Furious Hoskins had seven receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns tonight for the Palo Verde football team in a 49-38 playoff victory over visiting Desert Oasis.
Hoskins’ biggest play came in the third quarter, when he recovered a blocked field goal attempt and returned it about 70 yards for a touchdown to extend the Panthers’ lead to nine points.
“That was the turning point in the game,” coach Joe Aznarez said.
Crew Dannels completed 13 of 19 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns, including a 4-yard scoring strike to freshman Beau Gardineer. Bryant Johnson rushed for 122 yards and had a receiving touchdown, and Cedric Cade rushed for 67 yards and score.
Vincent Hales had 350 passing yards and seven touchdowns in the loss for Desert Oasis.
“They caught us a couple of times. We were lucky to escape with a win,” Aznarez said.
Palo Verde advances to face Legacy in the Class 5A-Division III regional finals. They were defeated by Legacy in a close game earlier in the season, and Aznarez expects another tight result.
“Hopefully this was an eye opener for us,” he said. “We have to play better or we will have some upset kids. Hopefully this game got our attention.”