Palm Springs squanders second-half lead, ousted from playoffs 'too soon'
When the momentum switches in a high school football game, one of the toughest things to do is to get it back.
That was the unfortunate reality for the Palm Springs High School football team in Friday night's CIF-SS playoff opener against Paloma Valley.
The Indians led the visiting Wildcats 17-0 late in the third quarter of the Division 7 first-round title, only to watch the lead slip away for an agonizing 28-24 defeat.
The finality of a playoff loss is always a tough pill to swallow, but this one was particularly painful.
"We put our all into this season, and we just came up short. I'm not sure what happened in that second half," said senior captain Brayden Hapner. "This just feels like it's, I don't know, too soon."
Hapner's not wrong. It is hard to explain what happened in the second half, because it was so different from the first half.
Indians quarterback Jayvyn Capler, still nursing a right knee injury, did not play in the first half except for one play. His replacement, sophomore Favian Galvez, played well. Galvez moved the Indians into Paloma Valley territory three different times, but Palm Springs could only turn that into a 3-0 halftime lead, thanks to its defense and a 22-yard field goal by Carlos Altamirano-Navarro.
Looking for an offensive infusion, the Indians went to Capler to start the second half, and he provided an immediate spark. He marched the Indians down the field on a drive that culminated, ironically enough, with a 2-yard touchdown run by Galvez who came in for a play after Capler took a hard hit near the sideline.
On the next possession, Capler hit Derek Lopez on a beautiful 27-yard touchdown connection as Lopez laid out for a pretty diving catch. All of a sudden the Indians were up 17-0, the home crowd was happy and the sideline was all hugs and high-fives.
That's when everything changed. It felt like there was a giant imaginary momentum lever, and someone pulled from Palm Springs to Paloma Valley.
The Wildcats had their first breakthrough as talented quarterback Brady Nelson, who had been held in check all game, started connecting. He hit Noah Howard for a 65-yard touchdown near the end of the third quarter to make it 17-6 after the PAT was blocked by Palm Springs' Ryan Smith who had a nice all-around game.
Even though it was just one score, Palm Springs coach Dan Murphy didn't like what he saw in his team's body language.
"They scored and our kids were like having their heads down, and I was like 'We're still up by 10 what's the problem?' But after that they were in a funk," Murphy said. "I don't know if they thought we were going to shut them out or something, but this is a playoff game, the other team is going to score. All you need to do is win by one, that's all that matters, but we just kind of fell apart."
After a three-and-out by the Indians, Nelson hit another long pass, which led to a 7-yard touchdown run by bruising Paloma Valley running back Stephen Gallegos. A two-point run by Nelson made it 17-14.
Before nervousness completely engulfed the Indians' sideline and bleachers, there was a bright spot. Capler hit Damond Lee with a 59-yard bomb to put the Indians back up by two scores at 24-14. In just a half of play, Capler racked up 196 yards on 7-of-14 passing, including the two scores.
Despite the big play, someone forgot to officially switch the momentum lever back in favor of the Indians. It stayed with the Wildcats.
Nelson led Paloma Valley down the field again, racking up big chunks of yardage with every play. The drive ended when Gallegos bulldozed his way into the end zone from 1-yard to make it 24-21.
Another punt by the Indians followed and a Paloma Valley touchdown seemed almost inevitable as they were just clicking in every way at that point, and sure enough, it happened.
This drive belonged to Gallegos, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound bruiser, sort of a high school version of the Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry. Power and speed and always ready with a stiff arm, he rattled off a 41-yard run and then followed it with a 32-yard run to put the Wildcats on the doorstep. Gallegos then finished what he started with a 4-yard TD to give Paloma Valley its first lead of the game at 28-24. Gallegos finished with 149 yards rushing and the three scores.
The 28-7 blitz by the Wildcats all happened in less than 10 minutes of game time. Palm Springs had two more possessions to try to retake the lead as a hobbled Capler tried valiantly to move the Indians into position, but they never really threatened. The clock struck zero and the dejection was visible all over the field as some tears flowed, some players just kneeled in the grass, and others just consoled each other with hugs.
"I love my brothers, wouldn't want to be out here with anyone else. Our bond was unbreakable," Hapner said.
While no one was ready to reflect on the season as a whole after the game, it was a successful one for the Indians. The team went 8-3 and won a share of the Desert Empire League title. It was the first title for the Indians since the new league was created.
"I love this group. This is one of the best groups I've ever coached. Great bunch of kids, very proud of them," Murphy said. "I told them to take away the positives. I just told them, this is what happens in life. It's how you respond that's the important thing."
Shad Powers covers high school sports for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: CIF-SS football: Palm Springs lets lead slip away in frustrating loss
