Comeback Falls Short for Pali High Football

Friday afternoon’s City Section Division I first-round football game between Arleta and Palisades turned out to be a story of two halves.

The first 24 minutes were dominated by Arleta and the last 24 minutes belonged to Palisades, but the Dolphins gave themselves too steep a mountain to climb and their comeback bid fell a little short in a 36-31 defeat that brought an abrupt end to their 2014 season.

Quarterback P.J. Hurst shook off three interceptions to complete 18 of 27 attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns − both to wide receiver Herbert Acosta − and Desmond Box rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns in 16 carries for the Dolphins, who finished 6-5 after earning their second straight upper division postseason trip under Coach Tim Hyde.

“We weren’t competing in the first half,” Hyde said. “We made a great comeback and shut them out in the second half, but we didn’t learn from our mistakes against Hamilton. It was the same thing as last year − we just came up a play or two short.”

Acosta made eight catches for 65 yards, including a five-yard scoring reception that pulled the Dolphins to within five points with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter, but Isaiah Gable returned the ensuing onside kick 37 yards to Palisades’ 25-yard line. Needing two yards on third down, Marco Gonzalez gained three, allowing the Mustangs to run out the clock and secure their first Division I playoff win after three consecutive first-round exits.

Led by quarterback Johnathan Porter the Mustangs galloped out of the barn, scoring on their first five possessions. Gable capped Arleta’s opening drive on a 69-yard run, Ivan Vasquez got behind the defense for a 25-yard touchdown reception to make it 15-0.

Acosta got Palisades on the scoreboard with a seven-yard touchdown catch, but J’son Overstreet caught a 29-yard scoring pass to push the margin back to 15 points and Porter’s two-yard keeper made it 29-7.

Box busted loose from 29 yards out to give the Dolphins momentum, but Arleta seized it right back on a four-yard touchdown run by Gonzalez and took a 36-14 lead into the locker room.

When play resumed the Dolphins looked like a different team. As he did so many times in the regular season, Dhaamir Lomax made a big play when Palisades needed it, intercepting a pass to halt the Mustangs’ first drive. Nine plays later, Box ran it in from 27 yards.

On the fourth play of Arleta’s next drive Justin Mason picked off a pass over the middle and returned it to midfield. After marching to the Mustangs’ 5-yard line Palisades settled for Ethan Erickson’s 22-yard field goal to narrow its deficit 12 points early in the fourth quarter.

“They weren’t better than us − we made small mistakes which had bigger consequences,” Lomax said. “We didn’t really make adjustments [in the second half]. We just realized that it was a win or go home situation but we realized it too late. I personally thought we could’ve come back.”

Hurst entered the playoffs having thrown 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions, but he was forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions against Arleta and had to throw on the run or escape the pocket for first downs. He had 31 yards rushing and avoided numerous sacks, but he gave credit to the Mustangs’ coverage downfield.

“I had time to throw, I kept my eyes downfield, but I didn’t like what I saw,” Hurst said. “We knew we were better but we didn’t play like it. If we’d had another minute I think we would’ve scored. We’ve got some great senior receivers and I’m really going to miss them.”

Arleta (10-1) travels to top-seeded San Pedro (10-1) in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Palisades was seeded 12th last year and lost to Garfield 27-20 in the first round.

Hurst threw for 2,220 yards in 11 games, Box rushed for 1,123 yards and 14 touchdowns and Acosta had 40 catches for 771 yards and eight touchdowns.

Hyde is already looking ahead to next season. “It’s all about 2015 now,” he said as he walked off the field.