Head Coach Kelly Loftus liked most of what he saw from the Palisades High varsity football team last Friday night. The few things he didn’t like, however, are what ultimately cost the Dolphins a chance to win their first game of the season. Franklin was heavily favored going into the game but was unable to pull away until late in the fourth quarter, settling for a pedestrian 24-7 win. The turning point in the game came in the waning seconds of the first half, when Malcolm Creer intercepted a pass by Panthers’ quarterback Cesar Hernandez at the goal line and raced up the left sideline for an apparent touchdown that would’ve given Palisades a 14-10 lead. A holding penalty negated the score and the Dolphins’ offense sputtered in the second half. “I’m not disappointed with our effort–that was there all night long,” Loftus said. “We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. This game went exactly the way us coaches wanted. It was right there for the taking'” Palisades’ defense was sparked by the return of senior linebacker and captain Casey Jordan, back on the field for the first time since he suffered a concussion in the season opener at Hollywood. That defense stopped Franklin twice on fourth down and intercepted two passes–one by Creer and the other by Hakeem Jawanza in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Preon Morgan completed 4 of 8 passes for 8 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Mann on the Dolphins’ first drive. Joe Brandon rushed 7 times for 45 yards, Creer added 35 yards in seven carries and Mann had three catches. Brandon and Lawrence Villasenor each had eight tackles on defense while Jeremy Smith and Juan Climaco added seven apiece for Palisades (0-5). Hernandez threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns and Eugene Gandara had six catches for 75 yards for the host Panthers (3-1). The scoreboard malfunctioned before kick-off so officials kept time on the field. “This was our best game so far and I like that we’re improving,” Loftus said. “We’re starting league and it’s a whole new season now. Four wins should get us into the playoffs and we still have a shot at that.”

After a sluggish first half, the Palisades High frosh/soph football team dominated the last 24 minutes to beat Franklin, 27-15, last Friday afternoon in Los Angeles. The host Panthers led 7-0 at the break and seemed poised to deal the Dolphins their second straight defeat. However, Jauan Tate scored on a 4-yard run on Palisades’ first possession of the third quarter and the visitors were off and running. Corey Richardson recovered a fumble and romped 35 yards untouched for Palisades’ second touchdown. Then, midway through the fourth quarter, the Dolphins drove to the Franklin 12-yard-line, where quarterback Nathan Dodson called an audible, faked a hand-off and threw a high-arching pass to Dylan Hellberg for a touchdown. With Nate Dodson holding, Ricky Lynch kicked his third point-after. With less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tate scooped up a Panthers’ fumble and returned it for Palisades’ final touchdown. “I was pleased by the team’s response at halftime and I’m thrilled we got back in the win column,” Head Coach Ray Marsden said. “However, if we play poorly in the first half against Westchester next week the outcome will be very unpleasant.” Palisades’ frosh/soph hosts Westchester at 4 p.m. Friday at Stadium by the Sea, followed by the varsity game at 7.

After outscoring University in their Western League openers the Palisades High girls’ and boys’ varsity cross country teams wanted to remain undefeated with victories over Hamilton. That’s just what they did last Thursday at Pierce College. Senior Carlos Bustamante won the boys’ race in 15:58–his fastest time so far this season–and sophomore Grant Stromberg came in second with a career-best time of 16:18. Freshman Drake Johnston and junior Danny Escalante ran personal-bests for the season to tie for third place and sophomore Daniel Hernandez finished sixth in 18:19. Freshman Jacklyn Bamberger again led the girls with a first-place finish and season-best 19:26, followed by sophomore Sophia Stone in second in a season-best 20:43, sophomore Melissa Tallis in third in a season-best 21:23 and junior Wendy Gomez in fourth in a career-best 22:04. Senior Jamilett Maldonado finished fifth in 23:06. The boys’ varsity will run in the Castaic Lake Invitational this Saturday before returning to league competition October 29 against Venice.

The final match of the 2009 polo season at Will Rogers State Historic Park could not have been scripted any better. Like a scene from a Hollywood movie it was decided in overtime and when the mallets were put away and the saddles taken to the barn Perennial Financial Services had defeated Jennifer Lowe, mortgage broker, 11-10, in a thrilling championship game of the 17th annual Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce Polo Tournament. Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod, Chamber President Ramis Sadrieh and current Mr. and Miss Palisades Wyn Delano and and Sabrina Giglio, were among those who participated in the Throwing-in of Ball ceremonies. Then, it was time for players and their mounts to take the field. “It turned out to be a wonderful day,” said the Chamber’s Executive Director Arnie Wishnick, who estimated close to one thousand people came to watch. “It was one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had. Everyone had a great time, ate plenty of food and saw some great polo.” The 4-Goal game pitted resident pros Domingo Questel and Ernie Darquea against each other, with Questel leading Perennial Financial Services and Darquea leading the Jennifer Lowe, mortgage broker side, which built a seemingly insurmountable four-goal lead late in the third chukker. However, Questel tied the game on a penalty shot with 14 seconds left in regulation, setting the stage for teammate Bill Davis’ game-winning goal–his fifth of the match–with 5:27 left overtime. There was a reversal of fortunes this year, as last year’s 4-Goal champion Body Inspired Fitness won the 2-Goal trophy this year and last year’s 2-Goal winner Perennial won this year’s 4-Goal championship. “That was probably the most exciting championship game I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been calling the Chamber Tournament,” announcer Al Epstein said. “The fans were really into it. I have so much fun doing the play-by-play. I’m sad to see the season end.” Other team sponsors were Anthony Marguleas at Amalfi Estates, Pacific Palisades Lions Club and Sanda Alcalay at Sotheby’s International Realty.

For three quarters of last Friday night’s game the Palisades High varsity football team stood toe-to-toe with host Granada Hills and seemed poised to end its three-game losing streak. Then the ghost of John Elway seemingly took over the body of Highlanders’ quarterback Joshua Szin, who started running and passing like the 1979 alum after whom the campus stadium is named. Szin rolled out of the pocket and threw a 26-yard strike to Robert Dorman on the first play of the fourth quarter, then scrambled for a first down to set up the clinching touchdown six minutes later and Granada Hills held on to defeat the Dolphins, 28-21, and reclaim the Charter Bowl trophy–its reward for winning the annual grudge game between the City Section’s two charter high schools. “No one should be hanging their heads,” Palisades Coach Kelly Loftus told his players during his post-game speech. “Those guys in green [Granada Hills] didn’t beat us, we beat ourselves by making a few mistakes. Those are things we can correct. We did some good things in this game and we can build on those.” The Dolphins played hard for 48 minutes, they simply ran out of time. After Lawrence Villasenor returned a kick-off 25 yards to the 46-yard-line Palisades marched 54 yards in eight plays, scoring on Malcom Creer’s 4-yard run and adding the two-point conversion on Preon Morgan’s quarterback keeper to pull within a touchdown with 35 ticks left. Alex Anastasi’s line drive onside kick was smothered at midfield by cornerback Christian Johnson and, on the next play, Szin took a knee to run the final seconds off the clock. “Penalties hurt us, we had some incomplete passes, but to win you need the whole team,” said Palisades fullback Joe Brandon, who rumbled for 65 yards in just 10 carries, all of it on hand-offs between the tackles. “At halftime we were told to pound it inside more and we did. Every game we’re getting closer and closer.” Palisades (0-4) forced a three-and-out on the Highlanders’ first possession and took over at Granada Hills’ 24-yard-line following a shanked punt by Josh Goldman. The Dolphins couldn’t capitalize, however, as Alex Anastasi was wide left on his 32-yard field goal try. Undaunted, Palisades drove 45 yards in six plays on its next possession for the first score of the game–a 5-yard run by Brandon. Anastasi added the extra point and the Dolphins led in a game for the first time since a short-lived 3-0 advantage in their season opener against Hollywood. After Creer’s weaving 63-yard touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty, Granada Hills (2-2) scored on a 12-yard run by Jonathan Powell, who would finish with 116 yards in 20 carries. Jesus Rubio’s extra-point try hit the right upright, leaving the host Highlanders behind by one point. Dorman pounced on Kemonta Reed’s fumble at Palisades’ 48-yard-line on the next series and Granada Hills scored five plays later on a 1-yard plunge by Oscar Ortiz. Szin hit Dorman on a crossing rout for the two-point conversion and the Highlanders led 14-7 with 5:10 remaining in the first half. “We showed vast improvement tonight,” Loftus said afterward. “Our ability to run the ball was real encouraging. The kids came together as a group and played a very emotional game. It’s disappointing that we came up a little short but I was pleased with our effort.” Palisades answered the Highlanders’ score by putting together its best drive of the game. Morgan found Creer over the middle for a 30-yard gain and escaped the pocket to pick up a key first down at the Highlanders’ 6-yard-line on third and long. Brandon capped the drive by dragging four defenders with him into the end zone 35 seconds before halftime. Defensive lineman Andrew Hardin shot through the line and blocked Anastasi’s extra-point attempt and Granada Hills took a 14-13 lead to the locker room. “I really thought we had them,” Brandon said. “We had just scored and we knew we were getting the ball first in the second half so we felt pretty good about our situation.” The teams traded punts to open the third quarter. Palisades moved into field goal range on its next possession but Hardin reached up and deflected Anastasi’s 44-yard attempt. Dorman scooped up the bouncing ball and returned it to the Dolphins’ 49-yard-line, setting up Granada Hills’ nine-play go-ahead touchdown drive. Morgan completed 5 of 9 passes for 91 yards and rushed eight times for 58 yards. Creer ran for 42 yards in 13 carries and had three receptions for 79 yards. Kevin Mann added two catches for 12 yards. Brandon, Juan Climaco and Hakeem Jawanza each had seven tackles on defense and Samuel Robertson and Christopher Walker had two apiece and Morgan, Ryan Harris and Georgi Chukhbazob each added five. Palisades shut out the Highlanders, 21-0, last season at Stadium by the Sea for its lone victory in four Charter Bowl games. Frosh/Soph In a tight defensive struggle that one might expect between two undefeated teams, Palisades’ frosh/soph squad played hard but lost to host Granada Hills, 14-7, last Friday afternoon at John Elway Stadium. The host Highlanders (4-0) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run and point-after kick by quarterback Patrick Cassilly. Granada Hills threatened to score again late in the second quarter but Dolphins’ freshman linebacker Spencer Sawai intercepted a Cassilly pass and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown. Ricky Lynch made the point-after kick to tie the score 7-7. Both defenses dominated in the third quarter. Palisades thought it had scored when Lynch boomed a punt from midfield that touched a Granada Hills player at the 3-yard line and bounced into the end zone, where it was recovered by freshman Jack Jordan. The officials huddled and, after a lengthy discussion, ruled a touchback. “That was a bad break for us because we thought we’d scored,” Palisades Head Coach Ray Marsden said. “We knew it was going to be tough coming here and our bus was late so we only had a few minutes to warm up. We just couldn’t get clicking on offense. We fumbled twice in the first half and couldn’t complete a pass, yet we were in it right to the end.” Late in the fourth quarter Cassilly surprised the Dolphins’ defense with a 62-yard pass to Brandon Arnold for the go-ahead touchdown and Cassilly’s extra-point gave the Highlanders a 14-7 lead. Palisades (3-1) was unable to convert on fourth down with 1:32 left and the Highlanders took possession and ran out the clock.

The 46th annual Northridge Tennis Tournament took place last week and 850 of Southern California’s best junior players participated. As usual, the Palisades Tennis Center was well-represented. In the boys’ 10s division, Roscoe Bellamy came in third place out of 64 players in his 64 draw. He is only nine years old and so he has another full year and a half in the age group. New Palisadian TJ Pura turned heads on his way to the finals in the boys’ 16s. Cristobal Rivera finished third in the same division, knocking off five of California’s best before falling to the same player who beat Pura. Also making noise last week was PTC phenom Clay Thompson, who won four rounds at a USTA pro event in Calabasas. Thompson, who reached the semifinals of the Shotgun 21 Tournament over the summer, just turned 17. He is one of the top recruits in the country and has chosen to go to college instead of going straight to the ATP Tour. Playing the same pro event, 14-year-old Robbie Bellamy, a freshman at Palisades High, notched his first pro tournament victory, beating Charles Schroeder before falling to eventual winner Joseph Lizardo of Maryland. Two weeks ago, at the Lynn Scott Memorial Open in Riverside, fourth-seeded Spencer Pekar of Palisades High didn’t drop a set on his way to the boys’ 16s finals. He finally lost to No. 2-seeded Ryo Shimzo of Yorba Linda at Riverside Community College.

Palisades High’s Carlos Bustamante finished in 15:41 to place third out of 228 runners in the senior division race at the Woodbridge Invitational on September 19. Grant Stromberg tied for fourth in the sophomore race in 15:50 and Drake Johnston was fourth in the freshman division in 16:26. Last Thursday, Palisades’ boys and girls varsity teams outscored University in their Western League openers at Pierce College. Bustamante (16:40), Stromberg (16:47), Johnston (17:39), Danny Escalante (17:43) and Daniel Hernandez (18:33) paced the boys while Jacklyn Bamberger (20:06), Sophia Stone (21:33), Michelle Colato (21:41), Melissa Tallis (22:55) and Jamilett Maldonado (23:43) paced the girls. Last Saturday, Palisades competed in the Weisenberger Invitational and Stromberg took sixth (16:08) and Johnston 20th (16:58). Escalante ran 17:32 and Eric Lopez clocked 18:20.

A proud Pacific Palisades tradition continues this week at Riviera Tennis Club, which is hosting the annual ITA Women’s All-American Tennis Championships for the 25th consecutive time. The tournament, the first of three national events that highlight the college season, began Tuesday and concludes Sunday on the lower courts with the singles final at 11 a.m., immediately followed by the doubles final. The tournament features many of the NCAA’s top women and teams in the country. The main draw will include defending singles champion Kelcy McKenna of Arizona State, Yasmin Schnack of UCLA, Venise Chan of Washington, Hilary Barte of Stanford, Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia, Kristy Frilling of Notre Dame and Marrit Boonstra of Florida. The doubles draw will feature McKenna and Sun Devils partner Micaela Hein, Lenka Broosova and Csilla Borsanyi of Baylor, Schnack and Andrea Remynse of UCLA, Barte and Lindsay Burnette of Stanford, defending champions Amanda McDowell and Irina Falconi of Georgia Tech and McCall Jones and Megan Price of BYU. Top teams include UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, Michigan, Florida, Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Georgia Tech, California, Miami, Tennessee and Stanford. Dr. Frederick Ho has served as tournament chairman for the past 25 years. Pam Austin is the tournament director and can be reached at (310) 454-6162 or at paustin@rccla.com. Riviera Tennis Club Manager John Huebner can be reached at (310) 454-6591, ext. 310 or at jhuebner@rccla.com.

In a match to determine first place in the Western League, the Venice High girls’ volleyball team outlasted host Palisades, 25-19, 22-25, 18-25, 25-16, 15-10 on Monday, avenging a defeat two weeks before at the La Jolla Tournament. Palisades’ junior varsity squad got the better of its beach rival, 25-22, 17-25, 15-11. Last Saturday, the Dolphins (7-5 overall, 4-1 in league) finished 2-2-1 at the Venice Tournament, which was held at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa. After splitting games with L.A. Marshall, the Dolphins swept Maywood Academy and King-Drew and lost to Birmingham 2-0 in pool play. In the elimination round, Palisades lost to San Pedro, 25-14. The Dolphins return to the court today when they host LACES in a Western League match (JV at 2:30 p.m., varsity at 4).

Palisadian Tamar Springer, a yellow belt in World Yoshukai Karate, recently took first place in her Kata Division at the 45th annual All-Star Karate Tournament, hosted by martial arts legend Tak Kubota at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Springer, a mother of two, started her karate training six months ago at Gerry Blanck’s Martial Arts Center and entered her first competition at the urging of her instructor Chris Wheeles, a third-degree black belt, who also competed in the tournament and took fourth in his Kata Divison. Also placing 4th in Kata in the Senior Blue Belt Division was Palisadian Carl Fredlin.