Venice Crashes Dolphins’ Party

The Palisades High varsity football team had to wait a long time to play its first home game this season, so the Dolphins were determined to make the most of their only opportunity. Alas, Venice was not in a celebratory mood. The Gondoliers gave a near-capacity crowd very little to cheer about, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions en route to a 42-0 win that spoiled Palisades’ long-awaited homecoming and denied the Dolphins the thrill of christening their new field with a win. “We thought we were going up against a very good team and Venice made a believer out of me,” PaliHi’s first-year head coach Kelly Loftus said. “Their defensive linemen were as fast as our tailbacks and their players are in much better condition.” Starting quarterback Michael Latt sustained a bruised left quadriceps after being tackled early in the fourth quarter and missed the rest of the game. Latt was replaced by freshman Conner Preston and his status remains a question mark heading into Friday’s season finale at University. Loftus is counting on Palisades’ size advantage at the line of scrimmage to negate the opponents’ speed. “They [Uni] are small but fast so we’re going to see if we can push them around a bit,” he said. “We’re abandoning our man-to-man blocking scheme and switching to a zone. Jose Climaco is moving from right tackle to right guard and David Arzumanov is moving back to tackle.” Venice boasts one of the top offenses in the City Section, led by USC-bound tailback Curtis McNeal and quarterback Richard Ragland. But Palisades played hard the whole game, despite punting nine times and trailing 28-0 at halftime. “This team has overcome a lot of adversity,” PaliHi Defensive Coordinator Ron Evans said. “Our guys have battled through injuries and not having a home field and it says a lot that they haven’t quit.” University’s 22-21 loss to Hamilton last Friday also gives the Dolphins something more than pride to play for. With a victory over the Wildcats there is still a chance that Palisades could sneak into the City Invitational playoffs. “If the right teams lose and the right teams win, we can still get in,” Loftus said. “I can’t remember the last time Palisades won its last game. So there is a lot at stake.” At press time, Loftus had not decided who would start Friday night, but Preston took all of the reps at Monday’s practice and said he will be ready if his No. 5 is called. “It felt good and I really wasn’t nervous,” Preston said of his three series against Venice–one of which ended with an interception. “The biggest difference [between JV and varsity] is that I have so many more playmakers and that makes my job a lot easier.” The City playoffs consist of a championship division for the top 16 teams and an Invitational bracket for teams seeded 17 through 32. According to Calpreps’ Web site, which ranks teams based on their won/loss record, margin of victory and strength of schedule, Palisades enters its last regular season game 38th out of 55 teams in the City. A win over 18th-ranked University, however, might boost the Dolphins’ rating enough to crack the top 32. Ultimately, Palisades’ fate lies in the hands of a City seeding committee. “I’m only a junior but it would mean a lot to win this game for all of our seniors,” running back Joshua Giles said. “If we have a solid running game, we should be able to do it.”