Palisades High assistant coach Tony Ryan had a decision to make in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s junior varsity football game against Canoga Park.
The Dolphins had victory well in hand but were trying to keep the opposition off the scoreboard and rather than keep his starters in, Ryan chose to play the reserves the final six minutes.
Ryan’s faith was rewarded as the second unit preserved the 20-0 victory — giving Palisades back-to-back shutouts to begin the season.
“I considered leaving the starters in there, but we’re so thin that I didn’t want to risk it,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a ton of guys going both ways and keeping everyone healthy is the most important thing.”
Waiting for the Dolphins in the postgame huddle was a congratulatory text message from head coach Ray Marsden, who was attending a friend’s wedding. A player asked his teammates “How many points have we allowed all season?” They responded with a resounding “None!” and he said “Let’s keep it that way!”
Quarterback Noah Karp threw only three passes. One was intercepted but the other two went for long gains — a 23-yard toss to Jake Nadley and a 38-yard strike to Alex Vaupen that set up a score. However, it was the Dolphins’ ground game that wore the Hunters down.
“We were in better shape than them — we wore them down after two and a half quarters,” Pali High assistant coach Kelly Loftus said. “At the beginning of the fourth quarter Tony got everyone into a huddle and started cheering them on. That was like a booster shot.”
Karp opened the scoring on a five-yard keeper late in the first quarter but was stopped short of the goal line on the two-point try.
Dakota Hamilton rushed for 116 yards in 12 carries and busted off right tackle for a 14-yard touchdown to provide Palisades a cushion with 11:42 left.
“The guys last year handed the torch down to us — now we have to prove we deserve it,” Hamilton said. “I was getting into the red zone every time, so I knew eventually we’d score.”
After Chris Howard’s interception, Rayne Camden broke five tackles on his way to a 30-yard touchdown.
“I just took the toss sweep, got outside and started sprinting,” said Camden, also a backup quarterback. “I like being a running back, but I’d like to get some reps at quarterback too. This was all about the shutout.”
— Steve Galluzzo
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