Palo Verde faces McQueen and its mighty mystique

Adam Candee

Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 10:38 a.m.

Darwin Rost understands that, man for man, his Palo Verde team is probably not the best in the state.

As a unit, however, the Panthers (9-3) have caught their lightning in a bottle in the 2002 playoffs and are running with the magic.

Rost, who coached Eldorado to a state title in 1991, is very content with that situation as his Panthers head to Reno to take on Northern champion McQueen in a Saturday afternoon 4A state semifinal.

"It takes a special group," Rost said. "Sometimes, you don't have to have the best kids, just the kids peaking at the right time."

Palo Verde is doing the latter right now, rolling through Cheyenne last week to win its first Sunset Region championship. All season, the Panthers sported a tough defense, and in the past month, the double-wing offense is catching up to round out the team.

"We believe in our system," Rost said. "We believe they are not going to get a clean shot at our kids."

Winning is breeding confidence and intensity for the Panthers. Rost said practices have been focused, and more kids are checking out game tapes to do film study. Rost even contributed some new team sweats to give the team a uniform look when it steps off the bus at McQueen.

"The whole team concept has really played into these kids," Rost said.

Against a McQueen team whose name and reputation as a powerhouse precedes it, Rost feels his squad must establish its foothold early in the game with strong hitting. Foothill did so last season, when it went up to McQueen for a state semifinal and lost only on a last-second field goal in driving snow.

"We need to show them that we can hit," Rost said. "We've got to hang on as hard as we can in the first quarter."

McQueen (12-0) comes in looking as strong as ever, without a true weakness. The Lancers registered a 37-6 win over previously unbeaten Reno in the Northern title game last weekend.

In its 12 games, McQueen has scored an unbelievable 597 points, for an average of nearly 50 points per game. The team uses its equally stingy defense -- which has yet to allow any opponent more than a touchdown -- to set up its offensive opportunities on a short field.

"They're running on all cylinders," Rost said.

Quarterback Zach Borba (1,227 yards, 20 TD, 3 int.) leads a strong passing offense that features the state's best tight end, Mohu Otuafi (532 yards, 9 TD) and split end Corey Patin (482 yards, 8 TD). On the ground, halfbacks Ed Cortez and Matt Marner have combined for more than 1,800 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns.

The Lancers also boast on of the state's best kickers in Clint Stitser.