Rancho Mirage shows turnaround already under way, stuffs Yucca Valley

The Rancho Mirage High School bounce-back began Friday.

At Yucca Valley, the Rattlers opened the 2026 season with a 19-7 win, and in the process stifled what many expect to be an exciting Trojan offense this season.

The win came after Rancho Mirage finished the 2025 season with five consecutive losses and a last-place finish in the Desert Empire League.

Jadarius Hester caught a pair of touchdown passes for the Rattlers in the win. Deegan Storm scored for the Trojans in the third quarter, but Reid Keane added a third touchdown for the Rattlers with 19 seconds remaining to seal the outcome.

Rancho Mirage held Yucca Valley star receiver Aiden Pope without a touchdown in the win.

It goes without saying that Hester is an obvious one.

The second star of the game would be Rattlers quarterback Cael Woody. He threw three touchdown passes and ran the read-option like a pro. Woody, a dual-threat senior, kept the chains moving for the Rattlers late in the game, which ended up being vital in the win.

For Yucca Valley, junior linebacker Silias Bloodworth was all over the field. I’d be shocked if he didn’t finish with at least 15 tackles.

1. We had to know that the Rattlers, after going 0-and-5 in the Desert Empire League last season, would be playing with a chip on their shoulders. The seemed to have it Friday. Defensively, this group played very well, intercepting three passes in the first half, including a pair near the goal line. I was impressed with the Rancho Mirage defense.

For Yucca Valley, the Trojans may be in some trouble. They have arguably the best offensive playmaker in the area in Pope but struggled to get him the ball in key situations on Friday. That needs to change for Yucca Valley to be as good as we think they can be.

Andrew John covers sports and recreation in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com. Find him on Instagram at @desertwriter.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rancho Mirage shows turnaround already under way, stuffs Yucca Valley