Football Seeded No. 6 in Open Division

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

As disappointed as Palisades Charter High School head football coach Dylen Smith was that last Friday night’s regular season finale, October 27, was canceled due to a power outrage on campus, strangely, it might have actually helped his team.

When City playoff brackets were released Saturday evening, October 28, the Dolphins (who entered the last week of Western League play ranked eighth in the section), found themselves seeded No. 6 out of eight teams in the Open Division.

“I felt bad for the kids because it was Senior Night and they didn’t get a chance to play their last home game,” Smith said. “We were on pins and needles all morning waiting to see if the power would come back on and we’d get the game in. At first I thought [the cancelation] would keep us at No. 8 but I really didn’t know. As coaches we were going through every scenario. I was afraid Franklin might jump us because they finished strong and played some good teams. Ultimately it was out of our control and we had to be prepared for either scenario, be it Open or Division I.”

Smith was named the LA Chargers’ Coach of the Week after Palisades’ 28-24 victory at Venice  that earned them the Western League title on October 20.

“To be honest, I really had no idea,” Smith said. “I was honored to be nominated, and I was thrilled when I found out I won. I was getting texts and calls from everyone—it was cool.”

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year after 30 players graduated from a team that made the Division I championship game last fall, Smith has enjoyed his first season at the helm and said he is excited his team gets to compete at the highest level in the postseason.

“Since the Culver City [passing] tournament in July my whole thing was ‘finish,’ and that’s exactly what we did,” Smith said. “The Brentwood game was the turning point. We could’ve gone one of two directions after that, and to their credit, the guys bought in and turned it all around for league.”

Palisades’ reward for winning the Western League is a trip to the South Bay on November 9 to take on third-seeded Gardena, the Cinderella story in the City this season after earning a share of its first league title since 1974. The Panthers, co-champions of the Marine League with Carson, beat the No. 4 Colts 27-7 head-to-head on October 20 to earn the higher seed. Gardena’s only defeat was by one point at Banning the week before.

“I feel like we’re hitting our stride and the kids feel up to the challenge, but by no means are we  taking Gardena for granted—any team we play in that league is going to be tough,” Smith said. “I’ve got film from four of their games and I haven’t studied their offense too much yet, but from what I’ve seen, their defense is fast and physical. They don’t have a lot of complicated schemes or anything like that, but whatever they do, they do it very well.”

According to Smith, not getting to play last Friday is both a blessing and a curse.

“We have a lot of guys nursing injuries and this gives them extra time to heal, so that part of it is good, but you also don’t want to be rusty and by the time we suit it up again, it’ll have been nearly three weeks since our last game, so we’ve got to make every practice count,” Smith explained. “We’ll watch a lot of film this week and it’ll be more mental preparation, but next week it’ll be more on-field stuff. If we stick to our up-tempo style and run lots of plays, hopefully we tire them out by the fourth quarter.”

West Valley League winner Birmingham, seeking its fourth straight City title, is seeded No. 1 and hosts No. 8 Narbonne (which lost to Gardena 28-3 in its league finale last week) November 9. Eastern League champion Garfield, which closed the regular season by routing Roosevelt in the East LA Classic, is seeded second and hosts No. 7 San Pedro, the third-place Marine League team. The last quarterfinal pits No. 4 Carson against No. 5 Granada Hills, the West Valley runner-up.