Palo Verde breezes, faces Gorman next

Palo Verde has devoted so much anticipation to playing Bishop Gorman in the Sunset Region semifinals that a quarterfinal letdown was a valid concern Friday night.

A dominant first quarter wiped out those fears.

The third-ranked Panthers (10-1) breezed to a 48-7 home victory over No. 9 Desert Oasis in the teams' Sunset playoff opener, taking control with a 187-10 yardage edge in the first quarter.

"We haven't been a first-half team all year, but we had to get it straight today. This is the playoffs. There's no time to play games," said Brandon Wright, who rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns. "I think the right word is execution. We executed on both sides of the ball."

Tyrone Blake scored three touchdowns, helping to set up Palo Verde's awaited semifinal showdown at Bishop Gorman next Friday.

"All year long we wanted a shot at Gorman and now we've got them," head coach Darwin Rost said. "They're a really good ball club, but we're ready. It should be a great football game."

Wright said, "We'll be ready and we know they'll be ready. It's going to be the game of the year."

With Gorman looming, Rost made sure to warn his team about taking Desert Oasis (7-3) lightly. The Panthers got the message, leading 31-0 at halftime despite missing two extra points and two 2-point conversion attempts.

"All the makings of an upset -- that's what I told the kids. I thought they came out really well," Rost said.

Palo Verde parlayed its first-quarter yardage edge into a 13-0 lead on touchdown runs of 44 yards by Wright and 21 by Blake. Wright and Chappell Thomas added second-quarter TD runs and Blake caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Sean Mears. Blake added a 43-yard punt return TD in the third.

Courtney Robinson ran for 101 yards on two carries, including an 86-yard TD run on which he escaped a pile, ran all the way across the field and then back before sprinting down the sideline. Thomas rushed for 94 yards and Blake 65.

Desert Oasis was held to 59 yards in the first half and finished with 24 yards rushing.

Diamondbacks quarterback Brennen Stott completed 20 of 34 attempts for 140 yards with two interceptions. Colin Maestas had nine catches for 91 yards.

Desert Oasis broke up the shutout with 3:03 to play on Roycen Shepherd's 2-yard run.

• Bishop Gorman 56, Cheyenne 15 -- At Gorman, the Gaels (11-0) scored 28 points in the final four minutes of the first half to defeat the Desert Shields (5-6) in a Sunset Region quarterfinal.

Bishop Gorman hosts Palo Verde in the Sunset semifinals next Friday.

"Next week is going to be big, because everyone in this community looks to the Palo Verde game each year. It should be a heck of a game," Gorman coach Tony Sanchez said.

Shaquille Powell, who rushed for 21 TDs in the regular season, ignited the uprising by throwing a 29-yard pass to quarterback Jarrett Solomon. One play later Soloman ran in from the 1 to give Gorman a 14-7 lead.

A Taylor Spencer interception led to a 3-yard touchdown run by Alex Turner, and the Gaels added two other quick scores -- a 13-yard run from Victor Belen and a 43-yard punt return by Johnathan Loyd.

-- Sam Leeper

• Cimarron-Memorial 59, Durango 20 -- At Durango, James Poole, Stephen Nixon and Zach Barbara each rushed for at least 100 yards as the No. 5 Spartans (8-2) ousted the Trailblazers (8-3) in the Sunset quarterfinals.

Barbara, a fullback, had 138 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries.

"I just wait for my opportunities," he said. "The defense focuses on (Poole and Nixon) and I just take advantage of the holes our linemen create."

Poole led all rushers with 224 yards on 16 carries, including touchdowns of 50, 75, 2 and 47 yards. Nixon gained 105 yards, including a 52-yard TD.

Julio Mora rushed for 134 yards, including a 1-yard TD.

-- Kevin Klein

• The Meadows 36, Needles (Calif.) 33 -- At The Meadows, Dylan Lee kicked an 18-yard field goal in the second overtime period lift The Meadows (9-1) over visiting Needles (5-6) in the Class 2A Southern League playoffs.

The Meadows led 20-0 in the first quarter before Needles rallied to tie the game at 27 at the end of regulation.

Garrett Gosse passed for 245 yards and three TDs for The Meadows. Gosse had a 38-yard TD pass to Austin Brown and a 26-yard scoring strike to Lee in the first quarter to help The Meadows take a 20-0 lead.

David Liu added a 3-yard TD run in the quarter. He also scored on a 4-yard run in the first overtime. Brown and Lee each had 105 yards receiving.

Junior Andrew Mathews led Needles with four TD passes including three to Bobby Stahel.

-- Vincent Hernandez