Silverado downs Palo Verde in overtime

Silverado quarterback Micah Weber only completed three passes in four quarters Friday against visiting Palo Verde.

But it was the one he completed in overtime that had Skyhawk fans carrying him on their shoulders after the game.

Weber fired a 10-yard pass to Devion Clayton in the middle of the end zone on third down for the go-ahead touchdown and Silverado's defense held the No. 7 Panthers in check to secure a 13-7 victory.

Weber said when he fired the pass to Clayton, he believed he missed the target.

"I thought I overthrew it," Weber said. "But Devion, with his great speed, caught up to the ball and made an awesome catch."

The Skyhawks (3-1) missed the extra point, however, leaving the defense knowing it probably had to shut Palo Verde out of the end zone to get the win.

On the Panthers third-down play, Panther quarterback T.J. Webb had a shot at completing the game-winning TD pass to the left side of the end zone, but senior defensive back Jeramiah Pritchard batted down the pass to force fourth down.

"We made a call for that play," said Pritchard, who led the Skyhawks with 11 tackles. "We communicated well. I slipped and batted it down. I should have had the interception. It was a great play though."

Webb's final pass fell incomplete on the right side on fourth down, sending Silverado into celebration mode.

"The defense did all the work in this game. They kept us in the game the whole time," Weber said.

Silverado's defense limited Palo Verde (1-3) to just 220 yards in the game. The Skyhawks came up with four sacks, including two by Andrew Cervas. Elijahjuan Brown also had a sack to go along with 10 tackles for Silverado.

Palo Verde's defense held Silverado to 173 yards on offense.

Weber had 47 passing yards in the game, but provided the only points for Silverado in regulation. He dropped back to pass at the Skyhawk 7-yard line before zipping past the defense 93 yards to give Silverado a 7-0 lead with 5:57 left in the second quarter.

Weber admitted he wasn't supposed to run on the pay.

"It wasn't a draw. It was a designed slant," he said. "I just saw the hole, and I took it."

Palo Verde broke through on its first possession of the second half, driving 64 yards in 10 plays. Juwan Britt scored on a 5-yard run on fourth down to tie the game at 7-7.

On the next Panther possession, Christian Bell's 47-yard run set Palo Verde up with a first and goal at the 3. But the Skyhawk defense came up with a goal-line stand, denying the Panthers on four straight runs.

Pritchard tackled Keenan Mitchell for a 2-yard loss on 4th-and-1 for the key stop.

"This whole week we prepared ourselves well – mentally, physically, emotionally," Pritchard said. "We knew Palo, over the years, has been a hard-core running team. So we just stayed with their run all game, and just tried to stay physically strong."

Weber said the victory should propel Silverado to greater heights this season.

"We are just looking at the rest of these teams ahead of us, looking to get a victory," Weber said. "Because this just put Silverado back on the map."