The Palo Verde Panthers will face off against the Green Valley Gators at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Palo Verde is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They came up short against Shadow Ridge on Friday, falling 49-28. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 28-7.
Even though they lost, Palo Verde was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 211 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
Meanwhile, Green Valley faced Legacy in a battle between two of the state's top teams last Friday. Green Valley skirted past Legacy 38-35. The contest marked the Gators' most dominant victory of the season so far.
Green Valley found their leader in underclassman Michael Lewis, who threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 passes.
Green Valley's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Esteban Martinez and John Mancuso.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Green Valley, racking up 12 points in total. All came courtesy of Dax Arnold: he went 3-for-3 kicking field goals for nine points, and 3-for-3 again kicking extra points for an additional three.
Palo Verde's loss was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 1-4. As for Green Valley, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-1.
The upcoming match will be a clash of competing strengths. Palo Verde has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 156.6 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Green Valley has preferred to attack from the air: they average 280 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Palo Verde barely slipped by Green Valley in their previous matchup back in September of 2021, winning 21-20. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Green Valley's Jaylen Mcknight, who rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Palo Verde to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
