PaliHi Football Falls at Fairfax

If the Palisades High varsity football team thought it had taken a step forward in its league-opening victory at Hamilton two weeks ago, it took two steps back last Friday night against Fairfax. The host Lions trounced the Dolphins, 51-7, scoring on three of their first five possessions and forcing Palisades kicker Joe Berman to punt eight times. Palisades (2-5 overall, 1-1 in league) entered the game tied for first place in the Western League but now finds itself mired in the pack with only three games left. Fairfax (5-2, 2-0) moved into a first-place tie with Venice (6-1, 2-0), which had a surprisingly difficult time with Hamilton, winning only 17-13. “I don’t know if they are 44 points better than us but they were Friday night,” PaliHi Head Coach Kelly Loftus said. “They moved the ball on us at will and we gave them a lot of help.” The Dolphins’ lone highlight was a 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Latt to wide receiver Gerald Ingram that pulled Palisades to within 14-7 late in the first quarter. But Fairfax responded with two scores of its own in the second quarter and led, 28-7, at halftime. Due to the ongoing renovation project at Stadium by the Sea, Palisades will hit the road again this week. The frosh/soph game kicks off today at Westchester at 3 p.m. and the varsity game is Friday at 3 p.m. The Comets (2-5, 0-2) are coming off a 32-6 loss to University. “We haven’t been able to practice on the new field yet,” Loftus said. “I’ve been told the plan our first home game will be [November 2] against Venice.” Palisades High kicker Joe Berman punts the ball during the Dolphins’ 51-7 loss last Friday night at Fairfax. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer