OT thriller: Palm Springs survives late Xavier Prep comeback to keep playoff hopes alive

It was somehow fitting that a game that saw so little offense from either the Palm Springs Indians or the Xavier Prep Saints was decided on a defensive play Friday night.

Jordan Johnson of Palm Springs intercepted a last-gasp Xavier Prep pass in the end zone in overtime, sealing a 21-14 win for Palm Springs in a key Desert Empire League game at Ralph Watt Stadium at Palm Springs High School.

"I was real confident," Palm Springs head coach DarrylGoree said of the overtime, which was forced by two late touchdowns by Xavier Prep. "I was confident going into the fourth quarter. I was confident coming out for the second half."

The overtime victory moved Palm Springs to 2-2 in the DEL (3-6 overall) and into a tie for second place with Xavier Prep (2-2, 6-2). Those two teams along with La Quinta enter next week's regular-season finale tied for second place with CIF-Southern Section playoff berths on the line.

As delighted as Palm Springs was with the win, that's how disappointed Xavier Prep was with the team's second loss in two weeks.

More: CIF football playoff pictures will become much more clear for valley teams after Friday

"We have an opportunity to keep our season alive," Xavier Prep head coach James Dockery said. "Shoutout to Palm Springs. They are a physical team. We know they are better than their record. They are a great team, a great home field advantage. We didn't play clean, we didn't start fast."

Neither team played particularly well in the game, with Palm Springs holding just a 7-0 lead at the end of three quarters on a 6-yard pass from Bishop Miller to Koa Rapolla. But Palm Springs controlled the game with a grinding rushing attack and went up 14-0 with just 7:22 to play on a 7-yard run by Isaac Hernandez.

Xavier Prep then came alive, thanks to a 64-yard kickoff return by T.J. Bosley that produced a three-play scoring drive capped by Joseph Berry's 1-yard plunge.

After Palm Springs was forced to punt, Xavier Prep went 66 yards in seven plays, aided by a defensive personal foul call. Austin McDanel went the last 15 yards for a touchdown with just 16 seconds left in regulation.

Palm Springs took the ball first in overtime and went the 25 yards in seven plays, with Miller scoring on a quarterback sneak. Xavier Prep managed one first down in its possession, but on fourth-and-6 from the 8, Berry tired to find Braden Cervello in the end zone only to have Johnson intercept the pass to end the game.

The moment

Xavier Prep was down 14-0 when Palm Springs kicked off to the 13, Bosley took the ball on the left side of the field, broke two tackles and looked like he might race to the end zone. Instead, he was tackled at the Palm Spring 23, but the return put life into the Saints for the first time all night.

The stars

Johnson finished with 132 yards on 23 carries while also getting the key interception. Hernandez added to the Palm Springs ground game with 83 yards on 16 carries and the one touchdown. Miller threw for one touchdown and scored one on the ground. For Xavier Prep, Cervello picked off two passes, one in the end zone and one on the 1-yard line, to keep Xavier Prep in the game in the first half.

The chatter

Johnson said running the ball inside was the game plan for the Indians.

"We study film a lot and we could tell they are kind of a passive team," Johnson said. "They have some hitters over there, like Jesus Pazos. But we knew we wanted to play smash-mouth football against them."

Goree said Palm Springs' 36-30 win over Shadow Hills might have helped Palm Springs against Xavier Prep's powerful passing game.

"We struggled really guarding the pass last week against Shadow," Goree said. "So that's all we really worked on this week, just in case (Xavier) came out just throwing it."

For Dockery, the back-to-back losses will forces some self-examination, he said.

"We've played good opponents all year," Dockery said. "I have to do a better job of getting my team prepared. Obviously, we are a good to great program, and we get everybody's best shot. We need to be used to that, because we aren't going anywhere."

The takeaway

For Palm Springs, the victory added life to a season that has seen the team play better than its 3-6 record. At 2-2 in the DEL, a win in the season finale would put the team in the CIF playoffs. While Palm Springs won, it still struggled to score points, but it controlled the game for three and a half quarters with a punishing ground attack.

For Xavier Prep, what seemed like a waltz to the playoffs now could hinge on their final home game of the year against Rancho Mirage, who has clinched the league title outright at 4-0. The Saints struggled passing the ball Friday, and their offensive line will need to play better to get the passing game back on track.

What's next

Palm Springs will finish its league season Friday at Palm Desert. Just down Cook Street, Xavier Prep will face Rancho Mirage at home in perhaps the biggest game of the DEL season.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs gets defensive stop in thrilling OT win over Xavier Prep