Hope springs eternal in the new-look Sun Valley League.
It's a four-team league in which none of the combatants made the postseason in 2025 or 2024 or 2023. This year two of them will. That's a pretty exciting prospect for Cathedral City, Desert Mirage, Indio and Twentynine Palms.
These are schools with pretty long postseason droughts and whoever finishes first and second in the four-team league will see that drought come to an end.
But which team is going to grab one of those coveted top two spots? It's difficult to tell as each team has some talented players on the roster, but also has some question marks that will need to be answered.
Let's take a closer look at the teams of the Sun Valley League.
Indio Rajahs
Head coach: James Dockery (first year at Indio)
2025 record: (1-9, 0-3 DVL)
Key returners: Damian Durinzi, Aiden Hernandez, Moyses Aguilar, Adam Tremper, Roman Rodriguez, Jerry Apodaca
Offense: Coach Dockery may be new to the Rajahs' offense, but he'll have some returning players to lean on as he implements his system. Look for Aiden Hernandez at the quarterback spot. Hernandez finished last year as the Rajahs' quarterback as a sophomore and now he's back as a bigger, stronger junior armed with in-game experience.
And he'll have some nice pieces around him, led by speedy receiver Damian Durinzi, the only Sun Valley League player to make The Desert Sun's Elite 11. Dockery will find as many ways as possible to get Durinzi the ball including the kick return game. He's paired with another talented ball-catcher in Moyses Aguilar giving Hernandez some options.
The Rajahs also have a stable of running backs that they have confidence in led by Adam Tremper who is a tough runner that can also catch the ball out of the backfield. Look for Jerry Apodaca and Cam Bronson to carry the ball, too.
Defense: You'll see guys like Durinzi at defensive back playing both ways, but Dockery said there is some quality depth on the squad, so even there will be several key guys playing both ways as starters, they won't have to play every single play of the game as he has multiple guys he'd be confident in putting out there so the starters don't wear down.
Roman Rodriguez at middle linebacker is a returning stalwart that the Indio coaches can rely on to anchor that side of the ball.
Remember the name: Jerry Apodaca — What Dockery likes most abut this versatile running back and linebacker is that he's "Blue all the way through." Which is a poetic way to say he has a lot of pride in being a Rajah and wants so badly to have success in an Indio uniform. It means something to him and he plays hard because of that.
Desert Mirage Rams
Coach: Jesus Felipe (Fifth year with Rams)
2025 record: 3-7, 0-3 Sun Valley
Key returners: Alonso Hernandez, Carlos Garcia, Oscar Ulloa, Frank De La Rosa
Offense: The second anyone mentions the Desert Mirage football team this year, they immediately say the same thing "You know they've got a great offensive line coming back." And that's valuable for any team, but especially the Rams, who lean about as heavily on the running game as any team in the Southern Section. Some statistical evidence? Last year, in 479 plays from scrimmage the Rams ran 441 run plays and 38 passes.
Carlos Garcia, Oscar Ulloa and Frank De La Rosa are all part of the big and experienced line. The Rams had two 1,000-yard rushers last year, but both were seniors. Look for Alonso Hernandez who is the speedier back and Ivan Pesqueda, the fullback to be the beneficiaries of that talented line this year.
Defense: Always a key for the Rams, who can usually put some points on the board, will be can they stop the other team? Last year they yielded 35 points or more in six of their 10 games. Look for this year's group, again anchored by those veteran linemen also in the defensive trenches, to be stingier. Coach Jesus Felipe said he likes what he sees just in a general toughness being shown in practice that hasn't always been there.
"It's a tough, physical group, majority of starters returning and the boys are really buying in," Felipe said. "They are competing hard in practices so I'm excited to see them in games."
Remember the name: Oscar Ulloa — He's the big man on campus in every sense. Listed at 315 pounds on the roster, Ulloa will anchor the trenches both ways for the Rams, but he's also counted on for his leadership and the senior has been named one of the team captains this year.
Cathedral City Lions
Coach: Richard Lee (16th season with Lions)
2025 record: 4-6, 1-2 Sun Valley
Key returners: Trace Vargas, Nasir Marshall, Jayden Ely, Julian Nieves
Offense: It's no secret the Lions love to run the football and coach Lee has a pair of returning ball-carriers that he can rely on this year, led by returning All-League first-teamer Trace Vargas who rushed for over 900 yards last year. He'll be joined by junior Jayden Ely who emerged at the end of last year, giving the Lions a great one-two punch.
There are a pair of sophomores vying for the quarterback spot, both of whom played on the varsity team as freshman last year. Look for Angel Jacobo to start and Annias Eugene to be the backup QB, but Eugene will be on the field, too as a receiver option. Nasir Marshall, who was excellent last year primarily as a cornerback will play a much larger role on the offense this year as a receiver with big-play potential.
Defense: Teams are always looking for a disrupter on defense and coach Lee has two guys that he believes fit that bill. One is returning star Julian Nieves who is an athletic big man and will play on the defensive line. The other is Michael Loustanau who is back after taking a year off from football. Loustanau had a breakout freshman year for the Lions in 2024, but then did not play football in 2025. He's back and ready to be a problem for opposing defenses as sort of a hybrid linebacker/defensive lineman.
Name to remember: Nasir Marshall — The senior is ready to become a household name for the Lions. He has been on the varsity team since his freshman year and was a top-notch cornerback last season but will see a lager role as a receiver, too, in 2026. There won't be many plays in the course of the game where Marshall won't be on the field and his value extends to being a team leader on the sidelines as well.
Twentynine Palms Wildcats
Coach: Eric Tili (Fifth year with Wildcats)
2025 record: 4-6, 1-2 DVL
Key returners: Elijah Guerrero, Aaron Haney, Josh Reynoso
Offense: One of the tricky things for Twentynine Palms coach Eric Tili is that with the Wildcats being tied so closely with the military base, it's difficult to know which players will be back from year to year. But one returning player that has him excited is the talented young quarterback Josh Reynoso. Reynoso burst on the scene at the end of last year as a sophomore and is back in 2026 to show what he can do in a full season.
Tili said he's excited to put the pieces around Reynoso on the line and in the backfield but those competitions are still being worked out.
Defense: Aaron Haney and Elijah Guerrero will be receivers on the offensive side of the ball, but the senior duo will be counted on to anchor the backline of the defense as well from their safety spot. Mainstays with the team, their leadership role will be almost as valuable as their on-field play.
Name to remember: Josh Reynoso — Not a household name yet, but I think it's safe to Reynoso is the top returning QB in the Sun Valley League and one of the better signal callers in the desert. If he can not only up his own game, but also elevate those around him, the Wildcats could be a player in the SVL.
Sun Valley League schedule
- Oct. 16: Twentynine Palms at Cathedral City; Indio at Desert Mirage
- Oct. 23: Cathedral City at Indio; Desert Mirage at Twentynine Palms
- Oct. 29 (Thur.): Cathedral City at Desert Mirage
- Oct. 30: Indio at Twentynine Palms
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Sun Valley League preview: Two teams will end playoff droughts, but who?
