Dolphins Intend to Keep Charter Bowl Trophy

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The last time the Palisades Charter High School football team played Granada Hills, the Dolphins were run off the field at Valley College in a 44-7 loss in the City Division I championship game last November.

However, that was the playoffs, not the regular season, meaning the Charter Bowl trophy was not up for grabs.

The teams were supposed to have met last September, but extreme heat in the San Fernando Valley forced a cancellation. So, after a one-year hiatus, the Charter Bowl resumes on August 31, and the Dolphins are determined to extend their winning streak in the series to 10 and avenge their defeat 11 months ago.

Both teams are vastly different than the ones that played for the City title last season: Granada Hills is without last year’s City Player of the Year Dijon Stanley (now a freshman tailback at the University of Utah), who ran for 378 yards and five touchdowns against the Dolphins in the final.

Palisades, meanwhile, graduated its three leading rushers and three of its top four receivers.

Palisades and Granada Hills achieved independent charter status in 2003—the first two high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District to do so. The winner of this annual grudge game gets to keep the bronze Charter Bowl trophy, which Palisades has held since 2012.

The series kicked off in 2006, and the Highlanders won four of the first six meetings. Since then, the Dolphins have won nine straight (there was no contest in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic), and they hold an 11-4 lead.

The last Charter Bowl took place in 2021, and Palisades prevailed 47-16 at Stadium by the Sea under former head coach Chris Hyduke.

In 15 previous Charter Bowl meetings, Palisades is a perfect 6-0 on home turf. During their current winning streak, the Dolphins’ average margin of victory has been 25 points, but they are not taking the Highlanders lightly.

“I didn’t play but I saw the tears on my teammates’ faces after the championship game,” said LeHenry Solomon, a sophomore who got moved up to varsity for the playoffs last year. “The returning players had to live with it all summer and are real motivated to get another crack at those guys. Our job is to win and win big.”

Palisades enters Thursday’s game at 2-0 after impressive victories over El Camino Real and Roosevelt. Granada Hills (0-1-1) is reeling after its 28-28 tie at Franklin and a 45-8 home loss to Village Christian.