Football Game Preview: Desert Oasis Diamondbacks vs. Palo Verde Panthers

Desert Oasis and Palo Verde are an even 3-3 against one another since December of 2022, but not for long. The Desert Oasis Diamondbacks will take on the Palo Verde Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Desert Oasis sitting on 13 straight wins and Palo Verde on 14.

Desert Oasis will head into Thursday's contest having proved themselves against Southeast Career Tech: Desert Oasis took a 42-point loss the last time they faced off against Southeast Career Tech, but this time they managed to keep it close and that made all the difference. Desert Oasis sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 26-24 victory over Southeast Career Tech on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Diamondbacks have posted since January 9, 2024.

Meanwhile, while Palo Verde put up plenty of points on Thursday, the same can't be said for Del Sol. Palo Verde simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Del Sol 35-0. Considering the Panthers have won nine games by more than 19 points this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

A big part of Palo Verde's victory came down to the chemistry between Yolana Huff and her top target Alexis Manzo. Huff threw for 246 yards and five touchdowns while completing 80.8% of her passes while Manzo picked up 79 receiving yards and three touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Huff a new career-high in passer rating (148.4).

Desert Oasis' win was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-2. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 28.1 points. As for Palo Verde, their victory bumped their record up to 19-1.

Everything came up roses for Desert Oasis against Palo Verde when the teams last played back in December of 2024, as the squad secured a 33-6 win. Will Desert Oasis repeat their success, or does Palo Verde have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.