Palm Desert High School beat Rancho Mirage on the final play of the game on Friday and La Quinta and Desert Christian Academy each beat teams convincingly. So, which team falls into the top spot in our weekly power rankings?
We have your answer below, but really, this is a topic that Coachella Valley high school football fans can have on their own, too. There's no right answer because all three teams have been impressive, particularly last week.
Then there's Rancho Mirage, a team that hung with and even held a lead over Palm Desert late. The Rattlers are probably better than even we are given them credit for in these rankings.
Let's dive right in and recap where each of the 14 local teams fall in our latest version of the high school foorball power
rankings.
1. Palm Desert
Figuring out this spot was tougher than you might imagine. The Aztecs (4-2) defeated Rancho Mirage, 20-19, last Friday in a dramatic comeback win on a last-second field goal. It was an impressive win that showcased some solid offense, defense and special teams play. But it also wasn't a dominant win, and while it's a quality win over a good opponent, there's a chance that La Quinta's win may have been even more impressive.
2. La Quinta
These are the two teams, La Quinta (2-4) and Palm Desert, that have been at the top for pretty much the entire season and with both winning last Friday that doesn't change this week. The Blackhawks rolled, 42-6, over Shadow Hills, and while we believe Palm Desert beat the better opponent, La Quinta's dominance cannot be ignored.
It really does feel like a bit of a toss-up for the top spot. MaxPreps ranks Palm Desert 360 in California and La Quinta 367, for what it's worth.
3. Desert Christian Academy
It's fair to wonder if or even suggest that the Conquerors (6-0) should be higher here, particularly after another blowout win on Friday. The 41-7 win over a solid Ontario Christian squad should raise some eyebrows. Could DCA be the best team in the valley? There will be some arguments over that, for sure.
MaxPreps rates DCA 153 in California, which is higher than Palm Desert and La Quinta, but the Conquerors also haven't played an equally tough schedule. So, for us, that's the difference.
4. Rancho Mirage
Well, the Rattlers (4-2) were really close to also having a claim for the top spot. Had they held on to beat Palm Desert, it would've been a real statement to the rest of the Desert Empire League. Even in the loss, it still was a bit of a statement that Rancho Mirage hung with Palm Desert until the very end. It appears to be clear that Palm Desert, La Quinta and Rancho Mirage are the top three teams in the DEL. We'll see if that holds true through the rest of the season.
5. Desert Hot Springs
If the Golden Eagles (5-2) barely lost to Rancho Mirage, and Rancho Mirage hung with Palm Desert until the very end, then that reflects pretty well on Desert Hot Springs, right? We believe that it should. The Golden Eagles have allowed just 12.7 points per game this season and the offense has looked explosive at times. They'll be off this week, but should return to the field Oct. 16 as the favorite, at least in our opinion, to win the Desert Valley League.
6. Yucca Valley
What's interesting is that the Trojans (3-4) opened the season with four consecutive losses and we sort of assumed that that they were toast. Now? Well, a three game win streak will change some opinions. Yucca Valley has outscored opponents 152-17 over the last three games and the losses were against Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, Colton and Desert Christian Academy. Those are four really good teams.
7. Xavier Prep
The Saints (2-4) lost to Yucca Valley but beat Palm Springs, 14-13, last week. So, this spot feels right. Outside of a 68-0 win over Cathedral City, the Saints have scored just 11.2 points per game against five other opponents. Defensively, Xavier Prep has been fairly solid, but the addition of transfer quarterback Samuel Mourhess should help the offense.
8. Palm Springs
The Indians played well on defense on Friday, after allowing 50+ points in back-to-back games. Had the Palm Springs offense played as well, the Indians would be 1-0 in the DEL. As it stands, that loss could be devastating for the Indians as they attempt to finish in the top three in the league and secure an automatic postseason berth.
9. Coachella Valley
The Arabs (2-4) are now on a two-game win streak following wins over Indio and Southwest. So, they're definitely trending in the right direction. Coachella Valley's defense, in particular, has been quite impressive in allowing just 14 points combined over the last two games. But the 49 points the Arabs scored in those two games is also a good sign that Coachella Valley has figured some things out and has a balanced team that can win with offense or defense.
10. Desert Mirage
We're very intrigued with what the Rams (5-1) are doing this season. Not only are they 5-1 for the first time in school history, they look like they could be a playoff team and perhaps even win a league title this season. That's largely because of their defense, allowing just 13.7 points per game, and because of an enormous offensive line that might be the biggest and deepest in the valley. But we're not putting Desert Mirage higher at this point because, like with some other teams, the schedule hasn't been very difficult.
11. Shadow Hills
The Knights are just 1-5 this season and a tough schedule is only part of the season why. First, yes, they played a tough non-league schedule and opened DEL play with La Quinta, so that's rough. But consider that Shadow Hills Hills scoring just 9.8 points per game this season and it explains why we're not overly optimistic, at this point.
12. Indio
The Rajahs fell to 3-4 this season with a loss to Desert Hot Springs on Friday. There's still a lot to like about this squad, and Indio will absolutely be considered a favorite in the DVL, back-to-back losses to Coachella Valley and Desert Hot Springs have put Indio on its heels a bit as we move closer to the league slate.
13. Twentynine Palms
Coming off a bye week, the Wildcats (2-4) will face Banning this week before staring play in the SVL. Twentynine Palms can score a bit, but the Wildcats are allowing 46.7 points per game and fixing that will be critical to keeping alive any hopes of earning a postseason berth.
14. Cathedral City
The Lions (1-6) are coming off a loss to Yucca Valley on Friday and will be off this week ahead of the SVL slate. Cathedral City will face Twentynine Palms, Indio and then Desert Mirage to finish out the regular season. If they win two of those and finish in the top two in the league, they'll automatically qualify for the CIF playoffs.
Andrew John covers sports and recreation in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert remains on top in our Week 8 high school football rankings
