PALM SPRINGS — When Austin Hughes and Christian Spears were injured Tuesday during practice, the Palm Springs High School football team was deflated.

But the two senior captains were able to play Friday as the Indians surged in the third quarter to beat Palm Desert 44-14.

“44-14 on Tuesday? No way,” quarterback Michael Karls said. “I would've never thought of that.”

Hughes, the leader on the offensive line, needed a cortisone shot to soothe his injured shoulder Wednesday. Spears, a linebacker and defensive catalyst, sprained his left knee Tuesday.

The injuries caused the Indians to pause.

“It took a lot of wind out of our sails on Tuesday,” Karls said, “people thinking, ‘Oh, no, what are we going to do? These are our guys. We need them.' ”

Spears also was in shock.

“I was more scared than in pain,” he said.

But the senior tested his knee at practice Thursday and surprised his teammates by playing.

The Indians (6-2, 3-1) were dominant early in the first half but then faltered. The effort mirrored the team's Desert Valley League opener against La Quinta. The Indians lost that game 44-22 after taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Scoring on their first three possessions Friday, the Indians took a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Palm Desert (7-2, 3-1) cut it to 21-14 by halftime.

Hughes was adamant in the locker room that the Indians were not going to fold.

“I made that clear that we didn't want it to happen again,” Hughes said, “especially not at home.”

The Indians responded immediately in the second half, overwhelming Palm Desert.

“Where do you want to start — tackling, special teams?” Aztecs coach Pat Blackburn said. “We spotted them 21 and then started playing some pretty good football and got ourselves back in the game. But then to come out at half and give up a special teams touchdown put us on our heels.”

A close game rapidly snowballed into a blowout. Nick King returned the second half kickoff 99 yards to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Karls.

The Indians struck again after stopping Palm Desert on fourth-and-7 on their 32-yard line. On the following play, running back Nephi Garcia lowered his head and ran over a Palm Desert defender on his way to the end zone on a 68-yard touchdown run.

Then King, who later left the game with a sprained left ankle, made another big play. The sophomore defensive back intercepted a long pass from Aztecs quarterback Cameron Curtis. Five plays later, Karls scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard run to cap a 21-point blitz in the first 5 minutes, 29 seconds of the second half.

Dominating on the ground, Palm Springs rushed for 315 yards.

Garcia gained 136 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns, and Karls added 131 yards on 24 carries.

Making offensive adjustments this week, the Indians enabled Karls to run the option on the perimeter by sealing the interior of Palm Desert's defense.

“We changed some of our blocking styles,” Indians coach Steve Fabian said. “We saw what a lot of people have been doing to us and did a couple of things different to try to make them stay inside.”

The result surprised the Indians, especially their injured leaders who were unsure whether they were going to suit up Friday.

“All the seniors stepped up,” Hughes said. “It was amazing. I couldn't believe it.”