Pali High Football Loses to Garfield

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

One statistic tells the story of the City Section Open Division quarterfinal football game between Palisades and Garfield on Friday, November 14.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs rushed for 551 yards in a downpour at Southwest College and that resulted in a 42-21 victory, which brought Palisades’ season to an abrupt end.

Zastice Jauregui did most of the damage, carrying the ball 30 times for 440 yards and five touchdowns. Replacing All-City tailback Ceasar Reyes, who suffered a season-ending knee injury three weeks earlier against Roosevelt, Jauregui had scoring runs of 76, 17, 65, 77 and 12 yards—three of them on direct snaps—while quarterback Javier Vargas ran seven times for 111 yards.

Those two players accounted for all of Garfield’s offensive yardage as the Bulldogs (9-2) averaged a whopping 14.9 yards per rush to advance to the semifinals to take on No. 1-seeded Carson, the Marine League champion.

Palisades received the opening kickoff and drove to the Bulldogs’ 24 before turning it over on downs. Garfield’s first play was a direct snap to Jauregui, who ran 76 yards for a touchdown to give the Eastern League champions a lead they would never relinquish.

The fourth-seeded Dolphins (10-1), who went unbeaten in the regular season for the first time since 2021, were in danger of being shut out in the first half for the first time all year, but got a break when a tipped ball floated right into the hands of Demare Dezeurn, who backpedaled three steps into the end zone for a 49-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left to pull Palisades within 15-6.

Garfield received the second-half kickoff and on its first play, Jauregui raced 65 yards up the gut for a touchdown. Vargas ran for the two-point conversion to make it a 17-point lead. Jauregui ended the Bulldogs’ next drive with a 77-yard touchdown run on the same play.

Dezeurn juked several defenders while returning the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Jack Thomas added the two-point run as the Dolphins crept back to within 15 points.

Vargas broke loose for an 81-yard gain on the second play of Garfield’s next drive and scored on a two-yard keeper to make it 35-14 midway through the third quarter.

A stiff wind and slippery turf affected the Dolphins’ passing attack all night. Palisades got stopped on fourth down four times, the last being in the fourth quarter after the Dolphins had a first-and-goal at the 2.

Dezeurn scored his third touchdown on a 77-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter. That was the only pass the Bulldogs attempted all game.

Jauregui’s 12-yard run capped the scoring with 2:03 left.

Deveron Kearney rushed for 123 yards in 24 carries, Dezeurn caught three passes for 82 yards, Malachi Ross added three receptions for 26 yards and Michael Peters had one catch for 29 yards for the Western League winners.

Thomas completed seven of 16 attempts for a season-low 137 yards but that did not diminish his statistically brilliant season in which he threw for 3,284 yards, 43 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Dezeurn led the squad in receptions (64), receiving yards (1,372) and touchdown catches (21). He also had five interceptions on defense—returning three of them for touchdowns—while adding a touchdown run and two more scores on kickoff returns for a total of 27 touchdowns.

Enzo Allen finished the season with a team-best 121 tackles (averaging 11 per game), safety Tavian Talbert had 92 and defensive end Augie Evans had 91.

It was the first playoff meeting between the teams since 2013, Palisades’ first season under Tim Hyde, when the host Bulldogs won 27-20 in the first round in Division I.

Dylen Smith is 28-7 in his three seasons as the Dolphins’ head coach. He has guided the program to two Western League titles, two Open Division playoff berths and one Division I finals appearance.