Xavier Prep hasn't had much luck against Palm Desert recently, but that could start to change on Friday. After each having a week off, the two teams will shake off the rust and duke it out at 7:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Last Friday, Xavier Prep strolled past Yucca Valley with points to spare, taking the game 35-21. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Saints.
Xavier Prep's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Kingston Pellum, who threw for 220 yards and a pair of TDs on only 13 passes, and Ayden Ruiz, who picked up 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Ruiz really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 86 yards.
Xavier Prep didn't let much get past them through the air: they limited Yucca Valley to a completion percentage of just 46.2%. The team can thank Lashon Taylor for the heroic effort on defense: he. Xavier Prep wasn't nearly as limited: they posted one of 61.5%.
Xavier Prep's defense didn't let Aiden Shannon, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Jacob Vann and Jovan Taylor, who racked up five sacks between them. Xavier Prep got some further help from Luke Vermillion: he forced one fumble and made nine total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Palm Desert). They took down Redlands 50-35 last Friday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest win of the season.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Alfred 'AJ' Rivera Jr. and Anthony Fraire. Rivera Jr. had a great game and rushed for 200 yards and one score while picking up 12.5 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Fraire was balling out in the loss, throwing for 488 yards and five TDs while picking up 14.8 yards per attempt.
Xavier Prep's victory bumped their record up to 4-1. As for Palm Desert, they now have a winning record of 3-2.
| Passing Yards | 484 |
| Passing Touchdowns | 6 |
| Passer Rating | 95.5 |
| Rushing Yards | 369 |
| Rushing Touchdowns | 9 |
Friday's matchup will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Pellum and Rivera Jr. Pellum just won't slow down this season and has thrown 6 touchdowns while averaging 96.8 passing yards per game. Rivera Jr. has been a dominant force too and has thrown 12 touchdowns (and and only 2 picks) while averaging 178.8 passing yards per game.
Xavier Prep might still be hurting after the 24-0 defeat they got from Palm Desert in their previous matchup back in October of 2024. Will the Saints have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other football content.
