Thursday, Sept. 15, 2005 | 9:25 a.m.
Palo Verde vs. Bishop Gorman
Piggott Stadium,
Valley high School
7 p.m. Friday
Palo Verde (2-1)
Top Rusher: Drew McDaniel (90.7 yards per game)
Top Passer: Danny Liles (3-for-19, 171 yards this year)
Top Receiver: Sam Ewalefo (4 receptions, 75 yards this year)
Bishop Gorman (1-1)
Top Rusher: DeMarco Murray (113 yards per game)
Top Passer: CJ Sedoris (15-for-31, 364 yards this year)
Top Receiver: DeAngelo Wilkinson (3 receptions, 110 yards this year)
Last Meeting: Nov. 10, 2000 -- Bishop Gorman 27, Palo Verde 20 (OT)
The last time Palo Verde played Bishop Gorman, the Gaels were on their way to an unlikely regional championship in defeating the Panthers in the 2000 Sunset semifinals.
Both teams started this year with grander goals and high expectations. But two weeks ago, both teams experienced deflation. Gorman suffered a 34-19 loss at Las Vegas High, and 20 miles south, Palo Verde was defeated by Foothill 36-27.
The two would-be Sunset Region champions meet Friday at Valley High School in both teams' last non-league game.
Palo Verde, which won the state championship last December, has been adjusting to a new lineup that didn't have the most varsity experience.
"We went back to basics," Panthers coach Darwin Rost said. "We moved some personnel around from Foothill to Eldorado."
T.J. Chapel, a transfer from Sierra Vista, said there was an attitude of invulnerability heading into Foothill.
"At the beginning of the year a few individuals were thinking we couldn't be beat," Chapel said. "Me being new, I thought (Palo Verde) won (the championship), we can't be beat. After we lost to Foothill -- I think we all needed that."
Last week, Palo Verde blanked Eldorado 49-0. The Panthers had 356 total yards of offense and two interceptions of Sundevils quarterback Josh Creveling.
There's no doubt a lot of that margin was due to Palo Verde's loss the week before. In fact, it was the first loss ever for some Palo Verde players, including quarterback Danny Liles. He played on undefeated freshman and junior varsity teams for the Panthers.
"It was almost a good thing for our program, to get the taste of losing in so we can now feel the victory of winning again," Liles said. "We needed to get hungry again, to get that feeling again."
Liles doesn't have the rushing numbers of his predecessor, Jarrell Harrison. But what he lacks with his 33 rushing yards, he makes up for with his 171 passing yards.
Drew McDaniel and Matt Edwards lead the Panthers with 272 and 173 rushing yards, respectively. McDaniel also has two catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. He's also one of the most significant returners from last year's championship squad.
"From what I've seen, (Gorman's) a pretty good team," McDaniel said. "We're a better team, that's the bottom line. I think they need to earn their respect. In this game, they can see."
Before the season started, Gorman running back DeMarco Murray said he felt last year's Gaels were a better team than Palo Verde.
"Last year because I thought we had a better team. Last year we could have beaten any team -- Palo, Vegas," Murray said back in August. "Last year was our year to win. I'm sure after watching that Saturday game we could have beaten Palo. I just thought it was a harder game and I knew we should have won state last year."
After a sub-par performance in his first week, Murray raised his season totals to 226 yards and three touchdowns following last week's win at the Portland suburb of Battle Ground, Washington.
That was a 63-14 victory, and much like the Panthers, the Sept. 2 loss served as a wake-up call, coach David White said.
"We came in there (to Vegas) expecting that just because we're Gorman and we have the number one ranking, we're just going to win," White said. "Vegas came out and proved us wrong. They showed us exactly how you do it.
"We definitely went out and fixed some things. Defensively we were a little better. The offense didn't put them in a good situation (against Vegas). The offense helped the whole team in terms of confidence and production and what not."
Murray was also able to play the whole game, something he was unable to do against Vegas due to cramping. White has limited Murray's time at cornerback.
Friday's game is also Gorman's last chance to test itself in a game that doesn't count in the final standings. In two weeks, the Gaels open Southwest Division play at Durango. Palo Verde has a bye next week and opens up Northwest competition on Sept. 30 when the Panthers host Centennial.
"I think we can't ask for a better situation," White said. "It's our first home game and against the state champs. The guys step up to play against Palo. We've always watched, we've heard about them all the time, so we can see where our team is at that level."
Chapel, who saw the Gaels last year at Sierra Vista, said the competition comes down to who executes better.
"They're a more disciplined school, and they have a really good running back. We have to play more disciplined, like they do," he said.
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