Panthers get physical in second half to down Spartans

Palo Verde coach Darwin Rost emphasized one word to his players at halftime Friday night: Physical.

The Panthers listened, and turned their slim seven-point halftime lead into a 28-6 advantage less than four minutes into the third quarter. Palo Verde never looked back as it went on to rout visiting Cimarron-Memorial, 42-12, in the opening round of the Sunset Region playoffs.

“I just told them that if you’re going to get in the playoffs, you have to play physical and that’s what I think they did in the second half,” Rost said. “I thought we stepped up and played a little more physical than we did in the first half.”

Palo Verde used 10 rushers to run for 432 yards, and outgained Cimarron 462-234 in the game. The Panthers had 183 yards in the first half, while the Spartans managed a mere 97.

Palo Verde didn’t get its first score until the final play of the first quarter, when junior Aaron Chisolm took a carry 92 yards down the Panthers’ sideline. Placekicker Aaron Mack’s extra point gave Palo Verde a 7-0 lead.

After the teams punted on each of their next possessions, the Spartans cut into Palo Verde’s lead when quarterback Derek Morefield hit Maurice Bennett in the corner of the end zone on a 6-yard TD strike with just over two minutes left in the half.

But the Panthers drove the field and scored again as time expired. Logan Hutchison found Isaac Woods in the back of the end zone for a 9-yard TD reception to make it 13-6 at halftime.

Jaren Campbell led the charge for Palo Verde, as he ran for 173 yards on 13 carries, including three touchdown runs. Chisolm finished with 112 yards on 11 carries.

Cimarron was led by Morefield, who completed 7 of 21 passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 22 yards on five carries. Bennett ran for 43 yards on 10 carries and had three catches for 25 yards and a score for the Spartans (4-6).

“They’ve got some good looking kids over there, they really do, and they battled,” Rost said. “It’s the playoffs, everybody is 0-0 and you’ve got to play four quarters. And it was one of those things where we just had to keep playing hard, and play physical and it would work itself out.”

Palo Verde (7-3) travels to Arbor View (10-0) next Friday for a region semifinal.