But they lost 38-0 to a Canyon Springs team that Cathedral City beat and they lost 37-35 to a Rubidoux team that Desert Hot Springs beat 56-8.
14. Desert Christian Academy
Record: 1-3
The Conquerors beat California Military Institute but lost to Desert Mirage in their only valley matchup of the season. Desert Christian Academy will play Desert Chapel on Friday to renew an old 8-man football rivalry.
15. Desert Chapel
Record: 0-1
We haven't seen a large sample size to judge the Eagles on, but their one game this season was not competitive. This week's game versus Desert Christian Academy should give us a good idea of how good these two teams are in comparison to one another.
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: Arabs, Saints and Knights round out top three in latest football rankings
