Palo Verde rolls past Yuma as Yellow Jackets honor late coach Wally Grant

BLYTHE, Calif. (KYMA) - The Palo Verde Valley Yellowjackets honored the late Wally Grant before Friday night's matchup against the Yuma Criminals, then delivered a strong performance on the field.

Palo Verde opened the game with an early mix of passing and rushing.

Quarterback Jayden Loureiro connected with Ayden Walker for a big gain on one of the Yellowjackets' rare passing plays, setting the tone early.

Palo Verde then went back to its ground game, with Emilio Moran powering his way into the end zone for a touchdown. The Yellowjackets took a 6-0 lead after the failed two-point conversion.

Palo Verde continued to control the game and eventually extended its lead to 12-0.

Yuma's Kane Huerta-Urbalejo made a play in the backfield, splitting the offensive line to stop a Yellowjackets rush and prevent a potential big gain.

But Palo Verde answered on the next play.

Senior running back Cesar Lainez took the ball and made a defender miss with a sharp juke, picking up a big gain and moving the chains.

That set up another big play, this time from Alex Rodriguez.

The Yellowjackets' big man broke through the Yuma defense, breaking three tackles and dragging a defender with him into the end zone for the touchdown.

Palo Verde converted the two-point attempt to take a 20-0 lead.

The Yellowjackets would not look back, rolling past Yuma 51-0 to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Meanwhile, the Crims fall to 0-2.