The valley just punched eight tickets to CIF, and the storylines are electric. We open with a clean Week 11 wrap-up—Palm Desert’s trench clinic in the flag game, Palm Springs grinding through a real test, Shadow Hills flexing on defense—then pivot straight into a layered playoff preview you can use on Friday night. KESQ’s Kenji Eto joins us with grounded scouting, real numbers, and what travel, tempo, and scheme actually mean when the bracket gets real.
We break down the Game of the Week, Coachella Valley vs Banning, as a true race-to-40 shootout, and why CV’s midseason reps at QB might be the best insurance policy in Division 12. Palm Springs holds the top seed in D7 and will need controlled swagger, a balanced run package, and tight pocket poise to handle a road-tough Claremont. Palm Desert headlines D8 as a No. 1 seed with a front seven built to wreck read-option rhythm, while screens and timing throws can turn pressure into chunk gains. La Quinta draws a harsh road at Fullerton, but protection and fewer drops can flip the narrative fast.
Shadow Hills snagged a dream D11 draw; expect conflict routes, four dangerous targets, and disguised blitzes to test Jurupa Hills’ run-first plan. Division 12 becomes the desert bracket: Yucca Valley’s Aiden Pope and Clyde King face a surging 9-1 Costa Mesa with turnovers in its pocket, and Desert Christian Academy’s perfect run meets a legitimate step up in speed and physicality against Arroyo Valley. In D13, Desert Hot Springs gets a big-enrollment Woodbridge that found form late, yet the Golden Eagles just proved they can close.
If you want stats that matter, matchups that translate, and a bracket view that respects how games are won—fronts, explosives, and travel legs—you’ll find it here. Subscribe, share with a desert football friend, and tell us: who survives to week two and why?

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