The Palisades High football team heads to South Gate tomorrow night for a crucial nonleague matchup and Coach Tim Hyde believes this is the best opponent the Dolphins have faced so far this season.
“They have the No. 1 passer in City Division I, two top rushers and two top 10 receivers,” Hyde said. “They have an unbelievable offense averaging 225 rushing and passing per game.”
South Gate rebounded from home losses to Eagle Rock (27-14) and Banning (35-21) to rout Jefferson 63-12 on the road last Friday. The Rams forfeited five losses last fall for violating transfer rules and were declared ineligible for the Division I playoffs despite an 8-2 record on the field.
“I told the players at practice Monday that going back to last year we’ve been on the road versus Westchester, Venice, San Pedro, a scrimmage versus ECR, Cleveland, Granada Hills and now South Gate,” Hyde said. “So we better be ready for a big-time game. This is another [Open Division] qualifier for both teams.”
Hyde expects South Gate (1-2) to challenge defending champion Garfield for the Eastern League title. The Rams’ offense averages 32.6 points per game.
The JV game will kick off at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by the varsity at 7 at South Gate High.
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