Turning Out the Lights

Palisades High Football Team Routs Hamilton in Battle of Unbeatens

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Hamilton High administrators rented two banks of portable floodlights last Friday to illuminate the gridiron for a nighttime Western League football showdown with Palisades.

The bleachers were crammed full of noisy green and white clad fans, but the Dolphins silenced the raucous home crowd and turned the lights out early en route to a 63-7 thrashing that put them alone atop the league standings with two weeks left in what is turning out to be a historic regular season.

Palisades tied the school record with its 11th straight victory by dominating in every facet to solidify its No. 3 position in the City Section rankings—a spot which, if maintained, will earn the Dolphins a home game to begin the Open Division playoffs.

The much-hyped “battle of unbeatens” proved to be a mismatch from the start, as Moses Ross returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. On Hamilton’s first series, Amari Yolas jumped a sideline route and returned the interception 23 yards for another score that staked the Dolphins to a 14-point lead before their offense even took the field. After a three-and-out by Hamilton, Palisades gained yardage in chunks and scored on a one-yard sneak by quarterback Sammy Silvia to open the second quarter.

Less than two minutes later, Silvia threw to Kwazi Estes for a 24-yard touchdown.

On the second play of Palisades’ next drive, Silvia hit Ross in stride for an 82-yard touchdown and Daniel Anoh capped Palisades’ ensuing possession with a 33-yard scamper.  It was his 16th rushing touchdown of the season, leaving him eight shy of the school single-season record.

A leaping interception by Johnny Babala set Palisades up at midfield with less than 30 seconds left in the first half and the Dolphins capitalized when Silvia hooked up with Ross for a 41-yard scoring play—the senior wideout’s eighth touchdown in three games. The Dolphins looked giddy as they trotted to the locker room up 49-0. By contrast, the Yankees were shellshocked after allowing almost as many points in 24 minutes as they had in their three previous games combined.   

The clock ran continously in the second half and the onslaught continued with Palisades’ first-stringers on the bench. Shortly after Liam Herrera recovered a fumble deep in Hamilton territory, Josh Russell ran for a touchdown and with time ticking down in the fourth quarter Savyour Riley returned Matt Fahn’s blocked punt 28 yards for a score.  Giovanni Ferrero kicked his ninth extra point to punctuate Palisades’ scoring spree. The Yankees avoided the shutout with two minutes left.

The 56-point margin tied for the Dolphins’ second-widest ever and the point total was their most since a 63-36 win at Hamilton in 2010.

It was a statement for Palisades (8-0), which established itself as the new bully on the block in league led by new head coach Chris Hyduke and offensive coordinator Rocky Montz, who grabbed the reins from  Tim Hyde when he moved to the East Coast over the summer after a successful eight-year tenure.

“We wanted to show everyone out there that we’re as good as our record says,” said Anoh, who has emerged as one of the best running backs in the City along with Jakob Galloway from Banning and Dijon Stanley of Granada Hills. “We’re a complete team. We can score in every phase—offense, defense and on special teams—and we’re not going to stop until we win City.”   

Anoh rushed for 146 yards in nine carries Friday to surpass the 1,000-yard mark this fall. He is averaging 16.2 yards per carry and is in pursuit of the school single-season rushing record of 1,965 yards set by Innocent Okoh in 12 games in 2016. However, he made it clear that personal success takes a back seat to team goals: “It’d be nice to break the record, but I just want to help my team win.”

Silvia has thrown 10 touchdown passes and only two interceptions in four games since taking over for injured starter Dylan Hassid.

Counting its last three games in the spring, Palisades is enjoying its best streak since 1976 when it won its first 11 games before falling in the City semifinals under the program’s first head coach Dick North.