Well, the Desert Empire League football title race is officially over.
There won’t be a shared title this year. Not after La Quinta High School’s 34-0 win over Xavier Prep on Thursday.
In the win, the Blackhawks (5-4) officially clinched the DEL outright title — the school’s first since 2016.
La Quinta will enter next week’s Flag Game rivalry versus Palm Desert without the pressure of a league title being on the line. Still, Palm Desert won last year’s matchup 35-0, so there should be plenty of motivation from the Blackhawks.
The Saints will move onto next week’s game against Shadow Hills fighting for their postseason lives. Xavier Prep can clinch at worst a tie for second place in the league with a win. But could fall to fourth or even fifth in the league with a loss.
On Thursday, senior Gregory Mora ran for three first half touchdowns and James Madden Ruberg ran for two additional scores for La Quinta. Senior Caleb Hartwell intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.
Defensively, the shutout was a statement for the Blackhawks. They forced three turnovers in the game and sacked Xavier Prep quarterback Samuel Mourhess five times in the win. Senior Ryan Jones and junior Santiago Rodriguez-Garcia each recorded a pair of sacks.
La Quinta last won a league title in 2022, when the Blackhawks shared it with Palm Desert and Palm Springs. Prior to that, the last outright Blackhawks league title was that 2016 season, when La Quinta was led by star Benji Cordova and still in the Desert Valley League.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: La Quinta clinches outright DEL title, school's first since 2016
