In short: Shadow Hills Knights high school football (Indio, CA), 2026 season: 2-7 in the Desert Empire League. Last game: L 0-20 vs Rancho Mirage on October 23, 2026. Next: at Xavier Prep, October 30, 2026. Schedule and results, player season stats, stat leaders, unit grades, ScorePirate ranking and the game-by-game log.
The number to watch when Shadow Hills meets Xavier Prep is Shadow Hills' scoring defense. Shadow Hills allowed 21.7 points per game over its first 3 games (1-2), #193 in CIF-SS in that timeframe. In the 6 games since that hot start (1-5), the Knights have allowed 32.0 points per game, a 48% rise, #310 in CIF-SS in that window. The schedule doesn't explain it: the opponents in both stretches have averaged about 26.7 points per game on the season. Measured against those opponents' norms (27.0 points per game), Shadow Hills allowed 18% more than those offenses usually score. Meanwhile, Xavier Prep's offense has struggled in recent weeks. The Saints have averaged 19.7 points per game over their last 6 games (3-3), #271 in CIF-SS during that time. Those games came against a middle-of-the-pack set of scoring defenses in CIF-SS (25.9 points per game on the season, which would rank #245). Against those norms, Xavier Prep scored 24% less than those defenses usually allow. Both units come in looking to get right, and whichever does first may decide the game.
TIDBITS (11 found)
• Club The last time Shadow Hills went a game being held under 200 passing yards was September 5, 2025 against Yucaipa (L, 20-45). Since then Shadow Hills has gone 17 straight games throwing for 200+ yards, a school-record 17 straight in the 17 seasons on record.
• Club The last time Shadow Hills went a game rushing for 150+ yards was August 22, 2025 against Indio (W, 66-6). Since then Shadow Hills has gone 19 straight games being held under 150 rushing yards, a school-record 19 straight in the 17 seasons on record.
• Club The last time Shadow Hills went a game forcing 3+ turnovers was August 22, 2025 against Indio (W, 66-6). Since then Shadow Hills has gone 19 straight games forcing fewer than 3 turnovers, a school-record 19 straight in the 17 seasons on record.
• Club Shadow Hills is 15-0 all time when holding the opponent under 10 points in the games on file (15 such games).
• Club Shadow Hills has allowed 192 points over its last 6 games (32.0 a game, September 11, 2026 through October 23, 2026) -- its 5th-highest 6-game total on record; the most is 236, from November 6, 2009 through November 9, 2012.
• Player Jacob Rodriguez has gone 8 straight games throwing for 200+ yards, the longest such streak of his career.
• Player Aj Garcia has 4 touchdown catches over his last 3 games (1.3 a game, October 24, 2025 through November 7, 2025) -- his most in a 3-game stretch on record.
• Player Shaheem Sama has 4 sacks over his last 3 games (1.2 a game, October 24, 2025 through November 7, 2025) -- his most in a 3-game stretch on record.
• Player Jacob Rodriguez has gone 3 straight games throwing a touchdown pass, the longest such streak of his career.
• Player Brandon Peffers has gone 2 straight games catching a touchdown pass, the 3rd-longest such streak of his career. He also had a career-best streak of 6 straight games catching a touchdown pass, during the 2025 season.
• Player Francisco Franco has gone 2 straight games forcing a fumble, the longest such streak of his career.
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 10/23/2026 GAME VS. RANCHO MIRAGE* MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 10/15/2026 GAME @ PALM DESERT* MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 10/09/2026 GAME VS. PALM SPRINGS* MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 10/02/2026 GAME VS. LA QUINTA* MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 09/25/2026 GAME VS. VALLEY VIEW MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 09/11/2026 GAME @ BISHOP ALEMANY MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 09/03/2026 GAME @ YUCAIPA MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 08/28/2026 GAME VS. PALO VERDE VALLEY MISSING
DATA WARNING: SHADOW HILLS OFFENSIVE STATS FOR 08/21/2026 GAME VS. ESPERANZA MISSING
All stat areas in this report are subject to change as box scores are updated.
PPG/OPP PPG use every played game on file. YPG/PLAYS-PER-GAME columns only ever come from games with a full box score on file, which can be a smaller sample than GP -- see the coverage note below when that's the case for this team.
Averages use only games with that number on file (offense 0/9, defense 6/9, sacks/INT 0/9, sacks allowed 7/9, turnovers 7/9 games). SACKS ALW comes from the opponent's box score; TO FORCED is takeaways; TO MAR is takeaways minus giveaways, and its bottom cell is the season total. Dashes mean not on file.
UNIT INDEX
Pass Offense: grade 75.0/100 (+43 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Offense: grade 17.8/100 (-88 yds/gm vs average)
Pass Defense: grade 55.1/100 (-11 yds/gm vs average)
Rush Defense: grade 43.1/100 (+10 yds/gm vs average)
Unit grades: 0-100 league percentile, opponent-curved (two-way solve over current + past seasons, recency-weighted). Composite counts yardage, efficiency vs league YPA/YPC (50% tilt), and negative plays at sack=7yd, INT=45yd, TFL=4yd -- adjustable v1 constants.
SH finished 2025 at 6-5. Made the playoffs (1 postseason game(s) on file; exact round/result not available). Notable win: 19-6 over PALO VERDE VALLEY (PALO VERDE VALLEY finished 62% that season). Toughest loss: 51-52 to PATRIOT (1-point margin).
SH's defense has averaged 12.8 YPA over their last 3 games. Their 27-game average is 7.7 YPA. (+66%)
SH's defense has averaged 0.5 takeaways per game over their last 5 games. Their 30-game average is 1.4 takeaways per game. (-63%)
SH's defense has averaged 77.0 pass yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 27-game average is 134.0 pass yards per game. (-43%)
SH's defense has averaged 7.7 YPC over their last 5 games. Their 28-game average is 5.4 YPC. (+42%)
SH's defense has averaged 8.5 YPP over their last 5 games. Their 28-game average is 6.2 YPP. (+37%)
SH's defense has averaged 205.0 total yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 28-game average is 315.8 total yards per game. (-35%)
SH's defense has averaged 32.4 points allowed per game over their last 7 games. Their 32-game average is 24.1 points allowed per game. (+35%)
SH's defense has averaged 128.0 rush yards per game over their last 3 games. Their 28-game average is 186.6 rush yards per game. (-31%)
(moved to the Appendix, Data Export 1, to keep this section shorter -- the full spreadsheet-paste table is there unchanged)
APPENDIX
Full-length explanations and full-size data exports for the shortened notes and relocated tables referenced throughout this report, numbered in the order their pointers appear above.
Explanatory Notes
Note 1 -- SEASON OUTLOOK
Every remaining game is projected from schedule-adjusted ratings; already-played games carry their real result. Records are simulated distributions, not a single guess -- MOST LIKELY FINAL is the single most probable record and its own probability, PROJECTED RECORD is the season's expected win total expressed in record form (an average across every simulated outcome, so it can land on a fraction of a game).
Note 2 -- OPPONENT TRACKER -- why some cards have no record shown
Only meaningful for an opponent who is ALSO a tracked team in the library -- an opponent with no games on file here at all shows the date and site alone.
Note 3 -- MOST IMPORTANT NUMBERS -- how a number is scored
Every split this report computes is scored on four weighted criteria and the top 5 per team are listed. In Cooper's own weighting order: (1) the WIN% attached to the condition, counted only when the condition has occurred at least 8 times -- a smaller sample is dropped outright, not discounted; (2) the PPG attached to it, with higher better on offense and lower better on defense, and each side normalized against its own kind so a defensive number competes with defensive numbers rather than against scoring averages; (3) how far the number sits from the OPPONENT's on the same condition, across win%, PPG and how often the condition happens at all; and (4) where it falls among every other team previously run through this workbook and cached. Criteria 1 and 2 measure how strong a number is; 3 and 4 measure how much it distinguishes this team. Weights: win_pct 40%, ppg 27%, matchup 20%, pool 13%. See important_numbers.py.
Full Data Exports
Data Export 1 -- TRENDS — TAB-SEPARATED (10 columns)
Where SHADOW HILLS sits among 399 section teams on the two Unit Index composites -- Offense Grade 47.6, Defense Grade 56.4.
POINTS / GAME: SHADOW HILLS VS THE SECTION
SHADOW HILLS ranks #346 of 399 section teams in points per game (11.8) -- a weakness worth a look.
SHADOW HILLS: SP STRENGTH INDEX BY SEASON
The program's index across 5 seasons on file -- -0.7 in 2022 to -5.0 in 2026.
These graphs were chosen by the program from this season's most notable numbers. Build your own -- any stat against any other, for any mix of teams, seasons or players, with a JPEG download -- in the Graph Builder.
WHAT CHANGED THIS WEEK
Lost to Rancho Mirage 0-20 on Oct 23; now 2-7.
From the games on file through Oct 23.
REMAINING SCHEDULE
Most likely finish 2-8 · realistic range 2-8 to 3-7
Remaining schedule: 231st hardest of 383 in the CIF-Southern Section (average opponent strength 1.3).
Win chances are the site's own game projections where one is on file, otherwise the SP Strength Index gap with a small home edge. The realistic range covers 80% of outcomes (10th to 90th percentile).
