Free Passes

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Trusting his line would give him time to exploit the opponents’ secondary, Palisades High quarterback Roman La Scala aired it out in last Friday night’s Western League  opener and in less than two quarters  he scorched host University for four touchdowns to spark a 56-12 rout.

La Scala threw for 178 yards on only 14 attempts—completing 10—for a whopping 17.8 average and a dazzling 153.3 QB rating. In just 20:06 of action, he connected with    

Mikael King-Haagen on a 30-yard touchdown, Amari Yolas on scoring   strikes of 47 and 28 yards and led tailback Chris Washington perfectly on a 22-yard swing pass that upped the lead to 42-6. His job was done.   

“On the first drive the first two post patterns were wide open so I knew we could attack them deep,” La Scala said. “I didn’t get touched a single time. I had all day to throw.”

La Scala has flourished as the first stringer after alternating possessions with fellow junior Zachary Lifton for the Dolphins’ first four games.       

As the starter under center over the last eight quarters he has completed 30 of 43 passes for 407 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions.

“It definitely makes a difference,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to get into a rhythm when you don’t have to sit out every other series. If you screw up you can get right back out there   and make up for it. That’s good too.”   

Taking over on Palisades’ final drive of the first half, Lifton got into the act with a 55-yard bomb to Sean Grier as the clock expired, sending  the Dolphins to the locker room with a 49-6 cushion. With the clock running nonstop in the second half, Lifton found Hunter Holman on a 19-yard scoring play midway through the third quarter to close out Palisades’ point total. Upon returning to the sideline Holman was lifted in the air by his teammates in celebration of his first catch—and his first touchdown—of the season.

“It was good to get back in the win column but we still turned the ball over and committed silly penalties,” said offensive coordinator Rocky Montz, whose team avoided its first three-game regular season losing streak since 2011. “We have to clean things up or it’ll cost us down the road against better teams.”

Washington fumbled for the first time this season and Wildcats linebacker Kalani Jackson scooped up the ball and dashed 65 yards up the sideline for a touchdown. Savyour Riley got his hands up to block the extra point and keep Palisades ahead 7-6 with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

Yolas, who played only defense and special teams during nonleague action, dazzled in his offensive debut and tight end Cameron Kohan caught his first pass since getting injured in the season opener against El Camino Real. Marcus Brown Jr.  returned a punt 48 yards for a score, Saxon Wald inercepted a pass to set up Anthony Lieberman’s 60-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter. Not to be overlooked was the kicking of Kellan Ford, who was eight-for-eight on extra point tries.

Jackson barreled into the end zone from four yards out at the 7:49 mark of the fourth quarter to produce the final margin. University (1-4 overall, 0-1 in league), which was limited to 65 yards from scrimmage in the first half, has lost 14 in a row against Palisades. The Wildcats’ last victory against their crosstown rivals was a 42-14 triumph in 2007.     

Palisades (4-2, 1-0) won its league  opener for the fifth time in the last seven seasons with an aerial show unseen in more than two decades. The Dolphins’ six passing touchdowns (four by La Scala and two by Lifton) were their most in a single game since David Koral tossed six in a 49-18 victory over Pasadena Marshall on November 3, 2000. The  school record is 10 (all thrown by Koral) against Kilpatrick in 1999.

La Scala’s four is his career high and equals the number thrown by Sammy Silvia three times last year, including the Dolphins’ Open Division playoff win versus South Gate.        

The last Palisades quarterback to throw as many as five touchdowns in a game was P.J. Hurst in 2014.      

“It was good to have a game like this and get rid of all the bad vibes from the last two games,” La Scala said. “We definitely could’ve won both—especially Cleveland—but the important thing is to learn from them so it doesn’t happen again.”

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