Wildcats show 'it ain't over 'til it's over', rally for 28-24 win

Stephen Gallegos, shown here in a game last week, ran for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns on Friday. (File photo)

 
Talk about a fourth-quarter comeback…

Trailing 17-0 late in the third quarter, the Paloma Valley Wildcats scored four touchdowns the rest of the way and defeated host Palm Springs, 28-24, Friday night in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 7 football playoffs.

Stephen Gallegos ran for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns and quarterback Brady Nelson passed for 162 yards and a TD for the Wildcats, who improved their record to 9-2 and advance to a second-round matchup with Golden Valley High of Santa Clarita.

“I just kept on encouraging them and just let them play,” coach Zach Dilley said about the time when things looked darkest for the Wildcats against the Indians, who finished their season 8-3. “Sometimes it takes a long time for us to get going. Not that we want that, but I want them to understand they can trust themselves.

“These guys are good enough, they have enough focus, to overcome negative plays. Other teams are going to make big plays, but our guys are good too, and they will make big plays. They need to trust in that.”

In a first half that ended 3-0 in favor of Palm Springs, neither offense could get going. Gallegos was starting to pile up yards, but first downs were hard to come by. Then, after Palm Springs’ second missed field goal attempt, the Wildcats fumbled the ball away on their own 16-yard line.

But a Paloma Valley defense that came up big when it had to held the Indians to a 22-yard field goal, and that was the difference at halftime.

Palm Springs began to take control with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by sophomore quarterback Favian Galvez early in the third quarter. Later in the period, senior QB Jayvyn Capler hit Derek Lopez with a 27-yard touchdown pass and a 17-0 lead with 3:38 left in the third quarter.

At that point, the Wildcats had been the victims of their own mistakes, including turnovers and dropped passes. But on the second play of the next series, Nelson passed 65 yards to Noah Howard for Paloma’s first TD. The PAT kick failed, but the gap was closed to 17-6.

Neither team scored on their series, and on the following possession, the Paloma Valley defense held and forced a Palm Springs punt. The short kick was followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Indians, giving Paloma the ball on the Palm Springs 15. Three plays later, Gallegos ran into the end zone from 6 yards out. On the two-point conversion attempt, Nelson bulled his way over the goal line, cutting the deficit to 17-14.

“Even after the dropped passes, Brady didn’t stress too much,” Dilley said. “That two-point conversion was huge. He just lowered his shoulder, which quarterbacks don’t do too much, and did what he needed to score.”

Palm Springs appeared to take the momentum back when Capler passed 58 yards to Damond Lee for a touchdown on the first play of the next series, increasing the Indians’ lead to 24-14 with 10:54 left. But the Wildcats weren’t finished.

Paloma came back to score on a 1-yard run by Gallegos on the next series, then the Wildcat defense forced a punt. Five play later, following runs of 41 and 32 yards by Gallegos, he capped it off with a 4-yard TD run and a 28-24 lead.

The defense held Palm Springs twice in the final moments to seal the victory.

“Stephen Gallegos did some more tough running,” Dilley said. “He continues to be a student of the game who wants desperately to get an offer. He needs to be noticed, and I hope that is starting to happen.”