Palo Verde hasn't had much luck against Bishop Gorman recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Panthers will square off against the Gaels at 7:00 p.m. Palo Verde will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last.
It was a proper cat-fight when Palo Verde challenged Somerset Academy Losee on Friday. The Panthers came out on top against the Lions by a score of 35-28. The Panthers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Stockton Baird
| 09/26/25 vs Somerset Academy Losee | 4 |
| 09/19/25 @ Legacy | 3 |
| 08/15/25 vs Las Vegas | 3 |
| 09/12/25 @ Basic | 1 |
| 09/05/25 @ Green Valley | 1 |
| + 1 more games |
A big part of Palo Verde's victory came down to the chemistry between Stockton Baird and his top target X'Zavier McZeal. Baird threw for 160 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 passes while McZeal picked up 78 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Baird is becoming a predictor of Palo Verde's success: when he posts at least three passing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
Meanwhile, Bishop Gorman is ranked highly in their home state and on Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Santa Margarita. The Gaels enjoyed a cozy 14-0 win over the Eagles. Those 14 points were actually the fewest the Gaels have put up all season, but given the result they're probably not too concerned.
Bishop Gorman's victory was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-1. The road wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they've averaged 42.2 points this season. As for Palo Verde, the victory got them back to even at 3-3.
Palo Verde took a serious blow against Bishop Gorman in their previous meeting back in October of 2022, falling 70-0. Thankfully for the Panthers, Micah Alejado (who threw for 190 yards and six TDs on only ten passes, and also rushed for 36 yards) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
