Left to right, Renaissance Academy charter high school students Alex Lluch, Carly Fariello, Tommy Bigalow, Sabrina Sinclair and Daniel Wilkins were among the 350 kids and parents who attended the school’s picnic social and groundbreaking celebration Sunday at the Palisades Recreation Center. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
By ALYSON SENA and BILL BRUNS With the Renaissance Academy opening in less than a week, founding director Paul McGlothlin has been working overtime to finalize opening-day plans, complete classroom construction and secure various community facilities for eventual use by the 250 students he expects on September 8. Enrollment at the new new public charter high school will include about 100 ninth graders and just under 100 sophomores (as indicated by the students who showed up for class orientation this week), plus about 50 juniors and seniors. The school has hired 14 full-time teachers. During his appearance at last Thursday’s raucous Community Council meeting, McGlothlin managed to resolve only one of several controversial issues that worry residents who live near the 881 Alma Building, where Renaissance has leased 13,000 square feet for classrooms and offices. McGlothlin announced that students will not be allowed to drive their car to school (a prospect which had threatened to further congest neighborhood residential streets) and must sign a contract to that effect. Yesterday, McGlothlin told the Palisadian-Post that Alma Real will be not used in any way by parents, carpools, vans or school buses to deliver students in the morning or pick them up in the afternoon. ‘We’ve taken that street off the boards,’ except for faculty who will be parking in the building at the school’s expense, said McGlothlin, who added that a teacher or parent volunteer will stand in front of the school entrance to make sure people abide by this protocol. Renaissance students will be walking to school, commuting by public transportation, riding in parent-run carpools and vanpools, or will be taking the school bus. McGlothlin has leased three school buses through Four Winds, a Los Angeles area school bus operator, and bus passes will cost $40 a month. ‘The bus company said it’s not feasible to use the parking lot area at the Palisades Recreation Center for dropoff or pickup,’ McGlothlin said yesterday, following a Tuesday night meeting. This will eliminate another objection raised by Huntington Palisades residents at the Community Council meeting. ‘We are now working to use the existing bus zones’ at nearby Palisades Charter Elementary (on Bowdoin and Via de la Paz) or the car-pool zone along Swarthmore across from Village School, McGlothlin said. Renaissance classes will begin at 9 a.m. (at least 45 minutes after these schools begin) and end at 3:30 p.m. In addition, Renaissance parents are organizing gathering and delivery locations in the Palisades for kids commuting by carpool or vanpool. The school will give students the option of bringing their own lunches or buying food catered by a Westside food service company. ‘There’s also a great deal of interest from local vendors who want to provide box lunches,’ McGlothlin said. The kids will eat in supervised indoor and outdoor areas and, ‘if they want to leave the building and go into the village at lunch, their parents have to sign a release.’ Meanwhile, McGlothlin has been negotiating the use of community facilities and services, including the adjacent branch library, the nearby recreation center, Pierson Playhouse and Temescal Gateway Park. Park director David Gadelha said he met with Renaissance athletic director Jon Palarz about the school renting the old gym and playing fields for midday (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.) P.E. classes. ‘Nothing’s been reserved yet; they have to come back and fill out a permit,’ said Gadelha, who’s happy to rent space as long as ‘we don’t have park activities at the times they want to use the facilities. We could use the revenue.’ Renaissance hopes to have its theater arts students use Pierson Playhouse (Haverford at Temescal Canyon Road). ‘We would like to work with them but the final arrangements have not been made,’ said Eva Holberg, vice president of administration for Theatre Palisades’ executive board (the Pierson Playhouse landlord). The matter will be further discussed at the next board meeting on September 8.
By Arnie Wishnick 1. ‘On The Waterfront’ ‘ New York dock workers in union mayhem. What a cast! Brando, Steiger, Malden, Cobb and Eva Marie Saint. Directed by Elia Kazan.Wins Best Picture 1954. 2. ‘Norma Rae” Southern mill is unionized when a poor textile worker joins forces with New York labor organizers. Directed by Martin Ritt. Sally Field wins Best Actress 1979. 3. ‘The Pajama Game’ ‘ Hey there! Getting a 7 cents raise at the Sleep Tite Pajama Company is worth singing about. Just ask Doris Day and John Raitt. Directed by Stanley Donen. 4. ‘How Green Was My Valley’ ‘ A Welsh family and the men who worked in the coal mines. Unionization, strikes, abuse and demise of a town. Directed by John Ford. Wins Best Picture 1941. 5. ‘Gung Ho’ ‘ Funny things happen when a Japanese firm takes over a small-town auto factory. Directed by Ron Howard. Michael Keaton is terrific trying to keep the peace between labor and management. 6. ‘Silkwood’ ‘ Nuclear power plant worker Karen Silkwood uncovers something that causes others to want to silence her. Directed by Mike Nichols. Meryl Streep and Cher are superb. 7. ‘The Devil and Miss Jones’ ‘ Romantic comedy finds a big business boss posing as a salesclerk to find union organizers. Robert Cummings, Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn 8. ‘Matewan’ ‘ West Virginia coal miners rebel against working conditions. Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones and Mary McDonnell. John Sayles direction and Haskell Wexler’s cinematography! 9. ‘Hoffa’ ‘ Jack Nicholson is James R. Hoffa. Directed by Danny DeVito. 10. ‘F.I.S.T.’ ‘ Truck driver goes from good to bad after teaming with gangsters. Stallone and Steiger. Directed by Norman Jewison
Once again, the creative talents of the men and women involved in the Theatre Palisades 2003-2004 season productions were recognized at the annual awards dinner in early August at Pierson Playhouse. The show was presented as a musical medley, with music by Bob Remsteen on piano and Bill Minderhout on guitar. The awards were given for acting, directing, costume, sound and set design as well as graphics and production. Director Sherman Wayne won for ‘A View From The Bridge.’ Lead actors Steve Larkin won for ‘Other People’s Money,’ and Shaun Benjamin in ‘A View From The Bridge.’ Lead actress Robin Navlyt won for ‘You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown.’ Featured actor Greg Srolestar won for ‘Holiday’ and Allison Laurence for ‘A View From the Bridge.’ Supporting actors were Ivan Baccarat for ‘A View From The Bridge,’ and Elizabeth Kate for ‘A Romantic Comedy.’ Cameo actor winner was Lindsay Weems for ‘Holiday’ and Ray Dannis for ‘Holiday.’ Manfred Hofer won the graphics award for designing the program for ‘Holiday’ and Nikita Bezrukiy and Cindy Dellinger won production awards for ‘Other People’s Money.’ Sherman Wayne won a set design award for ‘Romantic Comedy,’ Bill Prachar won for sound design in ‘A View From the Bridge,’ Andrew Frew won for lighting design in ‘Other People’s Money’ and Joyce Gale Smith won for costume design in ‘Holiday.’
Mindy Hobbs, daughter of Andrea and Walt Hobbs of Pacific Palisades, and Keith McDaniel, son of Liz and James McDaniel of Ventura, were married on July 24 in Tucson. The couple met through their love of Watsu, a form of aquatic bodywork, and were married in the swimming pool where they met. Their friends Rev. Darcy Conner and Kevin Barry performed the candlelight ceremony in the pool, which was covered with rose petals. The bridegroom started the ceremony by playing a flute, and a mutual friend surprised the couple with a poolside belly dancing performance after the wedding. Hobbs, a graduate of Cal State Long Beach, is a Pilates and Watsu practitioner. McDaniel attended Ventura College and is a Watsu and massage practitioner at Canyon Ranch spa.
Jennifer Cox, although an Orange County native, has learned about the plants and animals of the Santa Monicas through her patient observations. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
For a woman accustomed to walking around all day, every day, Jennifer Cox has discovered an unexpected joy in just sitting, crouching, even lying down in complete stillness. For 25 years, Cox walked the city, including 17 years in the Palisades delivering mail’Until one day a year ago, she just decided to quit the post office to take up her growing passion for photography. ‘I thought I was going to be a pet photographer,’ says Cox, who at first thought her feline companions would make satisfying subjects. But then after she quit the postal service and purchased a half-lease on a horse and rode every day in Topanga, she decided to focus on horses. ‘But it wasn’t doing it for me,’ she recalls. It was Cox’s ‘Ranger Rick Magazine’ that fired her up. The children’s publication of the National Wildlife Federation is filled with irresistible photos of wildlife and their habitats. ‘I thought ‘This is it!’ Now I can’t imagine doing anything else. This is the most fun thing in the world.’ This ‘most fun thing’ finds Cox photographing the animals that live and thrive in the local canyons of the Palisades, particularly Rustic and Temescal. She found her first subjects farther afield than her home on Sunset, at Will Rogers State Historic Park. ‘I’ve spent many hours behind the stables in the pasture area that looks like wonderful meadow,’ she says. For two years, she has been observing the mule deer, learning who’s who and following their cycle of life. Although she has only seen one buck’with a full rack’she recognizes the does throughout the seasons, through their color changes and their fawning season. ‘The first time I saw a group of deer, I did everything you’re not supposed to do. I followed them and talked to them.’ After a few months, Cox swears that one, she now calls Honey, seemed to be saying to her ‘You talk so much.’ She adds that, amazingly, Honey has allowed her to touch her forehead twice. The does grew quite accustomed to her and have established an odd bond with her. ‘It seems like they’re actually cooperating with me’ she says. Cox, who has lived in the Palisades since 1995, (her son is a police officer in San Francisco) has chronicled not only the mammals, but also the region’s rodents, reptiles, insects and birds. Even though she uses a telephoto lens, she nevertheless achieves intimate close-up shots that attest to the special relationship she has with the animals. She first met Hamish, an eastern fox squirrel, in her own backyard. After a courtship period, ‘Hammy’ became quite bold and now scratches on her door. ‘He prefers that I hand him a nut,’ Cox says. ‘He is so gentle that he takes his little hand and leans on me while I give him two walnut halves.’ In the spring, Cox entered the 2004 National Wildlife photo contest and while she did not win, she made it past the first round, ‘a considerable achievement,’ said the magazine’s editors. Thousands of photographs are entered, many of which are eliminated in the first round of judging. ‘One or more of your photos showed many winning qualities and made it through to the final round of judging before being eliminated,’ the judges said. ‘We hope that you will continue photographing the outdoors and we look forward to receiving your entry next year.’ Cox has no intention of stopping what it has taken so many years to finally let herself enjoy, full time. She is now exploring the effects she gets from using 600 speed black and white film. She has also expanded her love of wildlife, most recently noticing, as if for the first time, the dolphins cruising down the coast. ‘I kept waiting for them to jump, but they just circled and primped almost as if they knew they were the dignified animals that they are.’
Palisadian Meg Norton recovered from a debilitating kidney ailment to win a national championship with her Sunshine Volleyball Club team. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Despite all of the natural athletic ability she possesses, Meg Norton’s biggest asset may be her heart. For several years, the 12-year-old Pacific Palisades native lived with a debilitating kidney ailment called hydronephrosis in which excess fluids build up and lead to stretching or dilation of the organ. Depending on the amount of blockage that occurs, the condition can be extremely painful and dangerous, especially when it goes undetected for a long time as it did in Norton’s case. “She was feeling pain in her side and then she started vomiting for a month straight,” Meg’s mom, Suzanne, remembers. “At first we thought it was the flu. We had her undergo all kinds of tests and we even took her to a Chinese herbal specialist but no one could tell us what the problem was. But I could tell she was sick.” Finally, during a routine check-up, doctors found that Norton’s blood pressure was elevated and had her examined by a cardiologist. After several more months of testing, a proper diagnosis was made and Norton had surgery last September. She was back in school two weeks later and, after a smaller follow-up procedure, was anxious to resume sports. “It was hard at first because I was really limited,” says Norton, who is starting seventh grade at St. Matthew’s. “I had a lot of restrictions. I couldn’t have any contact at all, which ruled out soccer. But I feel fully recovered now.” Gifted with uncanny hand-eye coordination and blazing speed, Norton’s first love was soccer, which she began playing when she was 4. By the time she was old enough to attend Marquez Elementary School, she was a standout player and also excelled at T-ball, basketball and later five-pitch baseball at the Palisades Recreation Center. When she was in fourth grade, she started playing volleyball and has since developed into a strong outside hitter. She played on the Westside Breakers’ U-11 club soccer team before her operation and is eager to try AYSO this fall if she is cleared to play. Norton is so fast that her teammates have affectionately nicknamed her “Speedy.” “It’s hard to pick which sport I like best, they’re all fun,” Norton says. “I love being part of a team, getting exercise and being competitive.” Much of Norton’s competitive nature comes from trying to keep up with her two older brothers, Michael and Patrick, whether at the park or at their home in the Alphabet streets. “I always wanted to play like them and that was definitely a motivating factor for my recovery,” Norton says. “Luckily, I’ve always had a very supportive family.” Since her surgery, Norton has proven that one healthy kidney is more than enough to keep her playing, smiling and winning. In July, she played a key role on Sunshine Club’s 12-and-under Crimson squad, which finished first out of 59 teams nationwide at the annual Volleyball Festival in Reno, Nevada. No one was more proud of Norton than her coach and fellow Palisadian Cari Klein. “Meg is amazing. She was such an inspiration to the other girls,” Klein says. “Before her surgery she must have been in so much pain and yet she never complained. And afterwards when she showed up at tryouts she wanted to dive all over the court and dig every ball. I had to ask her to tone it down because I was worried she might get hurt. She had so much energy!” Klein decided right then and there Norton would be on the team. “I could see how much she wanted to be out there,” Klein recalls. “Even if all she could do was sit on the bench I wanted her because she has such a winning attitude. The fact that she did play and contribute made the whole experience even more rewarding.” An example of her competitive spirit came a few days later, when Norton ran the Palisades-Will Rogers 5K and finished the race in 31:35. She had tried to run the year before, four months before her surgery, but hurt so much that she could only walk the course.
Several former Palisades High football players figure to play key roles on their Pacific-10 Conference teams during the upcoming college football season. Two PaliHi alumni are at 13th-ranked Cal, including 2000 Palisadian-Post Cup Award winner Geoff McArthur. A second-team All-American last season, McArthur is on pace to break Cal’s career receiving records this fall and could even make a run at the Heisman Trophy. The Bears’ senior wide receiver ranks fourth in school history in receiving yards (2,326), fifth in receptions (145) and needs 51 catches and 406 yards to become the team’s all-time leader in both categories. He set school single-season marks last year with 1,504 receiving yards, 85 catches and 10 touchdowns and ranked second behind Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald in receiving yards per game. McArthur was a human highlight film his senior year at Palisades. He led the nation with 1,779 receiving yards and his 91 catches (28 for touchdowns) ranked fourth in the country. He also played free safety on defense, making 80 tackles and intercepting three passes, and was voted the Los Angeles Times’ Westside Player of the Year. One of McArthur’s teammates at Palisades has rejoined him at Cal: Palisadian Eric Beegun. Though a shoulder injury forced him to redshirt last season, Beegun is expected to add depth at tight end and also contribute on special teams, where he played in 11 games as a true freshman. ‘ Beegun also enjoyed a stellar senior season at PaliHi, catching 20 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns and earning All-Western League first-team honors. As a junior, Beegun made SuperPrep magazine’s All-West Region team after 25 receptions for 621 yards and nine touchdowns. Cal opens its season Saturday at Air Force. In January, David Koral transferred to UCLA from Santa Monica College and he will be a back-up for starting quarterback Drew Olson in the Bruins’ season opener Saturday against Oklahoma. Koral has two seasons of eligibility remaining. As a sophomore in 2003, he completed 155 of 281 passes for 2,202 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in nine games for the Corsairs. Koral signed with Vanderbilt in February 2001 but left after that season due to a change in coaching staff. He suffered a broken collar bone after one game at Santa Monica College the following year. He walked-on at Florida State in Spring 2003 but returned to SMC in the fall. Koral had two remarkable seasons at Palisades under head coach Ron Price. As a junior, he threw for 4,902 yards and 58 touchdowns and tied a national record with 10 touchdown passes in one game. His senior year he passed for 4,057 yards and 44 touchdowns, including a national prep record 764 yards against Van Nuys. Across town at USC, one of Koral’s primary targets at PaliHi is the first-string punt returner for the top-ranked Trojans. Greig Carslon, a redshirt junior, is 18th on USC’s career punt return list, with 48 runbacks for 365 yards. The sure-handed Carlson, a one-time walk-on now on scholarship, is also a reserve wide receiver. Carlson caught 66 passes for 1,380 yards with 26 touchdowns as a wide receiver in 2000 and had four interceptions as a defensive back. He added two touchdowns each on punt and kickoff returns. When Koral broke his arm during Pali’s first round playoff game at Birmingham, Carlson stepped in to throw for 260 yards and three touchdowns and he ran for two more scores. Up the coast at Oregon, Geoff Schwartz, who won the Post Cup Award as outstanding senior athlete at PaliHi in the spring, is already making an impression as a freshman offensive lineman for the Ducks. He was a standout performer in pre-season workouts and is practicing with the second-string line.
Now in its 20th year, the Pacific Palisades Volleyball Club will be holding tryouts for its boys teams beginning next Sunday. The club enjoyed a successful Junior Olympics in Austin, Texas. PPVBC’s top 16-and-under boys squad finished fifth in the nation, with its only two losses coming against the division finalists. Tryouts for 17-and-under and 18-and-under boys will be Sunday, September 12 at Palisades High’s main gym. Registration begins at 7 p.m. and tryouts are from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tryouts for the 15-and-under and 16-and-under boys will be Sunday, September 19, at the same time and location. Tryouts for 14-and-under boys are Friday, September 17, with registration at 6 p.m. and tryouts from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at PaliHi. Make-up tryouts for all age groups are Friday, September 24, with registration at 6 p.m. and tryouts from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Cost of tryouts is $15 per player and participants will need volleyball shoes, shorts, knee pads, a t-shirt, water and a good attitude. For information, call 226-2848.
The Palisades Recreation Center’s Summer Basketball League concluded with its championship games last weekend. In the Minor Division, the Cavaliers swept the Lakers two games to none and in the Major Division the Spurs beat the Timberwolves two games to one. In baseball, the Minor Division Dodgers defeated the Angels two games to none. Sign-ups for fall sports (roller hockey, boys and girls basketball and flag football) are in progress. Parents can register their kids by mail or by stopping at the Rec Center office (851 Alma Real Drive) through the end of next week. Cost per player ranges from $90 to $100. Practices for fall sports begin later this month and games begin the first week of October. Flag football will take place Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Girls basketball games will be on Saturdays in the small gym and boys basketball games will be on Sundays in the small gym. If the new gym reopens on schedule October 19, basketball games will be moved there. Roller hockey will be Friday nights or Saturday afternoons on the outdoor basketball courts. AYSO will use the Pali Rec Center playing fields for its younger age division practices from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and for games on Saturdays throughout the fall season. Progress continues on the floor replacement project in the new gym. Pali Rec Center Director David Gadelha is hopeful the gym will be available by the third week of fall basketball. ‘They have stacked the new floor in sections but they haven’t started laying it down yet,’ he said. ‘They may be waiting to let the floor acclimate a bit before they start. No one has been by in a couple of weeks.’ The 90-day project began July 19 and the City of Los Angeles hired a private contractor, Hur Hardwood Flooring, to complete the work. Gadelha insists the facility will not be reopened until a guard or security grate is installed around a pressure gauge that burst and caused irreparable water damage to the wood floor.
Conditioning and Positive Attitude Are Keys to Rebuilding Palisades’ Program
Leo Castro says Pali’s success will depend on how quickly his players learn to adapt to a new system and new coaches. Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Athletic director Leo Castro could scarcely contain his excitement when he was named head football coach in the spring. He brings a wealth of experience to the job, along with a qualified staff that he hopes will return the Dolphins to the success they enjoyed in the late 1990s under Ron Price. Castro replaces Jason Blatt, who posted a 9-13 record in two seasons. “We have a lot of raw talent,” said Castro, who was the offensive line coach at Granada Hills back when John Elway was the Highlanders’ quarterback. “How good we will be depends on how much our kids progress and whether they play to their potential. It’s a new coaching staff, a new system, and some of our players have had three or four coaches since they’ve been here, so there is always an adjustment period. But if everyone catches on fast, we could be very good.” Helping Castro will be his son, Aaronn, who will serve as offensive coordinator, and Joe Kearney, who will coach the defensive line and linebackers. Longtime Pali assistant George Burns and newcomer Steve Sims will be the offensive and defensive line coaches and Carter Austin, who was the Dolphins’ head coach in 2001, will work with the running backs and safeties. With only 35 players on varsity, Castro and his staff made conditioning their first priority this summer. “We got the players in the weight room and we stressed conditioning pretty early on,” Castro said. “That’s going to be big for us because we don’t have the numbers I was hoping for. We’re going to have quite a few guys playing both ways for four quarters, so they’re going to have to be in shape.” Just as important as conditioning, however, is the positive approach the coaches bring to practice every day. “If there is one thing I wanted to change, it was to make the game more fun for the kids and one of the ways to do that is to motivate them in a positive, not a negative fashion,” he said. “We want them to learn and for each and every kid to have an opportunity to play at both [varsity and frosh/soph] levels.” Castro said the Dolphins’ offense will include multiple sets and look similar to the one USC employed last year on its way to the national championship. “We’re going to have a lot of three- and five-step drops with a lot of crossing patterns. We’re going to throw the ball more than last year.” Burns, who has already conducted several “chalk talks” with Pali’s offensive and defensive linemen, said he likes the players’ attitudes so far. “These kids are a very coachable bunch. They seem receptive to what we are saying, but the real test will be how well they remember when it’s time for the kickoff.” Palisades opened 3-1 last season, but lost six of its last seven games when injuries and ineligibilities took their toll. This year, the Dolphins are more concerned with how they finish than how they start. “The coaches definitely have big goals,” said senior David Villalobos, who could be the starting center and will also play linebacker on defense. “They want for us what every team wants–to win the City championship. We’re behind them, we trust them and we think they can lead us there. But of course, we have to get it done on the field.” Villalobos will have a herculean task trying to fill the shoes of 6-3, 240-pound Jeremy Shorter, who graduated last spring. Also lost to graduation are tackles Greg Clark (6-4, 250) and and Palisadian-Post Cup award-winner Geoff Schwartz (6-7, 310). Palisades returns only two offensive linemen from a team that lost to El Camino Real in the first round of the City Invitational playoffs last season: Villalobos (6-1, 225) and Dominique Baker (6-1, 290), but they will be helped by Mitchell Schwartz, Geoff’s younger brother, who will start at tackle. “Mitchell is really coming on strong,” Villalobos said. “For someone so big, he’s very athletic. He gets very low on his blocks. He has been very impressive in practice.” Other linemen who could play both ways include seniors Justin Page and Sompon Nagbe and junior Christian Clark, who was a standout on junior varsity last season. At guard and backing up Villalobos at center could be junior Terrence Morris (5-9, 238). Expecting a productive senior season is quarterback Dylan Cohen, who has worked the last three weeks perfecting his spirals after spending the first half of the summer at baseball camps. In fact, Cohen was selected to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ elite prep team last week and hit two home runs in batting practice. But his sole focus now is on football and he is confident his second year as a starter will be more productive than his first. “My timing on the slant routes is good and my arm strength is there,” Cohen said. “I’m seeing the field a lot better, I’m reading the defense better and I’ve got a year’s experience. I would say our strength is in our running backs and our offensive line. If those guys can give me time, I’m going to make some plays.” After throwing for 645 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for five touchdowns last season, Cohen hopes to put up bigger numbers in Pali’s new offensive scheme. Backing up Cohen will be senior receiver Steve Collins and receiver/strong safety Robert Gillette, who quarterbacked Pali’s frosh/soph squad last year. Palisades lost some of the speed it was expecting back when last year’s starting tailback Ellis Anderson and his half-brother Isaiah Green (who averaged almost three touchdowns a game on frosh/soph) transferred to Long Beach Poly. Still, the Dolphins will have halfback Anthony Anaebere and fullback Andre Harris in the backfield again. Harris rushed for 734 yards and four touchdowns last year while Anaebere added 401 rushing yards. Cohen will also be the punter and placekicker as he was last season, when he converted 19 of 23 extra points and made two of three field goal attempts. “Kicking is a strongpoint,” he said. “I’ve been punting about 50 yards in the air in practice and the ball is turning over and hanging up there a long time. I haven’t practiced my placekicking too much yet but I will as we get closer to our first game. We’ve all got to step it up a notch in practice starting today.” On defense, Pali will be led by Villalobos, Page, guard/linebacker Alphanso Gray, defensive back Joseph Luckett, linebacker Christian Sanchez and free safety/cornerback Eugeni Borisson. “We have a lot of good guys coming up from frosh/soph,” Villalobos said. “Our defense is not big, but we’re fast. If everyone just plugs their gaps, we’ll be able to stop the run.” The last time Castro coached football was at Lincoln High in 1999, but he has taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 27 years and knows all about Palisades’ proud tradition. “This school has won more City titles than any other and I want to restore pride in the athletic program. Football is but one of many sports I want to succeed.” While Blatt stressed rushing and defense, Castro and his staff look to employ a more balanced attack, which should give the versatile Cohen an opportunity to make plays with both his legs and his arm. “The defense won’t know what we’re going to do,” Cohen said. “We’ll run, we’ll throw, we’ll do some bootlegs, we’ll do some play action. Whatever it takes to keep the defense guessing. I’m not afraid to tuck the ball away and run if I see an opening.” Senior wide receiver/defensive back Brandon Bryant, who led the team in receptions last year, thinks the Dolphins can be better than they were in 2003: “If we mix it up and everyone stays on the same page, we can have a good season. One thing I learned last year is that it takes a team effort. We all have to play together as one or it won’t work.” The Dolphins face a daunting schedule, with six of their 10 games away, including next Friday’s opener at perennial City Section power Sylmar. Pali also has nonleague games against Los Angeles and San Pedro (both beat the Dolphins last year) and opens Western League play with back-to-back road games against Westchester and City finalist Venice. “Honestly, I think we can go 8-2 if not better,” said Villalobos, one of the Dolphins’ team captains last year who hopes the new coaching staff will name him a captain again this season. “We believe we are better than Sylmar and I think we’ll come in better prepared for that game. San Pedro and Venice are going to be tough but we can upset them and I see no reason why we can’t beat everyone else. Don’t be surprised if we win our league and go deep into the playoffs.” Palisades’ frosh/soph went undefeated under head coach Ted Baker last season and was loaded with speed and talent. But only three players return from that squad and new coach Calvin Parker knows he must begin a rebuilding process. “Most of the standout players from last year are either up on varsity or transferred out,” Parker said. “So I have no idea how good we’ll be.” Parker has yet to decide on a quarterback, but said three freshmen are in contention for the starting job: Raymond Elie, Mike Latt and Allen Ferguson.
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