After looking at the film of Friday’s 40-0 home loss to Crespi, the Palisades High football team saw something it may have not expected: progress. According to Dolphins coach Perry Jones, the team was understandably down following the lopsided defeat; getting to see the positives on tape afterwards gave the squad reason to be optimistic moving forward. ’When we looked back on film, we saw that we executed,’ Jones said. ‘Against a team like that, with the athletes they have, you need to make plays. On offense, we moved the ball. And on defense, when they threw the ball, we had defenders there. To see that, it lightened the mood and helped bring us around ‘ and let our team know we’re further along than maybe they thought.’ The game itself also featured its share of positives for Pali. Offensively, junior quarterback Kevin Acosta showed good poise and command of the triple-option, especially considering the opposition and the fact he was making the first start of his varsity career. Midway through the second quarter trailing 20-0, fullback Mylz Blake darted 52 yards to set up the Dolphins inside the Celts’ redzone. From there, Pali called for a play-action pass, where tight end Michael Mell found himself alone in the right corner of the endzone; Acosta spotted him, but overthrew him by a few yards. Defensively, it was a similar story. Pali got great push across the line’Jones noted that both the offensive and defensive lines played their best games of the season’but Crespi still found a way to score. On the second-to-last play of the first quarter, Celts quarterback Cody Cordell threw deep downfield to receiver Chris Harper, who was well-covered by junior cornerback Caelen Ryan. But Harper leapt over Ryan to make a spectacular grab and sprinted the rest of the way for a 78-yard touchdown and the 20-0 edge. ’We have a hand on [Cordell], he throws it up and [Harper] makes a great play,’ Jones said. ‘There’s not much more than we can ask ‘ We didn’t get out-hit and drove the ball on them twice in the first half. ’It was continuation of what we’ve been working on. We’ve been coming on strong on the last year and a half, and to see that development now, against a quality team like that, we’re showing we know where to go.’ That progress was especially evident on the defensive line, as Chris Rose, Roman Thomas, Corey Richardson and Justin Flores all applied pocket pressure, something that was less apparent in losses to El Camino Real and Santa Monica. But now, the focus shifts away from progress and back to results. The Dolphins (0-3) play tomorrow in the Charter Bowl at Granada Hills at 7 p.m. The Highlanders (2-2) use multiple formations on offense to keep their opponents off-balanced and are fresh off a 28-0 win over Kennedy. But once the whistle sounds and the rivalry game begins, everything else goes out the window. ’It’s such a wild game, very emotional,’ Jones said. ‘It’s almost like USC-UCLA. It doesn’t matter what teams’ records are, all bets are off, kind of how playoff games are.’ Injured quarterback Nate Dodson (shoulder) is a game-time decision, meaning Acosta could see starting action yet again. Meanwhile, fullback Justin Sinclair should return and running back Arte’ Miura (who rushed for 44 yards against Crespi) looks ready for more carries, giving the Dolphins more depth in the backfield and possibly freeing up Blake to see more time on defense. ’Now, our players have to fill-in-the-blanks and they have to start making plays,’ Jones said. ‘In terms of scheme, we’ve gotten down the part of being in the right position. We’ve done the hard part. Now, they have to play football.”
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