Defensive line carries Palo Verde to victory

Palo Verde's defensive line had one word in mind Friday.

Attack.

The Panthers line relentlessly pressured Western quarterback J.D. Buonantony and turned a Sunset Region semifinal into a clinic.

Palo Verde sacked Buonantony seven times, hurried passes 13 other times and got in a few extra licks in a 52-12 trouncing of the Warriors at Palo Verde.

The Panthers (12-0) will meet Bishop Gorman next Saturday in the regional final.

"We sent six guys every single play, and we just fired off the ball," Panthers senior defensive end Ethan Drellack said. "We studied a lot of film. We wanted to get pressure on them."

The Warriors (8-3) trailed 34-0 before getting into any sort of offensive rhythm.

Buonantony, who threw for 305 yards and six touchdowns in a regional quarterfinal against Mojave, had little time to even set up, let alone throw a pass.

"They were just so much more physical," Western coach Brian Murray said. "It's obvious they've spent a lot of time in the weight room."

Adding to the Warriors' woes was the loss of star running back Reggie Bullock, who was not at the game.

Bullock rushed for 1,356 yards and 12 touchdowns in Western's first 10 games. Murray declined comment on the reason for Bullock's absence but said he didn't learn of it until earlier Friday.

Palo Verde's defensive pressure helped set the Panthers offense up for scoring drives of 7, 32, 11 and 15 yards.

"The (defensive) line did just an outstanding job," Panthers coach Darwin Rost said. "We didn't change our game plan at all.

"We felt we had to get some pressure on (Buonantony) before he released. He's a really great quarterback and has a talented crew to throw to."

The Panthers registered only two first downs in the first half yet led 21-0 at halftime on two scoring runs by Chaz Thomas and one by Sidney Hodge.

Torin Harris returned the second-half kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give Palo Verde a 28-0 lead.

Tyrone Blake's 2-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter put the Panthers up 34-0.

Western responded with a nine-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard TD run by Buonantony.

Touchdown runs by Blake and Saalim Hakim bumped the lead to 46-6 midway through the fourth quarter.

The Warriors then went 80 yards, all on Buonantony passes, on their best drive of the night. Ryan Patterson hauled in a 7-yard pass for a touchdown.

Hakim completed the scoring with a 33-yard run.

The Panthers, who entered the game having thrown only 37 passes all year, didn't attempt one. Palo Verde rushed 45 times for 241 yards.

"Our number-one goal is to get better each week, so I'd hope we played better than we did a week ago," Rost said.

Buonantony completed 13 of 38 passes for 212 yards, with Phillip Payne catching seven balls for 155 yards.

Without Bullock, the Warriors rushed for 34 yards.