Gridiron Gusto

Pali High Football Players Have Sights Set on First City Section Championship in Program History   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

When Dylen Smith took over the Palisades High football program in 2023 one of his stated goals was to lead the Dolphins to their first City Section championship. He got his team to the Open Division playoffs his first season and fell one win short of a title last fall, piloting his squad to the Division I final. He hopes his third crack at history ends  in storybook fashion, but there is plenty of work to be done if the boys in blue want to lift a trophy at the end of November.

“This is the youngest line we’ve had since I’ve been here, but skill-wise it’s my best group for sure,” Smith said. “We’ve got a talented bunch of receivers. Malachi Ross is someone to watch. He was MVP on JV last year, he makes amazing plays and knows the playbook well.”

Ross is joined by varsity returners King Demethris and Harrison Carter and newcomer Demare Dezeurn, a junior transfer from Alemany who placed third in the 100-meter dash at the CIF state meet in May. Carter made the All-City Offensive First Team after scoring a team-best 18 touchdowns (10 rushing, six receiving and two on kickoff returns) and amassing 2,218 all-purpose yards.

Last fall, Palisades racked up 582 points in 14 contests (an average of 41.5 per game), notched 11 victories, finished second in the Western League and reached a City final for only the fourth time since the school opened in 1961. A primary reason was quarterback Jack Thomas, who  threw for 3,369 yards and 46 touchdowns and ran for 12 more scores as a junior. The reigning City Division I Offensive MVP looked sharp in an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at Santa Monica College, tossing three touchdowns passes to Harris and a pair of 80-yard scoring strikes to Dezeurn.

“We’ll be better than we were last year,” predicted Demethris, who had 31 catches for 714 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior last year. “We’ve had more time to work on team. Jack [Thomas] knows me like the back of his hand and vice versa. Our goal is to go to Open and win it. Everybody felt that loss [in the finals] last year. We’ve had that taste in our mouth ever since and we want to get rid of it.”

The Palisades Fire in January severely damaged the Pali High campus and as a result the Dolphins do not get to play or practice at Stadium by the Sea this season. They will host their annual Charter Bowl game versus Granada Hills and their homecoming game against University at Santa Monica College. A home site is still being worked out for their regular season finale against Fairfax on Senior Night. All of the rest of their games will be on the road. Dymally had to cancel next Friday’s season opener due to a lack of players, leaving Smith scrambling for a replacement opponent.

“If we can’t find a game for Zero Week we’ll try for the bye week   [Sept. 19],” Smith said. “You don’t want to have to play so many weeks in a row with no breaks in between, but if we have to we will. We want to play 10 games.”

The Dolphins’ youth up front is the chief concern for offensive line coach Syr Riley, a 2018 Palisades alum who has returned to his alma mater to offer his expertise after having played five years at the Division I college level. “Right now I’ve got Liam [Hudson] at left tackle, Tom [Passman] at left guard, Walter [Perez-Webster] at center, Grayson [Brooks] at right guard and Hunter [Kizee] at right tackle, but  Grayson and Walter will switch off. Tom and Grayson didn’t play varsity last year so this way they’ll always have an experienced guy next to them.”    

Anchoring the defense will be All-City linebacker Nico Townsley (93 tackles last year), end Jackson Kaufman (41 tackles), tackle Mike Tobin and linebacker Enzo Allen, who was JV Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore last fall.

“We’re coming into the season strong,” Allen said. “Every year you have guys that leave but you have other guys who get better. I have super high hopes. We’re gonna  be fast and strong on defense. We know our offense is the best we’re going to see all season and going up against them everyday only makes us better. Some days we don’t do as good but iron sharpens iron. We’re going to be underdogs.”

Smith said some players will go both ways (offense and defense) and one of them is Augie Evans, who will line up at tight end on offense and split time between end and linebacker on defense.

“Our defense is about 11 hats to the ball and being one unit—if one guy misses a tackle the next guy makes it,” said Evans, who had 14 receptions for 168 yards and three touchdowns last year and is also on the varsity basketball team. “The offense is more centered around the quarterback but on defense I can make a play every down. Defensive end is more natural to me but I can play the gap… wherever coaches need me. Just don’t take me off the field. I want to be in there on every snap.”

Palisades will practice at UCLA next week through September 12, then switch to John Adams Middle School. The Dolphins travel to Reseda today to scrimmage Cleveland and Van Nuys.

“I haven’t been able to do a lot of football things I’d normally do because of the field situation,” Smith said. “So we’re behind in certain areas but the scrimmage will help us to see where we are.”