The Palm Springs High football team easily beat Coachella Valley last week, 53-7, although the Arabs were without their star running back, Oliver Inzunza.

This week will be much tougher as the Indians host Palm Desert. Head coach Steve Fabian spoke to the Palm Springs Sun this week about the games and his team.

Question: You beat Coachella Valley pretty handily last week, any thoughts about the victory?

Answer: They were missing their No. 1 guy and that doesn't help anybody. When those guys aren't there, it's a hard thing to overcome. But we played well. It was a good step toward getting ready for a big game this week.

Is this week's game the most important you've played this year?

Every game is. We've got to win football games to make the playoffs. Every one you lose doesn't help you any.

How do you beat Palm Desert?

We've got to stop (running back Donell) Griffin, that's the bottom line. He's doing a great job for them, and it's going to be a tough row to hoe.

Do you think they'll be the toughest team you've played this year?

I think La Quinta was pretty good. I think these guys are pretty good, too. We don't match up well with these guys, they're big across the front and we're not. That was the problem with La Quinta. Once they figured out our smoke and mirrors, they broke our mirrors and blew our smoke away.

The gap between the haves and the have-nots in the Desert Valley League this year seems bigger than ever, what affect do you think that has on the league?

I think every game is tough, you can't look at it any other way. People say there are three teams that are good (La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs) and three that aren't (Coachella Valley, Indio and Cathedral City), and I disagree with that. A holding penalty here, an injury there and you could be back to square one yourself. We practice just as hard for Cathedral City or Indio as we do for Palm Desert or La Quinta.