Week 8 football picks: We're split on two of the three DEL matchups this week
If you thought last week featured some good high school football games, wait until you take a look at this week's schedule.
Coachella Valley travels to Yucca Valley for a rematch of last year's de facto Desert Valley League title game. Xavier Prep and Palm Desert match up in the Kings of Cook Street rivalry. Palm Springs travels to La Quinta for the Mike Gates Game. Shadow Hills and Rancho Mirage will mix it up in a game that could have postseason implications for both teams.
Welcome to Week 8 of the high school football season in the Coachella Valley.
While sports reporter Andrew John and sports columnist Shad Powers agree on all of the DVL matchups, they disagree on the outcome of two of the three Desert Empire League games. Last week, Andrew was 6-3 on his picks and Shad was just 4-5, whiffing on all three DEL games. The Cal Preps computer algorithm was 6-3.
For the season, Andrew is 49-21 and Shad is 50-20.
Here's who they like this week:
Andrew's picks
Thursday
Desert Hot Springs 42, Banning 0
Friday
Cathedral City 28, Desert Mirage 7
Coachella Valley 35, Yucca Valley 28
Indio 20, Twentynine Palms 0
Rancho Mirage 21, Shadow Hills 20
La Quinta 24, Palm Springs 21
Xavier Prep 28, Palm Desert 14
Santa Rosa Academy 35, Desert Christian Academy 13
Andrew's Game of the Week
La Quinta vs. Palm Springs. While I'll be following updates of Rancho Mirage/Shadow Hills with a lot of intrigue, I think the Mike Gates Game is particularly interesting this year because the team that loses falls to 0-2 in league and behind the 8-ball in terms of making the playoffs. That's unusual for either of these two schools, who are the only two from the valley to win CIF titles in football over the last 30 years.
I like the collective talent of Palm Springs in this matchup, but I'm picking La Quinta by a small margin because the Blackhawks have a great home field advantage, and I think the home crowd will help push La Quinta over the top.
Shad's picks
Thursday
Desert Hot Springs 49, Banning 7
Friday
Cathedral City 36, Desert Mirage 14
Coachella Valley 39, Yucca Valley 30
Indio 16, Twentynine Palms 0
Shadow Hills 20, Rancho Mirage 16
Palm Springs 27, La Quinta 23
Xavier Prep 24, Palm Desert 14
Santa Rosa Academy 54, Desert Christian Academy 7
Shad's game of the week
Shadow Hills vs. Rancho Mirage. Making picks is sort of a no-win situation in that coaches are quietly offended when you don’t pick them and at the same time loudly love it when you don’t pick them. I have to pick three DEL teams to win (sorry coaches) and three to lose (you’re welcome coaches) each week, but after going 0-3 in the three DEL games last week, I think coaches are now just confused whether or not to be offended by or thankful for my endorsement.
I was impressed with Rancho Mirage’s passing game with talented receivers and an emerging quarterback, but I still like the Knights’ defense and pass rush, too. This week Shadow Hills cashes in its trips to the red zone and pulls out a narrow win. You’re welcome, Coach Matthews. Sorry, Coach Palmer.
Cal Preps picks
Desert Hot Springs 35, Banning 3
Cathedral City 21, Desert Mirage 7
Coachella Valley 42, Yucca Valley 35
Indio 40, Twentynine Palms 8
Rancho Mirage 22, Shadow Hills 19
Palm Springs 21, La Quinta 20
Xavier Prep 31, Palm Desert 13
Santa Rosa Academy 42, Desert Christian Academy 7
Andrew John covers sports in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsuncom.
Shad Powers is a sports and entertainment columnist at The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at shad.power@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: High school football picks: We're split on two of the three DEL games
