While the varsity was getting in one final practice at Stadium by the Sea, the Palisades High JV football team traveled to Marshall High last Thursday afternoon determined to set the tone for the season and give the varsity something to build on. Did it ever.
Although head coach Ray Marsden was confident heading into the game he didn’t envision a 54-point victory. However, the Dolphins scored on all seven of their offensive possessions, converted six of eight two-point tries, didn’t commit a turnover and didn’t punt in their 60-6 rout. Everyone on the roster played a series, every running back had two or three carries and each of the Dolphins’ four quarterbacks led at least one touchdown drive.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start,” Marsden said. “I replaced the offensive starters in the third quarter. We only threw one pass in the second half. We just kept running between the tackles and they couldn’t stop it. The boys have really come together. Other than a couple of dropped interceptions and a missed fumble recovery I can’t complain. The best part is that we only ran our base stuff so anyone scouting us didn’t learn anything. Most of the starters only played the first half and we only used about a quarter of our playbook.”
After Marshall scored on its opening drive, the Dolphins responded with a touchdown drive of their own, forced a three-and-out, and exploded for 28 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 36-6 lead at intermission. A running clock was used in the second half.
Innocent Okoh ran for three touchdowns, Stone Maderer ran for two touchdowns, Dakota Hamilton had an interception and ran for one touchdown, Jason Frazier caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Jonah Manheim in the second quarter and defensive back Kaelynn Lamothe returned an interception for another score.
“I was a little nervous on the bus ride over, but once I took the first snap that went away,” said Manheim, who completed four passes for 60 yards and ran for two first downs in two quarters. “They couldn’t stop our inside runs and our dives so we just kept calling them. It was a big win and hopefully the varsity can feed off this.”
The lopsided score was a bit of a surprise considering that the Dolphins needed a safety with under five minutes left to escape with an 8-7 win against the Barristers at Stadium by the Sea last season.
Marsden said he’d take the night to savor the victory before beginning preparation for today’s intersectional matchup at Santa Monica, which kicks off at 3 p.m. at Santa Monica High.
“Jonah looked good in the pocket,” Marsden said of his starting quarterback. “The touchdown pass was on a fourth-and-20 play. We were too close to their end zone to punt so we decided to go for it. He let it loose, got hit, but got the touchdown. The one area we still need more work in is special teams so we’ll emphasize that in practice.”
Santa Monica blanked the Dolphins 21-0 last season and Marsden expects another tough game.
“They’re always good and they usually play their JV against us, not their freshman team, so we’re going to have to play well, but this win is a huge confidence boost for everybody.”
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