RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Well, Week 1 of the high school football season in the Coachella Valley is now in the books. That means that it's time for the first edition of our weekly power rankings.
As we've done in the past, each week we'll drop our rankings of the 14 area teams based on the performances of the week and how we see them stacking up against each other.
There's no exact science behind this. If one team beats another head-to-head, it doesn't mean that they'll automatically be ahead of them for the rest of the season. This is simply our pulse on who we think are the best teams in the valley at the current moment . One team may beat another but three weeks from now they may not be the better of the two teams in our eyes.
With that said, let's dive right into how we're stacking teams after the first week of the season.
1. Palm Desert (1-0)
The Aztecs top the first power rankings of the season. While they weren’t dominant, they went on the road and beat Brawley team that is traditionally very good. The final score was 24-16. The 21-0 second half shutout was particularly impressive after Palm Desert trailed at halftime.
2. Rancho Mirage (1-0)
After finishing last in their league last season, the Rattlers took the first step on Friday to right that wrong. While the Rancho Mirage offense wasn’t spectacular, the defense intercepted three passes in the first half and two of them were near the end zone. So, I really like what I saw from that Rancho Mirage defense.
3. La Quinta (0-0)
The Blackhawks were off this week yet still fall into the No. 3 spot in these rankings, based solely on how good we think they’ll be this season. They open their season Friday by hosting Yucca Valley.
4. Desert Christian Academy (1-0)
This is the highest the Conquerors have ever been in these rankings, going back a few years since they joined the ranks of 11-man football. But Friday’s 58-6 win over Twentynine Palms stands out. As many teams struggled to work out the bugs of their offense, DCA rolled, even if is was against a team that has struggled in recent years.
5. Desert Hot Springs (1-0)
The 17-9 win over Tahquitz stands out for a couple reasons. First, going on the road and coming back from being down is impressive. Second, to do it against a school that is typically competitive and to show that kind of resiliency already in the first game of the season really showed us something.
6. Xavier Prep (0-1)
A 14-7 loss at Rim of the World is not at all alarming. The Fighting Scots are traditionally very tough and a road game up into the San Bernardino Mountains is never easy. But the showing also wasn’t enough to launch the Saints higher in these rankings. Seeing if the Saints can bounce back this week against Desert Hot Springs should be fun.
7. Coachella Valley (0-0)
Like La Quinta, Coachella Valley did not play during the first week. The Arabs will have the tough task of playing at Rancho Mirage on Friday. But we like the collective talent this group has returning.
8. Yucca Valley (0-1)
Friday’s 19-7 loss to Rancho Mirage rightfully drew some concerns. But it wasn’t a terrible showing, either. The Trojans really need to have better play on the offensive and defensive line and, frankly, they need to be able to more consistently get the ball to some special playmakers that they have.
9. Shadow Hills (0-1)
Perhaps the most stunning loss of the first week was Shadow Hills getting shut out at home. We knew that Esperanza was going to be a very tough opponent, but few could have envisioned a 24-0 loss at home. The Knights are better than that and we believe that they’ll show it very soon.
10. Palm Springs (0-1)
The 37-6 loss to Hemet on Thursday was the other really shocking loss among our desert teams. But was it really that shocking? Palm Springs is in full-on rebuilding mode after winning a league title last season and I think a lot of us expected that it will be a challenging year for Palm Springs football.
11. Indio (1-0)
Maybe Indio should be higher after a 53-6 win over San Bernardino. But one win isn’t going to rocket them up these rankings. It was a huge start to the season. Very impressive. Still, let’s wait and see if it continues.
12. Desert Mirage (1-0)
Maybe this is disrespectful to not have Desert Mirage higher, too. I get that perspective after a very nice 16-8 win over Duarte. Much respect to the Rams, but I’d like to see more before I jump fully on the wagon.
13. Cathedral City (0-1)
The Lions fell to Santa Rosa Academy, 21-6, to start the season and that prevents us from moving them much higher in these rankings. Cathedral City now faces the same San Bernardino team that Indio just dominated. So, maybe there's a big bounce-back game coming.
14. Twentynine Palms (0-1)
After a big loss to open the season, the Wildcats drop to the last spot here. But there’s a good bounce-back opportunity this week against Riverside Prep.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Football power rankings: How we rank the 14 local teams after Week 1
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