Heartbreaker

Dolphins Battle to the Final Second but Fall to Archrival Venice 45-44 in a Western League Thriller on Homecoming

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

There was little the coaches of the Palisades High football team could do to console their players after last Friday night’s homecoming game against Venice. The Dolphins left everything they had on the field came up one point short in one of the most thrilling games in the history of a rivalry dating back to 1961, the year Pali High opened There were five ties and four lead changes as the momentum swung back and forth for 48 frenzied minutes, until one last field goal try with one second left failed , allowing the Gondoliers to escape with a 45-44 victory.

“We certainly had our chances but we made mistakes at critical times and the turnovers combined with all the penalties were too much to overcome,” said head coach Dylen Smith, who suffered the agony of defeat after experiencing the thrill of victory in his first taste of the rivalry last fall, when the Dolphins clinched the league title with a 28-24 win on the Gondos’ home field.

The 58th meeting between the teams was a gem, though early on it looked like the heavily-favored Dolphins were on their way to a blowout. Quarterback Jack Thomas hit LeHenry Solomon on a bomb to the Venice 10-yard line on the  third play from scrimmage and two snaps later Thomas snuck it in from one yard out, Jack Malloy’s extra point  made it 7-0 just over two minutes into the contest. However, the Gondos needed only six plays to respond, the last a 20-yard pass from Jaiden Noel to Malachi Brown that was followed by London Webster’s point-after to tie it 7-7. After the teams exchanged punts Palisades began its third drive at its own 10 and proceeded to march the length of the field in seven plays, moving back in front on a 43-yard strike from Thomas to wide receiver King Demethris. Venice went three-and-out  on its next series and Palisades moved from its own 2 to deep in Venice territory, but a penalty forced the Dolphins to settle for a 41-yard field goal try and Malloy’s kick was blocked by defensive lineman Hector Lopez. Palisades forced another punt and took over at its own 12. This time the Dolphins drove to the Venice 12 and on the 12th play of the drive Malloy nailed a 29-yard field goal to make it 17-7 with 52 seconds left in the second quarter.              

Venice switched to its no-huddle offense and drove from its own 25 into field goal range, but Webster’s 23-yard attempt hooked wide right as time expired and the Dolphins headed to their locker room with a comfortable 17-7 lead.

“We moved the ball and mixed it up pretty well,” Smith said. “I was satisfied with the first half.”

Venice used the long intermission  to talk things over and came out on fire in the second half. Noel found Nathan Santa Cruz in the end zone on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the Gondos’ deficit to three and they tied it on Webster’s 26 yard field goal on their next possession after recovering a fumble at Palisades’ 6.

Grandison Johnson made a leaping interception to give Venice the ball back near midfield—only Thomas’ second interception all season—and the Gondos took their first lead three minutes later when Noel hit Santa Cruz in stride on a 35-yard seam route to make it 24-17.

After a touchback, Harrison Carter rumbled to the Gondos’ 2-yard line and Thomas’ keeper on the next play, followed by Malloy’s PAT, tied it again. Palisades’ defense forced another punt and the Dolphins regained the lead on their next drive when Thomas hit Max Hejazi wide open over the middle for a 52-yard touchdown with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

Venice tied it 31-31 on Joshua Aaron’s 31-yard run and after forcing another fumble and recovering at their own 46 the Gondos marched  54 yards in six plays, scoring on a three-yard pass from Noel to Brown with 5:43 left.

On Palisades’ next drive, Thomas hit Ricardo Martin on back-to-back passes to reach the Venice 8. On the next play, a pass was batted in the air and Thomas alertly caught his own pass and scooted into the end zone. Malloy’s kick tied it 38-38 with 3:21 left in the fourth quarter.

Venice used short passes and runs to move from its own 30 to Palisades’ 20, where Noel swung a pass to Aaron in the flat and he raced to the goal line for a go-ahead score with 48 seconds left.

After a short kickoff return the Dolphins took possession at their own 25 with 41 ticks left and Thomas hit Hejazi and Demethris for short gains to the Palisades 39 after which  the Dolphins called timeout. Two incompletions and a six-yard down-and-out stopped the clock with 12 seconds left. Palisades had the ball at its own 46 and the stage was set for what will be remembered as one of the most unbelievable plays in Palisades football history. Thomas rolled right to buy time and fired a pass 30 yards downfield in the direction of Harrison Carter. Two defenders collided while going for the ball and fell to the turf as Carter leaped high in the air to make the grab, turned upfield and sprinted 54 yards for a touchdown with two seconds left on the clock.

Smith opted to go for two but Venice blitzed, disrupting the play that was called. While being dragged down, Thomas flipped the ball in the air to avoid the sack but it was picked off by Aaron at the 5-yard line  and Gondos players ran off the field as if the game was over. It was not.

“It was a play we ran a lot in the beginning of the year,” Smith said. “It was what they wanted to run and was going to be a quick route to LeHenry but they were in on Jack immediately and there wasn’t really much he could do.”

However, Palisades set up for the kickoff and Malloy sent a high arching ball over the Gondos’ front wall. At first, the Venice players seemed to forget it was a live ball and by the time they did and tried to grab it, Augie Evans had swooped in and pounced on the prize with one second left on the clock, giving the Dolphins one last stab at victory. However, the Gondos penetrated into the backfield at the snap and Malloy’s 37-yard field goal try was low and veered to the left, dying well short of the end zone.

“It was a heck of a game and it feels good to win here after what happened last year,” Venice head coach Angela Gasca said. “At hafltime we were behind but we felt we could win if we changed a few things. It’s always a battle with those guys.”

Noel threw for 314 yards and five scores for Venice (4-4 overal, 3-0 in league), which improved to 31-26-1 head to head against Palisades, which had won five of the previous eight meetings.

Thomas completed 22 of 40 passes for 390 yards and four touchdowns (one to himself) and ran for two more scores.  Demethris had seven receptions for 126 yards, Hejazi had four grabs for 68 yards, Solomon had three catches for 50 yards and  Martin had three for 49. Carter rushed  16 times for 138 yards and added 80 yards  on kick returns.

Linebacker Jake Treibatch had 13 tackles, Cash Allen had 11 and Connor Petoyan had seven. Ethan Nazarian deflected three passes and Jackson Kaufman deflected two.

Penalties proved costly as the Dolphins were flagged 12 times for 90 yards.

The result was even more gutwrenching than Palisades’ overtime defeat to Brentwood on Sept 13. The Dolphins (6-2, 2-1) have lost two games by a total of four points, but Smith reminded his players there are still two games left, starting tomorrow night at University. Palisades wraps up the regular season Nov. 1 when it hosts Hamilton on Senior Night.      

“There are two games left before playoffs and we need to practice as had as we can,” Smith reminded his troops. “Consistency is the sign of a good program.”

Venice plays Fairfax next and hosts Westchester in its league finale. If the Comets win it could create a three-way tie for first.     

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