Until last week, it was unclear if Desert Chapel would have a football season in 2026, and the uncertainty of the weeks-long situation has affected more than just the coaches and players within the program.
It's affected players at Xavier Prep, Palm Springs and Shadow Hills high schools, too.
Desert Chapel announced on Aug. 21 that the school would move from 11-man football back to 8-man football, where it had played until 2023. With a roster mostly of freshmen, the school said that it was in the process of trying to put together a 6-game 8-man schedule, which is the minimum number of games required to qualify for a CIF Southern Section postseason berth.
As of Monday, the school will now have some semblance of a season as three games have been
scheduled, according to interim head coach Scott Alvarez: Oct. 3 against San Jacinto Leadership Academy; Oct. 16 at St. Joseph Academy in San Marcos; and Oct. 23 at Calvary Baptist in La Verne.
“We’re excited about freshman Matthew Long stepping in as our starting quarterback,” Alvarez said in a message to The Desert Sun. “Our focus is on developing Matthew and the rest of the players who are committed to Desert Chapel as we prepare for the 2026 season.”
But it's unclear if the team will play more than the three games scheduled.
With the belief that Desert Chapel would not have a full 11-man schedule this season, some players transferred to other schools following the 2025-26 school year. Quarterback Samuel Mourhess, who threw 48 touchdown passes over the last two seasons, transferred to Xavier Prep. Jayvon Garcia transferred to Desert Christian Academy, Adan Porras and Chase Foster transferred to Palm Springs and Isaac Garcia Alvarez to Shadow Hills, according to the CIF-SS website that documents player transfers. Others transferred but are not expected to play football in 2026.
Garcia, a talented wide receiver, was granted immediate eligibility with Desert Christian Academy because of a valid change of residence, and he played in his new team's Week 1 win over Twentynine Palms.
Mourhess, Parras, Foster and Garcia Alvarez, however, have been sitting on the sidelines due to the CIF transfer ruling. CIF rules require transfers who do not have a valid change of address or hardship to sit out five games, making them eligible Sept. 28. If Desert Chapel had not had a season, each of them would likely have been granted immediate eligibility.
Instead, they're sitting while Desert Chapel put together a season by changing to 8-man and finding some October opponents.
While this situation affects more than Mourhess, he is the star player in the bunch and his absence in the Xavier Prep lineup has been noticeable. The Saints have scored just 13 points in two losses to start the season, with Mourhess on the sideline.
It’s a unique situation that is being watched closely by many in the Coachella Valley, and it’s something that has never been seen before during a season of high school football in the area. As it stands, while Desert Chapel puts together a season despite losing several transfers, those very same players have been in limbo, waiting to see what the Eagles do and what it could mean for their eligibility at their new school.
Since at least 2019, when the CIF-SS addressed a similar issue during a workshop, moving from an 11-man football program to an 8-man program does not constitute a "discontinued program," according to the CIF-SS. That rule puts players like the ones involved in this Desert Chapel scenario in a position where they had to either stay and risk not having a large enough team to play 11-man football, or transfer and face the consequences.
A CIF-SS assistant commissioner weighed in and added clarity to the situation in an email correspondence that was shared with The Desert Sun by one of the schools involved.
“(This) is why the discontinued-program hardship cannot be applied before a school officially cancels its season,” the assistant commissioner wrote. “Allowing students to transfer and receive immediate eligibility based on the possibility that a school may not field a team would contribute directly to the decimation of that program. If students were permitted to leave preemptively, those transfers could eliminate the school’s remaining ability to field a team, creating a self-fulfilling outcome.
The assistant commissioner continued.
“A school must be afforded a legitimate opportunity to preserve its program, recruit sufficient participants from its campus, and honor their scheduled games. In this instance, Desert Chapel going from 11-man to 8-man football does not constitute a discontinued program because both formats are recognized as the same sport for CIF eligibility purposes. Unless and until the school officially determines that it will not offer football, the discontinued-program hardship is not applicable.
“Presently, the school has represented that it intends to offer football and is taking steps to do so. The Section must evaluate the situation based on the documented facts.”
So for those who transferred, there really isn’t a great outcome to this entire ordeal. Either Desert Chapel does indeed have a season and the players’ sit-out period holds, or the Eagles are unable to fill out their schedule — but by the time that becomes evident the players will have already been forced to miss multiple games. It's been an unusual situation and difficult to navigate for everyone involved.
One bit of solace for the players who transferred and will all but certainly now be ineligible to play the first five weeks before returning Sept. 28 is that none of them should miss any league games. The league schedule for all desert teams begins Friday, Oct. 2 or later.
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: Players who transferred from Desert Chapel still in limbo, here's why
