By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Early in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s nonleague game at Huntington Park, the Palisades High varsity football team found itself in trouble.
The Dolphins were clinging to a seven-point lead, but the crowd and the momentum was all on the home side.
No sweat. Palisades simply went back to its bread and butter, power running, and 50 yards later tailback Innocent Okoh was in the end zone for a touchdown. On the Dolphins’ next drive, he plunged over the goal line from one yard away to clinch a 34-14 road victory.
“You’re going to face a little adversity every game, the question is how do you handle it?” Pali High head coach Tim Hyde said. “There were some ticky-tack calls but we got the mojo back in time.”
Okoh sat out the first half but was unstoppable in the second, running 25 times for 175 yards and three touchdowns.
Marrio Lofton was handed the ball nine times in the first two quarters, gaining 76 yards.
In his third start at quarterback, Jonah Manheim completed 14 of 24 passes for 193 yards. Alex Vaupen had four receptions for 68 yards and Cameron Bailey added four catches for 45 yards.
Huntington Park didn’t get on the scoreboard until late in the third quarter on Victor Molina’s one-handed grab in the end zone. The Spartans (3-2) crept closer on their next possession when Bey’jon Lee burst through a hole up the middle for 27 yards and quarterback Anthony Parhms added the two-point conversion run.
“That was a hard-nosed football game,” Hyde told his players in the post-game speech. “You had to earn it and you did.”
The Dolphins disrupted Huntington Park’s offense all night, to the tune of nine sacks and 12 plays of negative yardage.
Quinn Perry was a playmaker on both sides of the ball, making three catches for 67 yards as Palisades won its third straight game.
Palisades scored on a safety less than two minutes into the game when a snap sailed over the head of the punter Molina, who recovered the loose ball in the end zone and slipped to the turf.
Rayne Camden capped a five-play, 60-yard drive with a three-yard run–his first varsity touchown–to increase the Dolphins’ lead to 9-0 midway through the first quarter.
Manheim found Vaupen in the corner of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown pass that made it 15-0, but Perry’s extra point try was blocked.
Huntington Park was held to a meager 32 yards from scrimmage in the first half.
“We all focused on doing our job and keeping them contained,” said Pali High senior captain and defensive tackle Jimmy Reyes, who had seven tackles, including a sack. “I think the week off actually took our momentum away. We can still be better. There were some misplays on our part, but we look forward to playing back at home next week.”
Linebacker Dakotah Hamilton had 11 total tackles and three sacks, Perry had 10 tackles, including two solo sacks and safety Aaron Butler had two pass deflections.
“The story of the game is that when we got pushed in the fourth quarter, we responded with those two touchdowns,” said Hyde, who served as the defensive coordinator at Huntington Park in 2000 and 2001, but hadn’t been back since. “First, we didn’t finish some drives on offense, then all of a sudden they score, we punt, they score again and it’s a one-score game. A big thumb’s up to Jonah. He was our tight end but he’s gotten better each week and really has taken the plunge into the quarterback role like a true professional. I’m extremely proud of his development.”
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