Palo Verde Valley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were dealt a 49-14 defeat at the hands of the Gila Ridge Hawks. While losing is never fun, the Yellow Jackets can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 781st in California, while the Hawks are ranked 178th in Arizona).
Despite the loss, Palo Verde Valley still got an impressive performance from Kenneth Salazar, who rushed for 194 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. With that strong performance, Salazar is now averaging an impressive 128.7 rushing yards per game.
Even though they lost, Palo Verde Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 246 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 154 rushing yards in 13 consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Steven Navas was nothing short of spectacular for Gila Ridge: he threw for 289 yards and six touchdowns. The dominant performance gave him a new career- in total yards. Kanai Hongo helped Navas out on the ground, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown on only eight carries.
Palo Verde Valley's loss dropped their record down to 0-3. As for Gila Ridge, the victory snapped their losing streak at seven games dating back to last season and leaves them with a 1-1 record.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Palo Verde Valley will challenge Coachella Valley at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Gila Ridge, they will head out to challenge Crismon at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gila Ridge is facing Crismon at the right time seeing as Crismon is stuck on a three-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
