Palo Verde’s boys bowling team didn’t have the best regular season, bowler Rylan Breese said.

He then helped the Panthers flip a switch in the playoffs to reach the state title match.

Breese bowled a team-high score of 748 to help Palo Verde beat Sierra Vista 9-0 (2,680-2,212 pin total) to win the Class 5A state title Friday at The Orleans.

He was named Nevada Preps Boys Athlete of the Week for his efforts.

“Coming into the year, we had big expectations and … even when we were struggling, we knew what we’re capable of,” Breese said. “You have to keep practicing and know the time will come, and today we came out in the title match and bowled our best match of the season.”

Palo Verde entered the 5A state playoffs as the No. 6 seed. The Panthers upset No. 2 Shadow Ridge in the semifinals to reach the final.

“We kind of underperformed through the regular season and we just practiced, tried to focus on spares and waited for the strikes to come,” Breese said. “We turned it on at the end of the season and we got hot in the playoffs. That’s what it comes down to in every sport, just getting hot in the playoffs and we did that and we got some breaks.”

Breese bowled a 278 in the first game to help Palo Verde win 894-757. The Panthers won the second game 915-698, with Breese bowling a 254 to help the team run away with the title.

Breese said the team chemistry Palo Verde developed through the year helped with its postseason run.

“It feels good,” Breese said. “It’s been the goal since I got here last year. We came up short last year but we got the job done this year.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.