The Palisades High football team’s season opener at El Camino Real had the look and feel of a playoff game. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, it also resembled Pali’s heartbreaking 36-35 loss to the Conquistadors in last year’s opener. Buoyed by running back Arte’ Miura’s fourth quarter offensive outburst, the Dolphins turned a 21-7 deficit into a 21-21 nail biter with just over a minute to play. But El Camino’s star running back Kawan Rally’who rushed for 267 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries’moved the Conquistadors deep into Pali territory with a kickoff return to ECR’s 35-yard-line and a 38-yard reception on a flare pass. Kicker Ericson Penate then drilled a 36-yard field goal with six seconds to play to produce a 24-21 victory. Despite the loss, the Dolphins showed promise by coming back from a late two-touchdown deficit in their opener. ’It was exciting as hell to coach a game like that,’ head coach Perry Jones said. ‘Our kids are deflated, but honestly it’s kind of a good feeling that they’re very, very disappointed. Now they’re going to come back and keep working. They already do work hard, but ultimately a game like that is going to help us.’ The comeback was all the more impressive considering Pali’s shaky first half. The Dolphins’ defense forced a fumble four plays into the game, but the offense immediately fumbled the ball right back on their ensuing first triple-option run. Rally opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown with 4:19 left in the first; meanwhile, Pali’s offense couldn’t find its rhytm, running a total of seven plays in the first 19 minutes of play (picking up only one first down in the first two quarters). But the Dolphins’ defense held the line to limit ECR’s halftime lead to 7-0’and the Pali offense responded to start the second half. Quarterback Nathan Dodson confidently led his unit downfield with a drive of almost six and a half minutes (with four first downs), riding fullbacks Eric Jackson and Justin Sinclair and tailback Ben Ingram, who took a pitch 22 yards down the left sideline to tie the game, 7-7, with 5:29 left in the third. ’It took us a while to get going,’ Jones said. ‘The first half was a complete loss, we had some first game jitters. That was [ECR’s] second game, so they were already in a good mode ‘ but we struggled early and our defense was out there the entire time.’ In the fourth quarter, it was Miura’s chance to shine. After a pair of Rally rushing TDs padded ECR’s lead to 21-7 with 8:35 left and appeared to dash Pali’s hopes, Miura responded. Following a touchback and false start, he took a hand-off from Dodson and raced 85 yards down the right sideline for a momentum-shifting score. ’Coach called for a counter and they didn’t have a tackle over our guard,’ said Miura, who estimated his previous career-long run was 50 yards. ‘He blasted the linebacker, I saw the cutback lane and I just took it and ran. All my credit goes to the line.’ Later in the quarter, Miura almost returned a punt for another score before being tripped up at the ECR 35, then converted a crucial fourth-and-seven with a 14-yard run to enter the Conquistadors’ red-zone. Sinclair’s four-yard touchdown dive up the middle made it 21-21 with 1:34, before Rally set up Penate’s game-winning kick. ’It felt like the playoffs,’ Jones said. ‘Their stands were packed, our stands were packed. It’s game one and everyone was interested in what we’re doing ‘ I’m proud of our guys for coming back. There’s some character there.’ Palisades (0-1) faces Santa Monica (1-0) tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Santa Monica College.
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