Football Recap: Isaiah Gilliam and Jae'don O'keith Pace Rancho Verde Defense

Rancho Verde was the 34-12 winner over Paloma Valley when they last played one another back in October of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Mustangs fell 20-13 to the Wildcats on Thursday. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

When it comes to explaining why Rancho Verde lost, don't look at Jimmy Cruz. Despite the final result, he rushed for 178 yards and one TD while picking up 8.9 yards per carry. Cruz showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 56 yards.

Jae'Don O'Keith

Total Tackles

09/26/25 @ Tahquitz	2
08/28/25 vs Great Oak	3
09/05/25 vs Murrieta Mesa	3
08/22/25 @ Corona del Mar	4
09/12/25 vs San Jacinto	8

Rancho Verde didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Isaiah Gilliam and Jae'Don O'Keith. O'Keith also set a new season-high mark in total tackles with 11.

A big part of Paloma Valley's victory came down to the chemistry between Isaac Navarro and his top target Noah Davis. Navarro threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.2 yards per attempt while Davis picked up 162 receiving yards and a pair of scores. The dominant performance also gave Navarro a new career-high in rushing yards (56).

Rancho Verde's loss dropped their record down to 2-6. As for Paloma Valley, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-5.

We've got plenty of inter-league action coming up soon. Rancho Verde is set to challenge their familiar foe Liberty at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Paloma Valley will square off against rival Vista del Lago at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Orlando Gonzalez and Josiah Dupree-Boyd.