After a disappointing 2024 season, Palm Springs is off to a 2-0 record in 2025
A big night from the stars of the team helped Palm Springs High School to a 28-21 victory over Grand Terrance and a 2-0 start to the young season.
“We are doing a little bit of everything right,” Palm Springs head coach Darryl Goree said after the road victory. “It was a battle. That team was pretty tough up front. They kind of shut our run game down a bit. So we got to go to the air a little bit.”
Leading that passing attack was the combination of quarterback Bishop Miller V and two-way player Koa Rapolla. Miller and Rapolla teamed up for two scoring passes, and Miller hit Rapolla for a long pass that set up another score.
"Another one could have been a big play for us, but the interception (Miller) threw, the receiver wasn’t looking,” Goree said.
Palm Springs’ first score came on a 2-yard run by Jordan Johnson, cutting the Grand Terrace lead to 7-6. Palm Springs then took a 14-7 lead on a 19-yard pass from Miller to Rapolla, with Johnson running in the two-point conversion.
After Grand Terrace tied the game, Miller found Noah Whitacre for a 19-yard scoring pass and a 20-14 lead. Grand Terrace took a 21-20 lead after the third quarter, setting up the Palm Springs comeback. Miller and Rapolla hit on an 11-yard pass with under four minutes to play, and the two combined on a two-point conversion pass for the final 28-21 score.
In the final moments Grand Terrace was driving for a tying score, but Palm Springs’ Khalil Ailabouni intercepted a pass to seal the victory.
“Compared to last year, we are playing a lot better as a team,” Goree said. “That’s been our main goal, to play as a team this season."
Palm Springs will travel to Coachella Valley for a 7 p.m. game next Friday.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs football sees stars have big night to remain undefeated
Category: General Sports
