Granada Hills Wins Charter Bowl

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When the clock ran out last Thursday night, August 31, two Granada Hills football players hustled to the Palisades sideline, scooped up the Charter Bowl trophy and held it high as they returned to their half of the field.

For the first time in 11 years the coveted bronze prize changed hands after the Highlanders prevailed 26-10 at Stadium by the Sea.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Palisades Charter High School, which had waited 10 months for the chance to avenge a 36-point blowout in the City Division I championship game and was riding a wave of confidence following impressive wins against El Camino Real and Roosevelt to start the season.

In this third game, however, something was off. 

Dylen Smith, who was hired as the program’s 13th head coach in February, attributed his first defeat to poor play calling and a subpar week of practice.

“This one’s on me,” Smith said afterward. “I was a little too lax this week in terms of guys showing up on time and ready to work, especially with one less day to prepare. To Granada Hills’ credit, they pressured our quarterback, disrupted his timing. Still, it was not a good week in practice and that showed in the game. We have to learn from this and get better.”

In its first two contests (a tie at Franklin and a loss at home to Village Christian), Granada Hills had looked nothing like the squad that reached the Division 4-A state bowl game in December, led by City Co-Player of the Year and state track champion Dijon Stanley (now a freshman at the University of Utah). However, thanks to Stanley’s cousin Darrell and senior Kanye Martin, the Highlanders (1-1-1) seem to be rounding into form. 

“They blew us out here out my freshman year and that made me really angry,” Martin said as he headed to the bus. “And even though we beat them pretty bad [44-7] in the finals last year, we didn’t get the [Charter Bowl] trophy. Tonight was all about bringing home the trophy.”

Darrell Stanley rushed 18 times for 129 yards and one touchdown, Martin gained 116 yards in 11 carries and one touchdown, and Nasir Enilolobo had 84 yards and a score in 10 carries for the Highlanders, who ended a nine-game losing streak in the annual grudge game. Granada Hills’ defense intercepted a pass and recovered two fumbles.    

“I’m really an offensive guy but coach put me in at linebacker and I made a play,” said Martin, who scored on a 71-yard touchdown run to give Granada Hills a 12-7 lead late in the second quarter. “This makes us joyful … we always knew we had it in us to play like this, we just didn’t show the first two games.”

Palisades marched to the Highlanders’ 36-yard line on its opening possession before turning it over on downs. Following three punts the Dolphins moved to Granada Hills’ 25 but Kellan Ford’s 42-yard field goal was short.

LeHenry Solomon returned a punt 45 yards to the Highlanders’ 14. Two plays later Saxon Wald caught a nine-yard scoring strike from quarterback Roman La Scala, and Ford’s extra point kick made it 7-0 Palisades with 5:55 left in the second quarter.

Stanley returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, however the two-point try failed and the Dolphins still led, 7-6.

On the third play of their next drive the visitors took the lead on Martin’s 71-yard touchdown run. A two-point conversion attempt was stopped but the Highlanders took a 12-7 lead into halftime.

Martin’s diving interception near the sideline gave his team the ball at its own 26, and two plays later Enilolobo busted through the line and rumbled 77 yards for a TD that increased Granada Hills’ lead to 18-7 midway through the third quarter.

Palisades (2-1) drove from its 37 to the Granada Hills 12 before settling for a 30-yard field goal by Ford that pulled the Dolphins within eight points late in the third quarter.

Stanley broke four tackles on his way to a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Martin broke the plane of the goal line on the subsequent two-point conversion to make it a 16-point margin. The teams traded punts, and when the Highlanders recovered a fumble at their own 47 with under two minutes left, their win was all but secured.

Palisades wideout Braydon Sanford watched the game on crutches after injuring his ankle in practice, and he was sorely missed.

“Not having Braydon hurt us because he’s been our best receiver, but it’s not broken and we’re hopeful he’ll be back for the Brentwood game in three weeks,” Smith said. “Until then it’s up to other guys, and we have a number of players who can do the job.”

Granada Hills won four of the first six games in the rivalry but Palisades had won the previous nine by an average of 25 points. Thursday’s result marked the Highlanders’ first road victory in seven tries in the Charter Bowl.

Palisades and Granada Hills achieved independent charter status in 2003, becoming the first two charter high schools in Los Angeles Unified School District. The first Charter Bowl game took place in 2006 and since then Palisades holds an 11-5 lead.

There was no game in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic while last year’s game was canceled because of extreme heat in the San Fernando Valley.

In the earlier JV game, sophomore quarterback Mattias Hernandez tossed three TD passes but was sacked nine times as the Dolphins were dealt their first loss, 36-21.

Granada Hills scored first on a 52-yard run and added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. Palisades answered on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Hernandez to King Demethris and took the lead on a seven-yard strike from Hernandez to Ricardo Martin early in the second quarter.

Hernandez hooked up with Martin again, this time for a 21-yard score, later in the first half, and the Dolphins led 21-8 at intermission. Momentum swung when Granada Hills stopped Palisades on fourth down at the Highlanders’ 10 on its first possession of the third quarter. After that, Granada Hills scored four unanswered touchdowns.

Palisades will try to get back on track versus St. Genevieve (0-2) on Friday, September 8, at Stadium by the Sea. The junior varsity game kicks off at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity at 7 p.m.