L. A. Flora and Fauna Dazzle in Chumo’s Art Palisades artist Marlena Chumo is exhibiting her new work, ‘Indian Summer,’ from October 13 through November 13 at Schomburg Gallery, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., E3A, Santa Monica. A reception for the artist will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on October 13. The term ‘Indian Summer’ generally refers to the final warm spell of the year, typically in late October and November. Chumo’s more than 20 canvases glow with vibrant color, bold texture and constant movement. Chumo is known for her ability to capture nature, with a targeted focus on landscapes and garden flowers. Her work is often taken to the point of abstraction. Given her obsession with texture, rhythm and line, each brush stroke, often applied in a heavy, impasto and alla prima manner, emphasizes the random feel of nature. By creating a unique level of dimension, depth and movement, Chumo’s work takes on a tactile or sculptural result, where detail is revealed through the application of many layers of color. Chumo is a member of the California Art Club, the Pacific Palisades Art Association, and the National and Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art. Her work hangs in private collections around the world. She maintains creative space at Santa Monica Art Studios at the Santa Monica Airport. The gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact: (310) 453-5757; E-mail: info@schomburggallery.com
Panel Set for Farmers’ Market Discussion
The Culinary Historians of Southern California, a nonprofit organization that supports the culinary collections at the Los Angeles Public Library, presents a free panel discussion on Saturday, October 13 at 10:30 a.m. in the Central Library auditorium, 630 W. 5th. St. downtown, followed by a reception with refreshments. The topic “When SoCal Went Ag: Past and Present Stories of Farming and Farmers’ Markets in Southern California” will feature Palisades resident Amelia Saltsman, editor of The Food Journal and author of ‘The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook: Seasonal Foods, Simple Recipes and Stories from the Market and Farm’; Molly Iwamoto Gean, farmer-proprietor of Harry’s Berries in Oxnard; and Laura Avery, Market Supervisor of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Markets. Writer, cooking teacher and television host, Saltsman is a frequent guest on National Public Radio and teaches at Sur La Table. Her articles appear in National Geographic, Traveler, the Los Angeles Times and other national newspapers. Harry’s Berries was Harry Iwamoto’s entrepreneurial brainchild, launched on 11 acres of land in Oxnard in the late 1960s. Nowadays, his son Ken and daughter Molly (and their spouses) carry on the tradition, selling their strawberries on 35 acres of land directly to consumers at farmers’ markets throughout the state. As the president of the California Federation of Certified Farmers’ Markets, Molly is an enthusiastic promoter of the farmers’ market movement throughout the state and of increasing consumer. During Laura Avery’s 25 years as manager of the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, the Wednesday market has become the largest all-farmers’ market in California. Up to 90 farmers participate, with 16 offering certified organic produce. Over the years, she has assisted in the opening of three more markets in Santa Monica and spearheaded the school salad bar lunch program in the Santa Monica School District. Her farmer’s market report is a weekly segment on the Good Food Program, hosted by Chef Evan Kleinman on KCRW at 11 a.m. The discussion is free and open to all.
Creative Writing Contest Winners Ignore T.V.
The winners of the creative writing contest sponsored by Pacific Palisades Library Association were announced on October 2. The contest attracted 36 entries in five different categories: Scribblers (Grades 1-2), Jotters (Grades 3-4), Scrawlers (Grades 5-6), Scribes (Grades 7-8) and Authors (High School). Entries included poems, essays and short stories and were judged by members of the PPLA. Winners were selected based on writing style, originality, plot, characterization and overall effect. Contestants were limited to one entry, which could not exceed 1,500 words. ‘Some of the judges were amazed at the imaginative character names and story lines,’ said Kathy Slattery, a volunteer with the PPLA. ‘They asked ‘Is there something based on a TV show or a movie like this?” The answer was no. ‘The stories we received are truly original and imaginative,’ Slattery said. Elaine Wechsler, a former teacher at Paul Revere and board member of the Library Association, started the contest about 20 years ago to promote literature and writing for Palisadian youth. The event is run entirely by volunteers. All entrants received a certificate, a feather quill and ink. The top three winners in every category received gift certificates from Village Books, with first place receiving a $100, second place $50 and third place $25. In the Scribbler category, Robert Hsu, Mirman School, took first; Will Lazebnik, Brentwood School, second, and Jack Standish, Palisades Elementary, third. First place in the Jotters was Emily Miner, Palisades Elementary; second went to Mitch Burdorf, Seven Arrows, and third was Annie Lazebnik, Brentwood School. Winning the Scrawlers category was Rachel Burdorf, Seven Arrows, second was Zoe Dutton, Village School, and third in the category was Zachary Handler, Marquez Elementary. Scarlett Addas, Brentwood School, was first in Scribes and Sawyer Pascoe, Paul Revere, took second. At the high school level, Jack Mankiewicz, Harvard-Westlake, was first; Alice Rona, New Roads School, second, and Sara Rosenthal, Palisades Charter High, third. The winning entries may be read online at www.friendsofpalilibrary.org or at the information desk at the Palisades Library.
The Invisible Cuba Waits for Tomorrow
For many of the 400,000 Cuban Americans, their Caribbean homeland is a lost limb. Resentment, nostalgia and sadness fill the void of what has become a phantom island they haven’t seen in decades. Since the revolution in 1959, more than 10 percent of the island’s population has moved to the United States. Many exiles are former revolutionaries who fought alongside Fidel Castro, but were betrayed by his brutal consolidation of power. Palisadian Megan Williams visited Cuba in the spring of 2000 to try and understand more about this tiny island, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States, whose 300-year history has been so consistently drenched in blood. As a documentary filmmaker, Williams perceives the world around her through the lens of a camera. She has produced documentaries on a variety of topics and events, including most recently ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night?’ about homelessness in Los Angeles. ‘On my first trip, I wanted to see if I could film what was going on in Cuba,’ says Williams, who was accompanied by a friend who had grown up in pre-revolutionary Cuba. ‘It felt like I was on an expedition to a remote foreign land, shrouded in mystery. What I saw behind the exquisite beauty and charming population was a country isolated, locked in time, stuck.’ Williams soon realized that the overarching theme in Cuba was antipathy for the United States. ‘There is no free media, and what there exists is seen through the lens of Cuba’s hate for the U.S,’ she says. She found bookstores bereft, cultural development arrested and the political oppression palpable. While it would have been easy to make a pointedly propagandist film, Williams wanted instead to explore the complex and deeply sad stalemate that exists between Cuba and the United States, especially how the isolation has affected both the millions of Cubans on one side and the Cuban Americans on the other. The result is ‘Tell Me Cuba,’ which will debut at the 2007 Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival on Sunday, October 14 at 1:15 p.m. at the ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Hollywood Blvd. For most Americans living anywhere but South Florida, Cuba conjures cigars, the Buena Vista Social Club and tropical beaches. To deepen understanding of the island’s history, Williams includes a 15-minute historical introduction. The story begins with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, equipped with a zeal for conversions and domination that results in decimating the native population. Tracing the recurrent theme of control through ideology, the film takes the viewer through Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain, which is ultimately gained through the intervention of the United States, but at a cost. The newborn constitution is compromised by a U.S. amendment that insists on discretionary intervention and establishes a permanent military base at Guant’namo Bay. The filmmakers use a variety of visuals in telling the story, including academic paintings, film clips from the Spanish-American War, and television archives from the 1970s and ’80s to illustrate the politics in South Florida–where most Cuban Americans live. ‘The story came to me through Cuba, even though it ended up telling me what’s going on in my country,’ says Williams, who started her research by buying all the travel books on Cuba she could find, reading history and watching films. ‘I didn’t see any films that really tackled our same subject.’ Williams made several trips to Cuba, the last two, in 2003 and 2004, with producer Deborah Irmas. As the women recall, each trip became progressively more difficult. ‘On our last trip, after the U.S. presidential election, it took one week for us to get our press credentials,’ Irmas says. The Cuban government was once again tightening American access in response to further American restrictions on any intercourse with Cuba. Through key interviews, representing all views on the Cuban question, Williams achieves the melancholic tone that best describes the intractable stalemate. Two of the most powerful moments in the film arise out of interviews with former Cuban revolutionaries Orlando Bosch and Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo, who fought with Castro, then fought against him. For Bosch, retaliation coalesced around one fixed idea: ‘We prefer a destroyed Cuba to a Communist Cuba.’ The former pediatrician was responsible for a series of anti-Castro terrorist acts in the 1970s, including bombings in Miami and New York, and the 1976 mid-air bombing of a commercial Cuban airliner that killed 73 people, 57 of them Cuban and most of them high school students. ‘I’ll never forget the small stucco house in Miami,’ Williams says, recalling the interview with Bosch. ‘It was a hot, tight setting as I sat across from him, his lip swollen from cancer, as he proudly told me that he had smoked 124,000 cigars in his life. His M.O. was to be coy, and evade questions; it was like interviewing a terrorist with ADD. We used a hand-held camera to capture this man who is so internal, so physical. It was terrifying to be looking into the eyes of a man who is so awful.’ In contract, Eloy is a confirmed pacifist, who despite being imprisoned by Castro for 22 years believes that his country is being destroyed from the inside and the outside. He moved back to Cuba from Miami to work on establishing an opposition to Castro’s one-party regime. ‘When I met Eloy, I thought that this must be like meeting Nelson Mandela,’ Irmas says. ‘He clearly understands our action in the world and wants to make a difference in the world. His tone reveals a great human being.’ With the avengers on one side and those who promote dialogue on the other, the third point to the Cuban triangle is the influence Cuban Americans have on American politics. ‘Florida is an important state that is evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans,’ explains Alfredo Duran, one of the exiles who sees dialogue between Cuba and the United States as the only sensible path forward. ‘The Cuban exiles form a powerful bloc that can determine election outcomes, including that of the U.S. president.’ Indeed, the exile hatred and violence has been transformed into political power. Williams illustrates this alliance between the Cuban-American bloc and the Republican Party, whose South Miami congressional representatives give voice to the anti-Communism commitment. In the end, there are no heroes in this drama, Williams admits. ‘The good guys are the Cuban people, the American farmers who cannot trade with Cuba, and the children, who are the ones who suffer most from the deprivations caused by Cuba’s paralysis.’ (Tickets for the 88-minute film are $10 for general admission. For more information visit www.arclightcinemas.com)
Wolverines Upset Mitty
Led by five Palisadians the North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake High girls varsity volleyball team upset national power San Jose Archbishop Mitty, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20, in the semifinals of the Mitty Invitational September 29 in San Jose. Ranked No. 1 in the nation by Prepvolleyball.com, defending champion Mitty (13-1) was looking to win its own tournament for the fourth consecutive year but was surprisingly swept by a Wolverines squad consisting of Pacific Palisades residents Kasey Kissick, Catherine Sebastian, Cathryn Quinn and Marin Dennis (all seniors) and sophomore Meg Norton. Sebastian, Quinn and Dennis were teammates at St. Matthew’s, where they won two Delphic League Championships with current fellow Harvard-Westlake seniors Alexa Bagnard and K.C. Kanoff, who sat out the Mitty Invitational with an injured ankle. The ‘Fab Five’ have played together since the fifth grade. In the finals later that day, Harvard-Westlake (13-4) fell to third-seeded Santa Barbara in three games, unable to repeat the magic of its semifinal win over Mitty. Los Angeles Marymount, coached by Palisadian Cari Klein, finished fourth overall, losing to Mitty 25-16, 26-24, 25-22 in the third-place match. Sailors Silver in Las Vegas Marymount High finished fifth in the Silver Division at last weekend’s Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas, which featured many of the top prep volleyball teams in the country. The event consisted of eight pools and the Sailors finished second in their pool, sweeping Rim of the World and Green Valley and losing in three games to Newport Harbor. In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Marymount fell to Long Beach Wilson but rebounded to beat Santa Ana Mater Dei, 25-22, 25-18, in the consolation semifinals. Playing for fifth-place, the Sailors topped Clovis Buchanan, 25-21, 25-18. Marymount hits the road again this weekend, traveling to San Diego for the Torrey Pines tournament.
Falcons Score in Delphic Meets
Coaches Sarah Newman and Gustavo Bonini have the St. Matthew’s 5th-8th grade co-ed swim team in the fast lane this fall after strong showings last week in a dual meet against Crossroads and a tri-meet with Brentwood and Immaculate Heart. On Monday, October 1, Courtney Carswell, Issy Alsobrook, Maggie Adair, Margie Iselin, Mikaela Hong, Annie Hill, Nina Mortenson and Mackenzie Howe powered the Falcons’ 200 medley relay teams against Delphic League rival Crossroads. Meanwhile, the boys’ 200 medley relay team of Nick Edel, Kevin Carswell, Alexander Landau, and Stephen Carr finished first in 2:18.44. St. Matthew’s 100 medley relay teams of Alana Entin, Gillian Ondaatje, Brianna Kupfer, Cassie Jernigan and Taylor Pecsok, Lachlan Montgomery, Hunter Price, and Andrew Jones showed potential for future victories. The boys’ team of Alex Kahn, Matthew Moses, Kieran Sheridan, and Brandon Kupfer swam to a first place finish with a time of 1:21.34’the Falcons’ fastest 100 medley relay time this season. Edel streaked to a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (1:06.5), with Landau a stroke behind (1:06.75). Carr achieved his best time ever in the four-lap endurance event (1:12.62), with Mortenson (1:13.72), Kahn (1:15.72), Sheridan (1:16.32) and Adair (1:18.25) close behind. In the 25 butterfly, Kevin Carswell took first place with a fast time of 13.94, followed closely by Mortenson (14.9) and Courtney Carswell (15.31). Matthew Moses and Hadley Kia swam this event in seven and six seconds under their best practice times (23.78 and 18.65), with Chase Aldridge (36.22), Alex Jackson (24.14), and Spencer Mayer (25.16) all dropping multiple seconds in this tiring event. Nick Edel swept the 25 backstroke, coming to the wall in 17.47. Ali Slemaker made a strong showing in the event (27.56) while Juliette West (25.54), Hailey Biscow (23.69), Rainier Emerick (23.03), Alec Graham (24.06), Andrew Jones (26.12), Gillian Ondaatje (27.84), and Brandon Kupfer (21.65) all dropped seconds off their fastest times. In the 50 freestyle, swims by Kieran Sheridan (34.57), Brandon Kupfer (36.82), Matt Douglas (37.18), Hadley Kia (37.38), and Margie Iselin (37.44) showed promise for future victories. The final heat of the 50 freestyle saw point scoring swims by Nick Edel (29.0), Stephen Carr (31.8), and Courtney Carswell (32.32). Caroline Alford (25.41), Amelia Green (25.37) and Kupfer (23.56) improved their times in the 25 breastroke by two seconds; Pecsok (24.53) and Alessandra Laurent (23.25) saw a three-second drops; Entin (32.44), Brooke Reese (28.14), Julia Combs (21.84) and Iselin (26.65) each improved by four seconds in the 25 breaststroke while Andrew Jones (26.22), James Mann (28.12), Lachlan Montgomery (25.96) and Matt Douglas (27.82) each shaved off five seconds. Kevin Carswell won his heat of the 25 breaststroke in a season-best 15.88. In the 25 freestyle, Nick Edel broke his previous record by one second (13.28), as did Lachlan Montgomery (19.34) and Brooke Reese (19.66). Two-second drops were made by Taylor Pecsok (19.97) and Andrew Jones (18.21), Alec Graham (19.31) improved by three seconds and Hadley Kia dropped four seconds (16.28). Edel led the way in the individual medley (1:16.65), followed closely by Alexander Landau (1:18.91), Courtney Carswell (1:22.56), Mortenson (1:25.71), and Sheridan (1:32.31). St. Matthew’s rookie boys’ team of Hudson Ling, James Mann, Spencer Mayer, and Lachlan Montgomery won their heat in the 100 freestyle (1:18.53), as did the older boys’ team of Matthew Moses, Hadley Kia, Preston Clifford, and Alec Graham (1:14.9). The third 100 freestyle relay heat saw a record-breaking swim by the boys’ team of Kieran Sheridan, Alex Kahn, Bandon Kupfer, and Alexander Landau (1:03.06). The 200 freestyle relay was won by Carswell, Carr, Edel, and Landau (2:03.03). Last Wednesday, the Falcons’ boys 200 medley relay team of Matt Chen, Carswell, Carr and Edel swam to victory with its fastest time of the season (2:17.57) while the girls’ team of Adair, Jo Kremer, Courtney Carswell and Iselin finished in 2:42.85. The girls’ 100 medley relay of Issy Alsobrook, Mortenson, Julia Combs and Hill swam St. Matthew’s fastest time of the season (1:20.58). Nick Edel won the 100 freestyle in 1:02, Kevin Carswell took second in the 25 butterfly (13.41) and Chen won his 25 backstroke heat in 17.72. In the freestyle relays, the Falcons’ 100 girls’ team of Ondaatje, Kupfer, Alana Entin, and Amelia Green dropped three seconds off of their Crossroads meet time two days earlier (1:22.94). The boys 100 foursome of Matt Douglas, James Mann, Matt Kaufman, and Hunter Price swam 1:18.6 and Hudson Ling, Lachlan Montgomery, Alex Kahn, and Brandon Kupfer put forth the fastest time for the Falcons so far this season (1:09:93). St. Matthew’s closed out the meet in style as its boys 200 freestyle relay team of Kevin Carswell, Stephen Carr, Matt Chen and Nick Edel swam the race in 1:59.44. Girls Volleyball Andy Bernstein’s 7th-grade squad beat Harvard-Westlake, 26-28, 25-10, 15-11 to remain undefeated (3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Delphic League). Olivia Fitzgerald-Harewood served 13 points, including eight in a row in Game 2. John Caravella’s 8th-grade team lost to Harvard-Westlake, 25-17, 25-12, falling to 0-2 overall, 0-2 in the Delphic League. Flag Football Gary Bradison’s 7th-grade squad shut out Pacific Basin League rival Lighthouse, 4-0, to remain unbeaten and unscored upon in three games this season. Justice Sefas ran for 125 yards and scored three touchdowns’one on a 79-yard kick-off return. Chad Kanoff threw for two touchdowns and three conversions, Taylor Stokes caught a touchdown pass, John O’Day scored 16 points (a touchdown catch, an interception return for a touchdown, a two-point conversion catch and two 1-point conversion receptions The Falcons’ 8th-graders beat Page 41-8 and improved to 3-0 under the guidance of coaches Reynaldo Macias and Jose Bravo. Charlie Porter threw five touchdowns, two each to Ryan Kahn and Andrew Tinger.
Still Best in the West
PaliHi Girls Tennis Dominates League
Winning never gets old for the Palisades High girls tennis team. In fact, it has become a mere formality in the Western League. The Dolphins have won six league championships in a row and are undefeated in Western League matches since a 5-2 loss at Westchester in November 2000. This season was supposed to be one of rebuilding for a squad that lost most of its starters to graduation and yet, whenever the Dolphins take the court for a league match, the question isn’t whether they will win, rather by how much. Palisades (11-2 overall, 6-0 in league) continued its domination last week with shutout victories over University, Westchester and Fairfax, then dispatched host Los Angeles Hamilton on Monday, 6-1, despite the absence of No. 1 player Katy Nikolova. The Yankees, however, became the first league opponent to win a set against the Dolphins this season when top player Amira Massi beat Palisades freshman Samantha Kogan 8-7 in a tiebreaker at No. 1 singles. The other singles sets were also close, but Palisades won them all. Kathryn Cullen beat Hami’s Emma Esrock, 8-6, at No. 2 singles to avenge a loss to Esrock last year. Pali’s Audrey Ashraf defeated Mirana Malina, 8-6, at No. 3 singles and Pali’s Genna Rochlin beat Emily Pompan, 8-6, at No. 4 singles. A key to the Dolphins’ success this fall has been its depth at doubles and that strength was evident against Hamilton. No matter who Head Coach Bud Kling pairs together, the result is always a win. On Monday, Phoebe Driscoll and Yasmin Ghiasi played No. 1 and beat Hami sisters Eliya and Savanna Levine, 8-3. Erika Lee teamed with Rose Schlaff to win 8-5 over Hami’s No. 2 duo of Ashanti McMillan and Ayanna Harris and Pali’s Liz Silvers and Marina Sterngold beat Zoe Bain and Samantha Nehls 8-2. Through one round of league play, Palisades leads second place Venice by two matches and holds the added advantage of having already beaten the Gondos, 7-0, head-to-head. Gunning for their third consecutive Section title, the Dolphins know finishing undefeated in league will increase their chances of nabbing the No. 1 seed when the City playoffs begin in November. Palisades’ only two losses have been to highly-ranked Southern Section teams–Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa–in the Bay Area Invitational.
Nava Plays “up” at Nationals
Eduardo Nava has grown accustomed to playing kids two or three years older than he is, so it came as no surprise when he advanced all the way to the quarterfinals of the 12s division at the Nationals last weekend in Palm Springs. Nava, ranked No. 2 in the world in the Boys 10s, beat the ninth and 13th seeds in straight sets before meeting fellow Palisades Tennis Center junior Robbie Bellamy in the third round. The friends played one of the best matches of the tournament, with Nava finally prevailing 7-6(5), 7-5. Nava’s amazing run finally ended with a loss to Masayoshi Ono of China. Other PTC players at the Nationals included Clay Thompson, Alex Soheil, Alex Giannini, Chase Pekar, Spencer Pekar, Blake Anthony, Derek Levchenko, Katy Nikolova, Reid Shumway and Jonathon Deeter. The PTC’s contingent was one of the largest at the tournament. Nava won the 8-and-under division of the “Little Mo” national tournament in 2005–by far the toughest event for that age group in the United States. Nava has been training at the PTC since early last year.
Getting Fit at Boot Camp
Women of all ages and fitness levels are encouraged to sign-up for Westside Adventure Boot Camp, a four-week outdoor fitness program that offers fitness instruction, nutritional counseling and motivational training. Conducted by Certified Trainer Adam Brewer, registration is underway for the upcoming Pacific Palisades/Santa Monica fall camp, which begins Monday, October 22, and runs through November 16. Five-day and three-day sessions are offered in two time slots, 5:30-6:30 a.m. or 9-10 a.m. Camps are held outdoors and some sessions may require campers to travel short distances away from the “base camp” for a hike. Exercises include core conditioning, short distance running (less than one mile), muscular strength, jumping rope, circuit training, hiking, yoga, kickboxing, pilates, sport drills and obstacle courses. “All you need to bring are an exercise mat, small hand weights, a water bottle, running shoes, and a sense of adventure,” says Brewer, who coached and trained clients nationally and internationally for the past 17 years and is a regular speaker at national tennis conventions and fitness workshops. “The most important thing is the mindset that you want to improve your fitness. By losing fat and gaining muscle, you’ll lose inches and gain strength while looking and feeling better. Also, you’ll meet great people who share in the same vision of striving to reach their goals for a healthier mind and body.” Each four-week camp has a registration fee of $299 for 20 hours of instruction. Women constantly on the go can also choose to come three days per week for a cost of $180. Participants will get their pre-camp evaluations by their coaches prior to the start of camp. By the time the camp is completed, campers can expect a 3 to 5 percent reduction in body fat, greatly improved posture, better relaxation, 5-12 pounds of weight loss and 25 percent improvement in endurance and strength. “Everyone is different, but performance improvement can take place in as little as three days,” Brewer says. “Visual improvement can take from two to four weeks depending on your effort level. It’s becoming common to see a camper drop go down one or two dress sizes within the first camp.” Registration forms can be downloaded from the Web site at www.westsideootcamp.com. For more information, call (310) 383-2828.
Pali Falls Short at Reseda, 42-35
Dolphins Hope to End Four-Game Slide In Western League Opener at Hamilton
Although the Palisades High varsity football team came up on the short end of a 42-35 score at Reseda last Friday night, Head Coach Kelly Loftus said his team “turned the corner” in several areas–a positive sign heading into this week’s Western League opener at Hamilton. “We grew up a lot in that game,” Loftus said. “We lost, but the kids played their hearts out and gave themselves a chance to win. As a coach, that’s all I can ask.” Trailing by a touchdown, Palisades (1-4) took possession on its own 40-yard line with 14 seconds left. After a pass completion and a defensive penalty, the Dolphins were on the Regents’ 30-yard line with time for one last play, but quarterback Michael Latt’s desperation pass was incomplete. Latt completed seven of 13 passes for 150 yards. Perhaps the most positive sign for Loftus was the Dolphins’ ability to run the ball effectively–something they had not been able to do in their three previous games, all lopsided losses. Leading the way was Miles Nelson, who ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns. His five-yard scoring run capped a 12-play, eight-minute drive and gave Palisades a 7-0 lead on its first possession. Nelson also had a 67-yard run–the Dolphins’ longest run from scrimmage this season–and added touchdown runs of six and 20 yards. “Our line showed tremendous improvement,” Loftus said. “We got them to jump offsides six or seven times and we were wearing them down physically. Unfortunately, we turned the ball over three or four times and they scored off of every one of them.” Gerald Ingram caught five passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns–one on a 42-yard bubble screen and the other on a 67-yard bomb–and returned three kick-offs for 167 yards. Michael Creer intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown that was later called back on a clipping penalty. Giovannie Dixon, Reseda’s leading rusher, was on crutches before the game and did not suit up, having tweaked his ankle the previous week. Even without him, though, the Regents took advantage of fumbles and poor kick coverage to start several drives deep in Palisades territory. Despite its mistakes, which included seven penalties, Pali led 21-20 lead at halftime. “Actually, both teams broke some long returns,” Loftus said. “It got to the point where I told [kicker] Joe Berman to kick line drives so their guy wouldn’t have a chance for a run back.” With the nonleague schedule now behind them, the Dolphins can turn their attention to the Western League, which opens Friday afternoon at Hamilton. Loftus knows a win is a must for the Dolphins to have a chance at making the playoffs in November. “This game is going to tell a lot about us,” Loftus said. “It’s an opportunity to build some respect and credibility for ourselves.” The frosh/soph game is today at 3 p.m. and the varsity kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. at Hamilton High.