Photo: Steve Galluzzo
Trick plays don’t always work, but the Palisades High junior varsity football team executed one to perfection in the waning moments of the first half last Friday against visiting South Gate.
On fourth down, the Dolphins lined up for an apparent field goal try but instead of placing the ball down, holder Jaxon Bell got to his feet, rolled to his left and lofted a pass over the defensive line to a wide open receiver Joshua Eastland, who caught it in stride and trotted to the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown that gave the Dolphins a 27-0 lead.
Brandon Forrest scored three touchdowns, one of them an electrifying 70-yard punt return, Sebastian Conway-Burt kicked a 35-yard field goal, Matthew Anoh ran 60 yards for his first high school touchdown and defensive backs Joseph Tatejosian, Johnny Babala and Ryan Crayton each intercepted a pass as Palisades won 37-0. It was the Dolphins’ second consecutive shutout and 15th win in 16 games dating back to 2016.
“I have a thick playbook that we haven’t opened up yet,” Coach Ray Marsden said. “I like to save as much as I can for league play, but it was a perfect time to try that fake punt and the game was still in doubt so I thought ‘Why not?’”
After losing its season opener Palisades has outscored its last three opponents 106-6.
“We have the next two weeks off and we can accomplish a lot before Fairfax,” Marsden added. “Today we had three more interceptions, a special teams touchdown, a solid kicking game and the lines played super, so the boys earned doughnuts on Tuesday.”
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