Dolphins Tame Wildcats, 44-7

Creer Scores Three First-Half Touchdowns; Defense Dominates

By JAYANT SUBRAHMANYAM Special to the Palisadian-Post Maybe the Palisades High varsity football team was still bothered by its loss to Venice in its Western League opener the previous week, because the Dolphins took out their frustrations against Los Angeles University last Friday. Palisades trounced the visiting Wildcats, 44-7, at Stadium by the Sea to get right back in the league title hunt–an emphatic win that could not have come at a better time. Last season, the Dolphins’ only victory was a tough 20-15 triumph over University. This time it was all Palisades, which raced to a 37-0 halftime lead. Senior running back Malcolm Creer powered into the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown and Kevin Mann’s subsequent two-point conversion catch gave Palisades a 16-0 lead with 4:01 left in the first quarter. The second quarter proved to be even better for the home team, as Creer scored again–this time on a 19-yard scamper–and junior defensive back Ricky Lynch intercepted an errant pass. Senior quarterback Ke’monte Reed connected with Creer on a 40-yard pass, setting up Creer’s three-yard touchdown run that extended Palisades’ lead to 30-0. After University was forced top punt, Creer scored from 23 yards out for his third touchdown of the first half. In the second half, the Dolphins seemed content to run the ball to eat up the clock. After an interception by senior linebacker Elmer Garcia, junior tailback Arte’ Miura scored on a one-yard touchdown run to increase Palisades’ lead to 44-0. The winless Wildcats scored a fourth quarter touchdown to avoid being the Dolphins’ third shutout victim this season. Palisades has won three straight over University by a combined score of 83-36. The Dolphins (3-4, 1-1) travel east to Los Angeles Hamilton on Friday afternoon with a chance to level their season record and increase their chances of a City Section playoff berth. Frosh/Soph Palisades avenged its only league loss last season with a 42-6 victory, improving to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Western League. “It was a good bounce back game for us,” Coach Ray Marsden said. “Everyone played, everyone had fun and we came out of the game healthy.” The Dolphins play at Los Angeles Hamilton at 3 p.m. Thursday.