Pali High Football Rallies Late but Archrival Venice Holds on for 34-28 Victory on Senior Night
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Every year, the opponent the Palisades High football team wants to beat more than any other is Venice. The crosstown rivalry was renewed last Friday night and, just like last year, it wasn’t decided until the final minute.
On fourth-and-one at the Venice 30-yard line with 30 seconds left, Palisades quarterback Daniel Hayes kept the ball on a fake hand-off but linebacker Arlandus Triplett grabbed him from behind until several teammates converged to drive the pile back, leaving the Dolphins one foot and six points short on Senior Night at Stadium by the Sea.
“I had to pull out every trick play I had,” Venice Coach Angelo Gasca said. “On that last fourth down I was holding my breath that someone would make a play. I’m not surprised it was Arlandus. He stuffed the quarterback on a sneak on the second to last play earlier in the season at El Camino Real to win us that game.”
The hardfought 34-28 victory brought back memories for Gasca, a former Venice player himself.
“Forty years ago on this field I played them in Week 10 for the league title,” Gasca remembered. “They were up 7-3 at halftime but we ended up winning 30-7.”
Hayes had his best game in a Dolphins uniform, completing 18 of 26 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown and rushing for 40 yards in 10 carries. His leadership was displayed afterwards when he shouldered blame for a tough loss.
“It was a veer left and if there was no one lined up on me I was going to sneak it, but in retrospect I should’ve handed it off to Dakotah [Hamilton],” said Hayes, a junior transfer from Loyola who surpassed 1,000 yards passing for the season with a 10-yard throw to Cameron Bailey late in the second quarter. “We always like to run the ball, but we knew we had to pass to keep them honest.”
The Dolphins were trying to beat their archnemesis in back-to-back years for the first time since 1999 and 2000 and gave themselves hope when Campbell Geddes nailed a 46-yard field goal to pull Palisades within one score with 1:27 left. On the ensuing onside kick, the ball skidded off the hand of Venice receiver Brycen Tremayne and Cristian Popescu pounced on it at midfield to give the Dolphins one final chance. Hayes threw to Bailey for a first down but four plays later Palisades faced its fateful fourth down.
Receiver-turned-quarterback Dion Moore, who switched positions after returning signal-caller Luca Diamont suffered a fractured skull in July and was ruled out for the season, threw for 178 yards and rushed for 54, including touchdown runs of one and nine yards. His primary target was Tremayne, who caught four passes for 102 yards, including a 41-yard scoring reception early in the fourth quarter.
Chad Johnson Jr., son of former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, outjumped two defenders in the end zone to snare the winning 17-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 left, giving Venice a 34-25 lead.
Palisades marched 85 yards in 16 plays on its second drive, capped by Hayes’ 15-yard pass to Bailey, who had nine catches for a season-high 130 yards.
After Marcel Manson recovered a fumble at the Venice 27, the Gondoliers need only four plays to drive 73 yards, tying the score on Moore’s 1-yard sneak.
Geddes kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to give the Dolphins a 10-7 halftime lead.
Hamilton gained 116 yards in 20 carries, including a four-yard touchdown run that cut Venice’s lead to 28-25 with 9:16 remaining.
“I told the kids we’re going to go right at them,” Pali High Coach Tim Hyde said. “We can match them physically—we proved that last year. We mixed it up, but in the end we fell one play short.”
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