In a battle of two teams fighting for playoff spots, host Centennial outlasted Palo Verde 26-24 in a rain-soaked thriller Friday night.

Palo Verde staged a late comeback but couldn’t complete it, failing on a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game in the final seconds.

Both teams endured difficult conditions as rain forced a 90-minute delay to the start of the game. The showers continued throughout much of the first half before clearing up at halftime.

Centennial head coach DJ Campbell said the weather threw off his team’s rhythm.

“Everything was thrown off with our schedule, but we had to weather the storm — both literally and on the field,” Campbell said. “We started off strong, but then we got complacent. That’s why the game was so close.”

The 10th-ranked Bulldogs (4-3, 1

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