Dolphins Hope to Make History Versus their Charter Bowl Rivals

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

On September 1 Palisades High’s football team was looking forward to extending its win streak to 10 games in its annual Charter Bowl against Granada Hills. As it turned out, the Dolphins got to keep possession of the bronze trophy for another year when the game was canceled due to extreme heat in the San Fernando Valley. Little did the teams know they would meet 12 weeks later for an even bigger prize: the City Division I championship.

There is a rich history between  the programs, beginning long before the Charter Bowl started in 2006. The rivalry dates back to 1977 when the Highlanders edged the Dolphins 28-27 in a California tiebreaker in the City 4A quarterfinals, a matchup that featured future Super Bowl winning quarterbacks John Elway and Jay Schroeder. The two faced off again in the same round in 1978 and Elway’s team again came out on top, 31-12. Granada Hills won three of four regular season meetings from 1980-83, losing only the 1981 game. In the Charter Bowl era, however, Palisades has dominated.

The Dolphins lead the series 11-4 and have won nine straight with the average margin of victory being 25  points. Including games before the Charter Bowl, Palisades has a 12-9 advantage head-to-head. Palisades is 12-7 in regular season matchups. Granada Hills is 2-0 in the playoffs.   

Palisades has never won a City football title since the school opened in 1961. It lost to San Fernando 12-10 in the City championship game at the Coliseum in 1974 (there was one division then) and lost 30-14 to Franklin in the 3A (lower division) final at East LA College in 1987—the same year Granada Hills won the 4A crown. The Highlanders won their first section title in 1970.

The challenge for Palisades on Saturday will be stopping Granada Hills’ vaunted Wing-T attack, led by senior tailback Dijon Stanley and  his sophomore cousin Darrell. They have accounted for over two-thirds  of the Highlanders’ 554 total points.

Dijon Stanley, a Utah commit and four-time City track champion, is widely regarded as the best running back in the section and has the stats to back up that assertion. In the 11 games in which he has played (he sat out a nonleague contest at Westchester), Stanley has amassed  2,019 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground. He averages 12.4 yards per rush and has fumbled only twice in 163 carries. He plays defensive back too and has scored on a punt return, a kickoff return and on a 53-yard interception return, giving him 30 all-purpose touchdowns. Darrell Stanley led Mojave to the Central Section 8-Man final as a freshman last fall before transferring. He has run for 1,133 yards and 19 scores with four interceptions on defense.

The Highlanders’ only losses are to Open Division teams Eagle Rock and Birmingham and they have two blowout wins over Cleveland, which beat Palisades 34-14 on Sept. 16.

“We have to be laser-focused all week in practice,” Pali High captain Savyour Riley said. “Our brains will be fried but we’ll be ready.”