The annual Palisadian-Post Football Contest, giving readers a chance to predict upcoming game winners, continues to week two.

“Every week, the Palisadian-Post will have a selection of NFL and college football games,” according to the contest rules. “Check the team you predict will win each game. The person with the most correct picks wins. In the event there is a tie, the tie-breaker will be used to determine the winner.”

There is an online submission process: Contestants can download or copy their entry form, fill in their picks, take a photo, and email it back to footballcontest@palipost.com by the 5 p.m. Friday deadline. This week’s deadline is Friday, November 29, at 5 p.m.

One entry per person per contest will be accepted. Winners will receive a $10 gift card from our contest sponsor, The Yogurt Shoppe, via email. Last week’s winner was James Ryan(+8).

Dolphins Set School Records in 63-45 Win at Eagle Rock and Advance to City Division I Championship Game   

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

While congratulating Palisades players in the handshake line after last Friday night’s contest, Eagle Rock head coach Andy Moran hesitated when he got to Harrison Carter, patting him on the helmet and joking: “Great game but I never want to see you again!”

The junior tailback was a headache for Moran and a nightmare for Eagles defenders who were helpless to stop one of the most breathtaking performances in Dolphins history.

The busiest person in the stadium was the scoreboard operator, who struggled to keep up with Palisades’  high-octane offense, which marched up and down the field at will to the tune of nine touchdowns, the most  the Dolphins have ever scored in a postseason game. When the dust settled, Palisades had dealt the No. 1-seeded Eagles a 63-45 knockout on their home field. The resounding victory also broke the school record for most combined points in a postseason game (108), surpassing the previous total of 100 when the Dolphins lost at Birmingham 53-47 in the first round of the City championship division in 2000. Palisades’ 63 points is the Dolphins’ highest total ever in a playoff game, topping the previous record of 60 against visiting South Gate in an Open Division quarterfinal in 2021.

“We came here hungry, but we’ve still got more to eat,” coach Dylen Smith said after the Dolphins advanced to their second Division I final in three years. “One more and we’re City champs!”

Palisades will take on King/Drew in the championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday at Birmingham High. The Golden Eagles upset No.2 Kennedy 35-23 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Eagle Rock (10-3) got the ball first and needed four plays to score,      the last an eight-yard run by Ajani Rivera. Palisades needed less than three minutes to answer, as Jack Thomas threw a sideline pass to King Demethris, who raced 30 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles regained the lead on a three-yard run by Jonas Leal-Paz, but Palisades again responded on a 20-yard scoring strike from Thomas to LeHenry Solomon. Jack Malloy’s point-after  kick put the Dolphins in front for the first time, 14-13, with 37 seconds left in the first quarter. Malloy would end the night a perfect nine-for-nine on extra point tries, setting yet another school record.

Leal-Paz caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Liam Pasten to regain the lead for Eagle Rock, but Thomas hooked up with Solomon again to make it 21-19 Palisades midway through the second quarter.       

On his team’s next drive, Thomas  scoired on a 20-yard keeper, but the Eagles gave their fans something to cheer about with a 21-yard pass play from Pasten to Leal-Paz to cut the Dolphins’ lead to 28-25 with 1:47 left in the second quarter. However, Thomas hit Carter in stride for a 63-yard touchdown  just 16 seconds later to put Palisades back up by 10. Eagle Rock, though, came right back with a five-play, 70-yard drive capped by Pasten’s five-yard run, but the two-point pass failed and Palisades took a 35-31 lead to the locker room.

The Dolphins’ offense switched to an even higher gear in the third quarter—one with which the Eagles could not keep up. First, Carter scored on a 23-yard run, breaking tackles all the way, to widen the lead to 11, then mideay through the quarter he ran 84 yards for a score. Thomas’ 13-yard touchdown run with 24 seconds left in the quarter  gave the fifth-seeded Dolphins (11-2) a commanding 56-31 advantage.

Eagle Rock never gave up, scoring on a four-yard run by Leal-Paz to pull within 17, but Shilo Beavers barreled into the end zone from two yards out to to widen the gap. Rivera closed out the scoring on a four-yard run with 8:11 left and four minutes later Nico Townsley intercepted a Pasten pass and returned it 17 yards to seal the deal.

Thomas wound up completing 12 of his 21 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns to go along with  his 85 yards rushing and two scores.

Carter carried the ball 16 times for a whopping 262 yards and added three catches for 87 yards. Max Hejazi had four grabs for 79 yards, Demethris and Solomon each had two catches and Augie Evans had one.

Linebacker Jake Treibatch made 13 tackles, Jayden Joch had 11, Mike Tobin added eight and Adrian Romero had two sacks.   

“On some of those plays he just makes it happen on his own,” Smith said of Thomas’ ability to extend plays. “We watched a lot of film and today was about attacking the gaps and taking what they gave us.     I’m proud of the whole team. We played fast and physical. If we practice hard consistently no one can stop us.”

Since the school opened in 1961  the Pali High football team has never won a section title. The Dolphins hope to change that Saturday.   Here is a look back at the Dolphins’ three previous trips to the finals:

1974

The closest Palisades has ever come to winning a gridiron title was 50 years ago when the Dolphins came up one play short in the championship game against a San Fernando squad conisdered one of the City’s best ever. Back then there was only one 16-team division. The Dolphins reached the final at the LA Coliseum by shuting out Cleveland, Roosevelt and Gardena. Trailing 12-10 with the final seconds ticking away, Dick North’s team had a chance to pull off the upset but Rick Myers’ 43-yard field goal in the fog was wide.

1987

This time the Dolphins were vying for the 3A Division crown riding the arm of quarterback Perry Klein, whose 3,896 passing yards were at the time the second-most ever in a single season nationally. Under Jack Epstein the Dolphins won their first league title since 1978 and qualified for the middle of three playoff tiers. The final was played at East LA College and the Dolphins trailed 21-14 through three quarters before losing to Franklin, 30-14.

2022

It took Palisades 35 years to make it back to the finals, albeit in Division I after making the Open Division the year before. Chris Hyduke’s bunch beat Huntington Park, Dymally and Narbonne to secure a matchup with No. 1 Granada Hills at Valley College. Utah-bound tailback Dijon Stanley ran for 367 yards and five scores in the Highlanders’ 44-7 rout.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

A new era in Palisades High boys basketball annals got underway last week at the Leon Wood Tipoff Classic and the Dolphins gave their fans and first-year coach Jeff Bryant reason for optimism, finishing 2-2 in the tournament at St. Monica High.

In its first game Nov. 19, Palisades led most of the way but lost to Da Vinci 52-48 despite the stellar debut of guard Tommy Pickens, a senior transfer from Grand Blanc, MI, who scored 26 points. Jack Levey added seven while fellow returners Mikal Sims and Mo Butler each had five.

“It felt new… we’re still learning  to communicate with each other,” said senior co-captain Aten Hassan. “Coach Bryant is doing a great job and we’ve gotten a lot better since the summer.”

The Dolphins resumed pool play the next day and beat Taft 74-52 led by Pickens’ 16 points, Butler’s 12 (on four 3-pointers) and Levey’s 10 points and five assists.

Bracket play began last Thursday and the Dolphins improved to 2-1 with a 72-51 victory over Western League rival LACES, last season’s City Open Division runner up.Sims scored 17 points, Levey had 16 with seven assists and Kye Davis, who 

just received a Division 1 offer from Pepperdine, added 11.

Despite losing to West Torrance 50-46 Saturday in their tournament finale the Dolphins found plenty to build on before returning to action Dec. 19-23 at the Winter Slam Jam.

“A nice start, but we have a long way to go,” Bryant said.

Palisades did not pick up its second win last winter until its 13th game on Dec. 30.

Palisades High and California football alums (l-r) Geoff McArthrur, Eric Beegun and Mitchell Schwartz reunited last weekend in Berkeley for the Golden Bears’ annual “Big Game” last Saturday against Bay Area rival Stanford. McArthur (Class of 2000) remains Palisades’ career leader in receptions (139), touchdown catches (35) and receiving yardage (2,517), won the Palisadian-Post Cup Award as the school’s outstanding senior athlete and went on to enjoy a stellar collegiate career at Cal, graduating in 2004 as the program’s all-time leader with 3,188 receiving yards. Beegun (Class of 2002) was an All-Western League first team selection in both baseball and football at Palisades before beginning a productive gridiron journey at Cal, where he contributed at tight end, H-back and on special teams from 2002-06 while earning his Bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies. McArthur and Beegun both played for Ron Price at Palisades and Beegun even returned to Stadium by the Sea on Nov. 1 to participate in a pregame ceremony in honor of his former coach. Schwartz (Class of 2007) was a four-year starting offensive tackle for the Dolphins (the last three under Coach Leo Castro), earning All-League and All-City honors as a junior and being named City Offensive Lineman of the Year as a senior. Following in the footsteps of his big brother Geoff, a three-sport star at Palisades and later an offensive lineman at Oregon and the NFL, Mitchell picked a Pac-10 program too. After redshirting in 2007, he started every game—a total of 51—over the next four seasons at either left or right tackle for the Golden Bears, missing only one snap because his shoelace snapped and had to be replaced. At the 2012 Senior Bowl, Schwartz started at right tackle for the winning North squad. Schwartz spent nine seasons in the NFL (four with Cleveland, five with Kansas City), including an iron man  streak of 7,894 consecutive snaps, was a starter on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship team and, after undergoing back surgery that caused him to sit out the entire 2021 season, announced his retirement on July 14, 2022. He and his brother were both inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. McArthur, Beegun and Schwartz were thrilled to see their alma mater rally for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the Cardinal 24-21 Saturday afternoon in the schools’ first matchup as members of the ACC.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

For the second time in three seasons, the Palisades High girls volleyball team reached the Southern California Regional finals. The Dolphins found themselves facing Central Valley Christian in Visalia last Tuesday with a berth in the CIF Division III state championship match at stake. The same two schools met in the Division IV regional final on the same court in 2022 and the host Cavaliers prevailed in three sets. This year was practically a carbon copy as the Dolphins’ suffered a season-ending sweep, but they got to host three playoff contests, downing Oak Hills of Hesperia in four, El Capitan of San Diego in three and Porterville in three.    

A second-place finish in the Western League earned the Dolphins the No. 3 seed in the eight-team City Open Division bracket and after eliminating defending champion El Camino Real in the quarterfinals they fell to rival Venice in four sets in the semifinals Nov. 5 to finish with a 30-12 record.

In recognition of their stellar play throughout the season, four Dolphins have garnered All-City Open Division honors. Selected to the first team are middle blockers Hazel Irving (a senior) and Annie Refnes (a junior). Making the second team are junior outside hitter Tulah Block and junior libero Lucy Neilson. Irving, a co-captain this season along with Neilson, was a first team choice last year as well.

Taft edged Venice in five sets in an epic final Nov. 9 for its first Open Division crown and Toreadors pilot Arman Mercado has been chosen Coach of the Year. Sharing Player of the Year accolades are Taft setter Francine Baltazar-Shine and outside hitter Aleiah Carr. Two other Taft players, libero Gianella Tijamo and outside hitter Eva Velarde are on the first team and senior middle blocker Colette Ejang is a second team pick.

Venice has three girls on the first team: outside hitter Gaia Adeseun-Williams, libero Pauline Lao and setter Kaya Richards. Junior outside hitter Samantha Lortie is on the second team.

Palisades captured the last of its record 30 section titles in 2020.       

Representing Palisades High for the last time November 20 at San Gabriel Country Club, senior golfer Anna Song sought to do the one thing she had yet to accomplish in her remarkable prep career: win a state title. In a field featuring the best high schoolers in California, the three-time LA City Section individual winner and four-time City team champion birdied two holes on the back nine to complete an even par 72 and tied for fifth place with Petra Lee of Pleasant Grove and Alexis Faieta of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Song happened to be in the same threesome with Palos Verdes freshman Rina Kawasaki, who fired a three-under-par 69 and beat Zoe Jiamanukoonit of Torrey Pines with a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win the championship.      

Song shot two over to place 18th at state at Poppy hills as a freshman and carded a two-under 69 to finish second last fall (also at Poppy Hills), three strokes behind Jiamanukoonit.

The Stanford commit broke her own City Finals record with a seven-under 65 on Nov. 7 at Balboa.    

Three former Palisades High girls basketball teammates have reunited at Emerson College in Boston and they have contributed to the Lions’ 4-2 start in 2024-25.

Sophomore twin forwards Elise and Taylor Arnold and junior guard Sofia Canter are seeing floor time. Elise had 10 points and Canter added four in a season-opening victory at Salem State; Elise had 10 points, Canter had eight and Taylor had two points and four assists in a win against Elms; Canter had eight points and Taylor had five versus Suffolk; and  Elise scored a game-high 20 points and six rebounds and Taylor had seven points and five rebounds versus University of New England.

Moments after Palisades High’s 12-year dynasty and 43-game City playoff win streak was halted by Cleveland on November 13 in  the Open Division final at Valley College, first-year head coach Theo Trask reminded his players that the season was not over.

The Dolphins qualified for the CIF

Southern California Regional Division III tournament, which they won in 2021 and 2022 and nearly three-peated last fall, losing in the  finals to Bonita.

Palisades was seeded No. 4 out of eight teams and beat No., 5 Palm Desert, the Southern Section Division 5 champion, 13-6 in the first round Nov. 19 at Maggie Gilbert Aquatic Center. In the semifinals two days later the Dolphins traveled to La Canada to face No. 1-seeded South Pasadena, the Southern Section Division 4 champion, and fell 10-5. The Tigers went on to defeat No. 3 Cleveland 12-6 in the final.

Prior to its finals loss to Cleveland Palisades had won 11 straight City titles and had not lost a City playoff game since the 2011 quarterfinals.

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Last season, the Palisades High girls basketball team got bounced out of the City and SoCal Regional playoffs in the first round and the Dolphins are determined to make deeper postseason runs this winter, led by

All-City guard Elly Tierney. They also want to improve on last year’s third-place finish in the Western League.

Other key returners for Adam Levine’s varsity squad include junior guard-forward Ayla Teegardin, senior guards Alyssa Ramirez and Annie Ammer, sophomore guard Olivia Lewis and sophomore forward Riley Oku.

The Dolphins went 17-13 one year ago, falling to King-Drew in the City Open Division quarterfinals, then having to wait nearly two weeks to host their Division III regional game as the No. 3 seed and losing to No. 14 Palos Verdes, 61-58.

The Dolphins open the season December 3 at 3 p.m. against Calabasas in the Westside Classic and continue the tournament against Camarillo the following day, also at 3:15 p.m. The schedule also includes nonleague matchups with Culver City, Valencia, Redondo Union,  Oak Park, Paramount and Moorpark. League play opens January 6 at University.