Palo Verde shuts out Centennial

Only one obstacle stood in the way of Palo Verde reaching a matchup it has desired since it was eliminated in last season's playoffs.

Jonathan Maxwell and a stout defense made sure the Panthers' last hurdle was cleared with ease, setting up a Sunset Region championship game at home against Bishop Gorman on Nov. 27 with a berth in the state title game on the line.

Maxwell ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns as unbeaten Palo Verde cruised to a 30-0 home victory over Centennial on Friday night in the semifinals.

"Coach (Darwin Rost) told us to just take one game at a time, and that's what we did," said Maxwell, who had 18 carries and scored on runs of 1, 10 and 11 yards. "We did what we had to do."

After ousting the Bulldogs (8-4), the Panthers (12-0) finally can turn their attention to the game they have been waiting for since being eliminated by the Gaels 38-28 last postseason.

"We're really focused. We've been waiting for this for a long time, but we've been taking it one game at a time. To finally get out there and do this, it's about that time," said Brandon Wright, Palo Verde's leading rusher, who was held to 51 yards on Friday. "(Gorman is) a great team, but we're a great team, too.

"So we're just going to go out there and fight hard to get the 'W' because we want to win state."

A swarming Centennial defense held Wright and the rest of the Panthers' offense somewhat in check in the first quarter. Palo Verde's defense was equal to the challenge, however, and the offense kept pounding the ball until it found success.

"Put it this way, we're going to line up and smack you in the mouth, and if you can't take it, you can't take it," Wright said of his team's philosophy. "If you can take it, we're just going to keep smacking you, and that's the way it's going to go."

Maxwell's first score, the 1-yarder, put Palo Verde up 10-0 early in the second quarter. But Centennial answered with its best drive of the night.

Cody Clark completed three consecutive passes to set up a first-and-goal at the Palo Verde 10 before linebacker Demetrius Ballard intercepted him.

"The big turnover was definitely when we got that interception down there," Rost said. "We didn't score off of it, but they didn't go in and score there, and that was huge."

Clark completed just one pass the rest of the way, and the Bulldogs never threatened to score again.

Centennial managed 147 total yards, only 41 after halftime.

Wright, who scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter, entered the game with 1,448 yards and 23 touchdowns on the year. He was thrilled watching Maxwell take over the spotlight for one night.

"Everybody's just thinking, to beat Palo Verde, all you've got to do is stop Brandon Wright. People don't know. Jonathan is an X-factor," Wright said. "If I'm not getting off or doing what I can do, Jonathan, (Ryan) Beaulieu, (Donald) Anderson, all of us are X-factors. We've got wrinkles. We can sprinkle them all in there."

Rost said he thought the team did a good job of staying focused despite all the attention of the potential matchup of unbeatens looming next week.

Now, the Panthers have the game they want.

"You can count on one hand the number of games we've lost since these kids have been in our school, and you've got to realize two of those losses have been to Bishop Gorman," Rost said. "The kids are ready."

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.