Palo Verde posts rare 2-0 victory on the gridiron

Adam Candee

Monday, Oct. 7, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

Reached Sunday to chat about Palo Verde's strange 2-0 victory over Cimarron-Memorial in the teams' division opener, Panthers coach Darwin Rost responded, "You mean our baseball game?"

No word yet on who picked up the save for the Panthers.

Humor aside, a 2-0 football game? Really? It happened, with Palo Verde moving to 4-1 on a second-half safety that occurred when a Cimarron ball carrier fell in the end zone.

Rost told his team before the game that they should be happy to take a victory any way they could find one. But even the coach admits that winning on a lone safety did not appear anywhere in the game plan.

"I never thought it would be a 2-0 game," Rost said. "That's the best defensive game in our school's history."

The facts bear Rost out, as Cimarron only crossed midfield once. Both teams, though, deserve credit for a stellar defensive effort.

And we'll take it a step beyond: This game represented a big helping of good karma to Palo Verde. How? The Panthers have lost one game, to a Desert Pines team that is as good as any in the state.

Palo Verde lost that matchup 22-20 -- a 2-point margin.

Rewind to late in the first half of Foothill's game at winless and scrapping Green Valley, when the Falcons and Gators sat in a scoreless tie with just about a minute left. After Foothill squandered a chance deep in Green Valley territory, it appeared the Gators had gained momentum.

One play later, a sack in the end zone gave Foothill a 2-0 lead. The Falcons brought the free kick back to midfield and marched down for a touchdown. Very simply, good teams seize these opportunities, no matter how short the time or unlikely the opportunity.

That said, Foothill faces its biggest test of the year at red-hot Centennial this week.

After running off a 41-game winning streak, Meadows is falling on hard times with an inexperienced group. The Mustangs are 0-5 while the Crusaders are off to a 3-2 start in the 2A Southern Division.