The spread offense tormented the Palm Springs High School football team earlier this season.

Utilizing the scheme, West Valley scored 31 points in the first half against the Indians on Oct. 4, overwhelming them with two touchdown passes longer than 50 yards.

But Summit, which also features the spread, will face a stingier team when the first round of the CIF playoffs begins tonight.

“It would be a mistake for people to look at the West Valley film and say, ‘Oh, we can throw the ball all over the place,'” coach Steve Fabian said.

The West Valley game was a turning point for the Indians, propelling them to clinch their first DVL championship since 2004 and setting them up for a playoff run.

Trailing 31-10 at halftime against West Valley, the Indians faced the lowest point of their inconsistent preseason.

“It was unbelievable that we were down,” linebacker Daniel Zingg said.

The team was not tapping into its talent. Fabian said egos got in the way at the start of the season.

“When you have a lot of good athletes, they all want the ball,” Fabian said. “When people don't block when they don't get the ball, that's unexcusable.”

The missed blocking assignment didn't get by Fabian.

“You're being filmed from two angles, from the sideline and the back,” Fabian said. “What do you think? We're not going to see that you're not doing your job?”

Senior linebacker Tyler McLean was less harsh.

“We didn't have the chemistry yet,” he said.

But McLean's fellow captain, quarterback Steven Saunders, has not been afraid to be critical at times during the season.

“I don't mind to be vocal. I express my feelings when I want to,” he said. “Some of the players take it a little too much to heart, but that's the name of the game. Somebody's got to be the bad guy on the team.”

The captains spoke up at halftime against West Valley. Everyone responded in the fourth quarter. The defense forced a fumble. Special teams blocked two punts. Saunders scored three touchdowns. Although the comeback fell short in the 41-38 defeat, the Indians were finally cohesive.

“It was a good kick-start to the DVL,” McLean said.

The Indians were dominant on their path to the league title. The defense gave up only 17 points in five games, setting a league record for fewest points allowed since 1996.

Big plays were erased. The pass defense got stronger, especially with the emergence of sophomore Tyrone Florence, who has five interceptions in two games.

The defense will try to limit Summit's quick strikes.

“On film, it's either a 60-yard run or a 10-yard loss,” Fabian said. “It's a 70-yard pass or an incompletion or interception.”

Long gains lifted the young SkyHawks into the playoffs for the first time. Competing in only its third season, the team from Fontana came from behind to beat Bloomington last Friday with a 64-yard run and a 49-yard pass to clinch the Sunkist League's final playoff spot.

Summit sophomore quarterback Devon Blackmon is elusive, much like Indio quarterback Robert Hartfield, Fabian said, which will test the defense's discipline.

“We can't go for the big hit or the big play,” he said. “We have to make them march the ball down the field.”

Summit will try to shock Palm Springs, but the Indian seniors are making sure the team sustains its poise after capturing the DVL title, emphasizing the fact that No. 1 seed La Quinta lost in the first round last year.

“We're using that as an example to propel ourselves to really work hard this week and not let down,” McLean said.