Charter Plight

For three quarters of last Friday night’s game the Palisades High varsity football team stood toe-to-toe with host Granada Hills and seemed poised to end its three-game losing streak. Then the ghost of John Elway seemingly took over the body of Highlanders’ quarterback Joshua Szin, who started running and passing like the 1979 alum after whom the campus stadium is named. Szin rolled out of the pocket and threw a 26-yard strike to Robert Dorman on the first play of the fourth quarter, then scrambled for a first down to set up the clinching touchdown six minutes later and Granada Hills held on to defeat the Dolphins, 28-21, and reclaim the Charter Bowl trophy–its reward for winning the annual grudge game between the City Section’s two charter high schools. “No one should be hanging their heads,” Palisades Coach Kelly Loftus told his players during his post-game speech. “Those guys in green [Granada Hills] didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves by making a few mistakes. Those are things we can correct. We did some good things in this game and we can build on those.” The Dolphins played hard for 48 minutes, they simply ran out of time. After Lawrence Villasenor returned a kick-off 25 yards to the 46-yard-line Palisades marched 54 yards in eight plays, scoring on Malcom Creer’s 4-yard run and adding the two-point conversion on Preon Morgan’s quarterback keeper to pull within a touchdown with 35 ticks left. Alex Anastasi’s line drive onside kick was smothered at midfield by cornerback Christian Johnson and, on the next play, Szin took a knee to run the final seconds off the clock. “Penalties hurt us, we had some incomplete passes, but to win you need the whole team,” said Palisades fullback Joe Brandon, who rumbled for 65 yards in just 10 carries, all of it on hand-offs between the tackles. “At halftime we were told to pound it inside more and we did. Every game we’re getting closer and closer.” Palisades (0-4) forced a three-and-out on the Highlanders’ first possession and took over at Granada Hills’ 24-yard-line following a shanked punt by Josh Goldman. The Dolphins couldn’t capitalize, however, as Alex Anastasi was wide left on his 32-yard field goal try. Undaunted, Palisades drove 45 yards in six plays on its next possession for the first score of the game–a 5-yard run by Brandon. Anastasi added the extra point and the Dolphins led in a game for the first time since a short-lived 3-0 advantage in their season opener against Hollywood. After Creer’s weaving 63-yard touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty, Granada Hills (2-2) scored on a 12-yard run by Jonathan Powell, who would finish with 116 yards in 20 carries. Jesus Rubio’s extra-point try hit the right upright, leaving the host Highlanders behind by one point. Dorman pounced on Kemonta Reed’s fumble at Palisades’ 48-yard-line on the next series and Granada Hills scored five plays later on a 1-yard plunge by Oscar Ortiz. Szin hit Dorman on a crossing rout for the two-point conversion and the Highlanders led 14-7 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. “We showed vast improvement tonight,” Loftus said afterward. “Our ability to run the ball was real encouraging. The kids came together as a group and played a very emotional game. It’s disappointing that we came up a little short but I was pleased with our effort.” Palisades answered the Highlanders’ score by putting together its best drive of the game. Morgan found Creer over the middle for a 30-yard gain and escaped the pocket to pick up a key first down at the Highlanders’ 6-yard-line on third and long. Brandon capped the drive by dragging four defenders with him into the end zone 35 seconds before halftime. Defensive lineman Andrew Hardin shot through the line and blocked Anastasi’s extra-point attempt and Granada Hills took a 14-13 lead to the locker room. “I really thought we had them,” Brandon said. “We had just scored and we knew we were getting the ball first in the second half so we felt pretty good about our situation.” The teams traded punts to open the third quarter. Palisades moved into field goal range on its next possession but Hardin reached up and deflected Anastasi’s 44-yard attempt. Dorman scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it to the Dolphins’ 49-yard-line, setting up Granada Hills’ nine-play go-ahead touchdown drive. Morgan completed 5 of 9 passes for 91 yards and rushed eight times for 58 yards. Creer ran for 42 yards in 13 carries and had three receptions for 79 yards. Kevin Mann added two catches for 12 yards. Brandon, Juan Climaco and Hakeem Jawanza each had seven tackles on defense and Samuel Robertson and Christopher Walker had two apiece and Morgan, Ryan Harris and Georgi Chukhbazob each added five. Palisades shut out the Highlanders, 21-0, last season at Stadium by the Sea for its lone victory in four Charter Bowl games. Frosh/Soph In a tight defensive struggle that one might expect between two undefeated teams, Palisades’ frosh/soph squad played hard but lost to host Granada Hills, 14-7, last Friday afternoon at John Elway Stadium. The host Highlanders (4-0) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run and point-after kick by quarterback Patrick Cassilly. Granada Hills threatened to score again late in the second quarter but Dolphins’ freshman linebacker Spencer Sawai intercepted a Cassilly pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Ricky Lynch made the point-after kick to tie the score 7-7. Both defenses dominated in the third quarter. Palisades thought it had scored when Lynch boomed a punt from midfield that touched a Granada Hills player at the 3-yard line and bounced into the end zone, where it was recovered by freshman Jack Jordan. The officials huddled and, after a lengthy discussion, ruled a touchback. “That was a bad break for us because we thought we’d scored,” Palisades Head Coach Ray Marsden said. “We knew it was going to be tough coming here and our bus was late so we only had a few minutes to warm up. We just couldn’t get clicking on offense. We fumbled twice in the first half and couldn’t complete a pass, yet we were in it right to the end.” Late in the fourth quarter Cassilly surprised the Dolphins’ defense with a 62-yard pass to Brandon Arnold for the go-ahead touchdown and Cassilly’s extra-point gave the Highlanders a 14-7 lead. Palisades (3-1) was unable to convert on fourth down with 1:32 left and the Highlanders took possession and ran out the clock.