Dolphins Blank St. Monica, 21-0

Pali Football Wins Third Straight Game; Opens League Against Venice on Friday

It didn’t look pretty, but the Palisades High varsity football team did put 21 points on the scoreboard Friday night at Stadium by the Sea. The more telling number, however, was the “0” on the opposite side, under the word “visitor.” Not to be confused with Santa Monica, which beat Palisades 24-14 in week two, St. Monica, a Southern Section Division XI school with about 650 students, was limited to 85 offensive yards. It was Palisades’ first shutout since a 49-0 victory over Hamilton in 2002 in the first of former coach Jason Blatt’s two seasons. “Three touchdowns is pretty good but we could’ve easily scored 40 on them,” said Dolphins’ senior defensive end Alphanso Gray. “We’ve been practicing a new defense with different blitzes and things and it worked pretty well tonight.” Last Friday’s win marked the 35th time in school history Palisades held its opposition scoreless. What makes the latest shutout so remarkable is that it was achieved despite 14 penalties for 128 yards–only 33 yards less than the Dolphins gained from scrimmage. Pali coaches were understandably beside themselves. “I’m pretending I’m not here tonight,” Pali line coach George Burns said, only half-joking, as he trotted off the field at halftime. By then, the Dolphins had already had three touchdowns negated by silly infractions. “We got away with a lot of stupid mistakes against [St. Monica], but we won’t be able to make them against better teams,” wide receiver Ryan Henry said. “One positive we can take from this game, though, is that we were able to establish the run.” On Pali’s second possession, Henry took a pitch around right end for a 16-yard touchdown but the play was called back on a hold. Early in the second quarter, Henry fielded a punt and weaved his way for a highlight-reel 58-yard touchdown, but the Dolphins were flagged for clipping. Adding insult to injury, running back Marquise Coleman had a 28-yard scoring run nullified by holding just before halftime. “It was a nightmare,” Pali head coach Leo Castro admitted. “The only thing that made it tolerable was that we were winning. Obviously the penalties are an area we have to clean up in a hurry. If we do that against Venice, it’s going to get ugly.” Against a tougher opponent a 21-0 victory would be reason to celebrate, but players and coaches alike know there is still much the Dolphins (3-2 need to work on before Friday night’s Western League opener versus Venice. “We wanted to come out and control the line of scrimmage and we did,” Gray said. “I think we’re ready for league because we’re getting better every week. Venice only beat Santa Monica by three points and we’re much better than we were when we played Santa Monica, so I think we can beat Venice.” Pali’s sloppy play overshadowed a fine effort by Coleman, who rushed 14 times for 63 yards, most it on straight hand-offs in between the tackles. His 1-yard run gave Pali a 14-0 lead with 4:24 left in the first quarter and it appeared the Dolphins were on their way to a rout. Then the flags started flying. “I’m somewhat satisfied with where we are,” said Henry, who scored the Dolphins’ first touchdown on a 14-yard reception. “We’re definitely ahead of where we were last year, but now we start league and it’s like a whole new season.” Quarterback Raymond Elie attempted only nine passes, completing four for 85 yards, and he threw one interception. Rather than scrambling out of the pocket, Elie reverted to drop-back passing and was sacked four times for -19 yards. He scored Pali’s final touchdown on a quarterback sneak early in the third quarter. The Mariners (1-4) used four different quarterbacks, who combined to connect on 7 of 22 passes for 47 yards. Henry and Robert Gillett each had an interception while Christian Clark and Evan Lambkins each had three solo sacks for Palisades. Lambkins also recovered a fumble. Palisades has not beaten Venice since a 55-32 victory in 2000, the last year of the Ron Price era. In the last four meetings, the Dolphins have been outscored 163-21. Like last year, Venice is led by running back Ken Ashley. “He’s a good runner,” Henry said. “We’re pretty good at defending the pass so if we can stop him and force their quarterback to throw, I like our chances.” Last year, Pali held Ashley in check for most of the first half and trailed only 14-0 at halftime. But he returned the second half kick for a touchdown and later scored on a punt return as Venice pulled away to a 35-0 win. “I’d rate Ashley even higher than C.J. Gable [of Sylmar],” Castro said of the Gondos’ leading rusher. “He’s got a lot of speed and he’s really tough to tackle in the open field.” Friday’s varsity game kicks off at 7 p.m. at Stadium by the Sea, preceded by the frosh/soph game at 4 p.m. Pali’s frosh/soph also beat St. Monica, 26-6, for its third win in a row. The home game will be the Dolphins’ fifth in its first six games. “Hopefully, the home field advantage will work in our favor,” Castro said. “I scheduled so many home games because I want our student body and the community to support the football program. Our goal is to win and to be an exciting team that people want to come watch.” Pali’s three-game winning streak has come against teams with a combined record of 3-11-1, but for the first time in his tenure Castro’s team is above .500. “I expected us to be 4-1 at this point,” Castro said candidly. “I knew Sylmar was going to be tough. But I thought we could’ve won the Santa Monica game and we’ve struggled to beat three weak teams since then, so league is where we have to prove ourselves. From here on, there are no pushovers.”