Palo Verde continued its perfect season Friday night with a road win against Silverado. On an off night for the Panthers’ offense, the defense forced enough turnovers to pull out the 22-6 victory.
The win for Palo Verde (6-0) sets up a crucial home game next week against Basic with Division II East playoff implications.
“We are tied for first place with Basic. If we win, that would guarantee our seniors another home game in the Superintendents Cup,” Palo Verde coach Dru Smith said. “I’m excited for these guys.”
Palo Verde found its success by winning the turnover battle.
The biggest turnover came late in the first half when junior safety James Eliason picked off a Silverado pass in the end zone to keep the Panthers’ lead at 15-6 going into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Palo Verde extended its lead on its first drive as senior running back Darek Walker scored on a 7-yard touchdown run, putting the Panthers up 22-6.
Walker finished with 53 rushing yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown came in the second quarter when he scored from 3 yards out, then ran for a two-point conversion.
With not much going for its offense in the second half, Silverado (3-3) tossed two more interceptions late in the fourth quarter deep in Palo Verde’s end.
Sophomore Jayson Eliason secured the first pick of the quarter, and sophomore Brock Miller grabbed the second interception that ended the game with less than two minutes remaining.
While it was an off night for the offense, Palo Verde did have a couple of receivers who quietly put up big numbers.
Senior Beau Gardineer led the Panthers with 107 receiving yards, including a 45-yard catch-and-run that set up Palo Verde’s opening score.
That first touchdown was scored by junior X’zavier McZeal, who caught an 8-yard scoring pass from quarterback Cooper Roberts.
McZeal finished the game with three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. Cooper threw for 121 yards and a TD.
Silverado’s defense put up a good fight to keep Palo Verde’s offense mostly in check. Junior Roman Carrizales had two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Although it wasn’t their best performance this season, Smith said he is still proud of how the Panthers’ season has shaped up .
“6-0 is 6-0. We’re doing a good thing,” he said. “We’ve doubled our win total from last year, and we’re very proud of that fact.”
