Palisades High junior linebacker Alec Simpson has been named to the Cal-Hi Sports all-state football second team.
Simpson led the Dolphins with 115 tackles (15 for losses) along with four sacks, a pass deflection and an interception and he was an All-Western League first team and All-City Division I first team selection in the fall. In August he was offered a full scholarship from the University of Nevada.
Simpson has been invited to the Nike Football Opening Regionals on March 8 at Redondo Union High and Rivals Camp May 10 at Fullerton College.
After earning Western League Offensive Most Valuable Player and All-City Division I first team honors, Pali High junior quarterback P.J. Hurst has earned invitations to the Los Angeles Elite 11 Camp on March 8 and the Rivals QB Challenge on Feb. 21 at Fullerton College.
Hurst completed 117 of 185 passes for 2,220 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 128.6 rating last season. He also rushed for 309 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games.
“I’m excited to see the growth of these two leaders for the Pali football program,” Dolphins head coach Tim Hyde said. “P.J. and Alec have been with me since Day 1 when I got hired. There’s a lot of buzz about them right now and for good reason.”
Palisades’ senior All-City kicker/punter Ethan Erickson averaged 4.25 seconds per punt at the Chris Sailer Kicking national event Jan. 17-18 in Las Vegas. It was the second-highest average of all 300+ kickers, which included junior college players.
Among the kickers Erickson thanked for helping him at the instructional camp was Washington Redskins kicker Kai Forbath, who grew up in the Palisades and won the Lou Groza Award his junior year at UCLA.
— Steve Galluzzo
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