Dolphins Dial Up Defense

For the first two quarters of last Friday night’s regular season finale, the Palisades High offense was stuck in second gear, needing someone —  anyone — to step on the gas.

Dhamar Lomax did just that, revving the Dolphins’ engine with his 93-yard kickoff return to open the second half and the defense kept the motor running by limiting Hamilton to seven yards rushing in a 14-0 victory.

“Coaches kept telling us at halftime to keep our heads on straight and play with a lot of emotion,” Lomax said. “On the kickoff the ball bounced right to me, I got it on the run, a hole opened to the right side and I just followed my blockers.”

The play took all of 12 seconds and from then on there was little doubt that the 24 seniors honored before the game would have reason to celebrate when the clock ran out.

It was Palisades’ first shutout at Stadium by the Sea since October 1, 2010 when the Dolphins blanked Granada Hills 10-0 in the schools’ annual Charter Bowl.

Lomax not only scored a touchdown, he also saved six points by forcing Yankees receiver  Kyshawn Richards out of bounds inside the Dolphins’ 20 on a long pass, setting the stage for junior linebacker Lofton Mason’s 33-yard interception return two plays later.

“I could’ve had two picks,” Mason said. “I sank into coverage, saw the quarterback rolling my way and jumped under the ball. It’s about time — we haven’t pitched a shutout all season and I’m glad we did it tonight for the seniors.”

Mason’s younger brother Justin, a sophomore, had his second interception in two games after spending the first eight weeks trying to get his grades up.

“A lot of things went my way on that play,” he said. “I was in press coverage and I ran even with the receiver but the quarterback threw it behind him and I was right there to catch it.”

Taylor Mensik ended an 11-play, 57-yard drive with a four-yard quarterback draw to give Palisades a 7-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first half. He attempted five passes, completing one for eight yards to Ryan Holbert, and ran 12 times for 31 yards.

The rest of the offense load was left to Joseph Velez, who gained 103 yards in 25 carries but also fumbled for only the second time all season.

The defense came out with the right mindset,” Velez said. “On offense we didn’t come out strong enough, but we still put up 14 points and we have confidence in our conditioning. Four hours a day, four days a week plus passing tournaments… it’s paying off now.”

Senior defensive end Carlos Herrera  and junior linebacker E.B Odeh were each credited with a sack as the visitors punted four times and turned it over on downs twice.

Frosh/Soph

Eddie Burd returned a punt 70 yards for the Dolphins’ only score in the fourth quarter of their 21-6 loss to Hamilton.