PALIHI FOOTBALL PREVIEW

First & 10: A New Era Begins

Taking over a football team as young and inexperienced as Palisades High is this season, first-year Head Coach Kelly Loftus is not about to make any bold predictions. On the other hand, he isn’t going to sell his players short. The Dolphins’ varsity is fast and talented, but their coach knows that success all depends on controlling the line of scrimmage’where football games are ultimately won and lost. ‘It all comes down to how well the offensive and defensive lines play,’ Loftus said. ‘If some of our guys can get off the ball quick we’re going to have fun this season.’ Players and coaches got a taste of what tomorrow afternoon’s season opener will be like thanks to a 30-play scrimmage at Washington High last Thursday. The Dolphins and Generals played to a 6-6 tie and the result was a pleasant surprise to Loftus. ‘I’m thinking we’ll run the ball about 65 percent of the time and throw 35 percent,’ Loftus said. ‘We ran the ball a lot against Washington and we probably outrushed them 2-1, mainly using quick sets and inside traps.’ Michael Latt, second string to Raymond Elie at quarterback last season, will start this year. Henry Anderson will be his backup. Steven Kinnard will join returners Milton Strausberg, Bobby Powell and Joshua Giles at running back. Receivers will include Gerald Ingram, Timmy Gonzales and Milton Strausberg (all of whom played last season) and ony Hatter, who will double as a defensive back. ‘Michael [Latt] looks really good handling the ball,’ Loftus said. He is smooth, has great footwork, rolls out well and never gets caught flat-footed. Sometimes he tries to do a little too much but I expect his decision-making to improve the more snaps he gets.’ Defensively, Palisades will be led by tackle Charlie Villasenor (All-City Honorable Mention last season) and linebacker Lazarian Rankin. ‘Those guys are our playmakers,’ Loftus said of the senior pair. ‘Still, it’s going to be a total team effort. We have good speed but no real superstars. We’ll need everyone to do his job and flow to the ball if we’re going to be successful.’ Tackle Ravon Bell is not expected to play against Hollywood after hurting his knee in last week’s scrimmage. Another question mark is kicker/punter Joe Berman, who had sat out several weeks with a bad back. Doctors cleared him to play last Monday but he had not completed a full practice as of Tuesday and Loftus may hold him out of the season opener as a precaution. ‘Joe is a Division I kicker and we’re going to depend on him quite a bit this season,’ Loftus said. ‘So I want to make sure he’s ready’both physically and psychologically’before I play him.’ Palisades beat Hollywood 20-13 in its opener a year ago but Loftus said the Sheiks have a big advantage heading into tomorrow’s contest with a win on the ledger, having beaten Panorama 35-26 last Friday afternoon. ‘Not only did they play but they won so their confidence is going to be sky high,’ said Loftus, who scouted the game along with several of his coaches. ‘Based on what I saw I think we can play with them, although they have improved and we may not be as far along this year as they were [coming into the game] last year.’ Not only does Palisades have a challenging schedule, which features back-to-back games against Southern Section schools Santa Monica and Palos Verdes Peninsula, but the Dolphins open with five straight road games before christening the new artificial turf at Stadium by the Sea against Los Angeles Hamilton in the Western League opener. ‘I’d say the league is pretty balanced after Venice,’ Loftus said. ‘Venice is the favorite to win the City this year, Fairfax could be the next toughest and all the rest of the games should be close.’ Frosh/soph Head Coach Mark Feuron will have plenty of talented athletes to work with, led by sophomore running back Josh Williams. The frosh/soph opens at Hollywood at 3 p.m. today.