Rain Gain

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Clinging to a seven-point lead with the clock ticking under four minutes in the fourth quarter  last Friday night, the Palisades High varsity football team desperately needed a first down to move the chains. Captain Savyour  Riley got that and more, bursting up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown that clinched the Dolphins’ 34-21 victory over host St. Genevieve on a rainy night at Los Angeles Valley College.   

“I knew I’d get the ball and I wanted it,” Riley said. “I stuttered for a second, took my jab step, saw the hole, hit it and bam… I was gone!”

Riley’s run to glory was more of a relief than a thrill for head coach Chris Hyduke, who admitted his team inadvertently took its foot off the gas after building a seemingly safe 28-0 lead by hafltime.

“This is not last year’s team that finished the regular season 10-0,” he said. “We have lots of young guys who are learning as they go. We let them back into the game but we’ll learn from this and get better.”

St. Genevieve, a small Southern Section school in Panorama City,  moved to the Del Rey League this year after a 10-win season in 2021 under Billy Parra who was the coach at Granada Hills the last time the Highlanders defeated Palisades in the Charter Bowl in 2011. From the start the Valiants (0-3) looked overmatched as Palisades received the opening kickoff and drove 51 yards in six plays, capped by Roman  La Scala’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Sean Grier for a 7-0 lead.

After forcing a three-and-out the Dolphins needed one play to score as Chris Washington caught a swing pass from Zachary Lifton and turned on the jets for a 28-yard touchdown.

“It’s a play called ‘Rick’ which is a running back screen to the right and I used my peripheral vision to see where the defenders were.”

As the artificial turf got more and more slippery, so too did Grier. Early in the second quarter he ended a seven-play, 58-yard march with a 35-yard touchdown reception from Lifton when it looked like he had no chance at a catch.

“On the first [touchdown] I put my arms out and it dropped right in, a beautful throw and catch,” said Grier, who leads the team with four touchdowns. “On the second I was running a post and saw the defensive back was either going to pick it off or miss it, which he did. I waited a second and it fell into my hands.”

The Dolphins’ quarterbacks have alternated series in all three games but Grier, a junior first-year player, said it is not hard for the receivers: “It’s been kind of easy even though I’m new to the sport. Zach throws it hard so the ball gets there quick, whereas Roman on the deep balls puts a lot of air under it. I make the adjustment when it’s in the sky. It’s a lot of decison-making. I may run precise routes but little things I don’t do can cause a play not to work.”   

La Scala connected with tight end Augie Evans from nine yards out to cap a nine-play, 70-yard drive that increased the margin to 28 points.

Momentum shifted early in the third quarter after Palisades failed to convert on fourth-and-one at its own 11.  The Valiants scored touchdowns on runs of five and two yards by Frank Coreas and pulled to within 28-21 on a six-yard toss from Benjamin Macias to Irving Santillana with 4:13 left  in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for Riley’s heroics.

Palisades (3-0) won for the 17th time in 18 games dating back to Week 2 of the 2020 season—the only loss in that stretch being a 33-17 defeat at the hands of San Pedro in the City Open Division semifinals 10 months ago. St. Genevieve, the Camino Real League champion and  a 10-game winner last fall, dropped to 0-3. In fact, Palisades’ first three opponents this year have combined to win only one of 11 games.

“I tend to get into my rhythm the more times I get the ball,” said Washington, who finished with 110 yards in 13 carries, an average of 8.5 yards per rush. “It was fun playing in the rain, it’s been awhile since I did that.”

Riley also had a team-high 11 tackles and a sack on defense while Amari Yolas had eight tackles and an interception and added 91 yards  on punt and kickoff returns. Jake Treibatch had six tackles (three for losses) and blocked a punt.

“On defense we bent but didn’t break,” said Riley, whose brothers Syr and Sy preceded him at Pali High and play for Division I college programs. “This game was good for us. I’d rather we face adversity and come through than blow teams out.”

Palisades’ schedule gets tougher from here. The Dolphins travel to Reseda to take on Cleveland (3-0) Friday night before returning home for their annual “Sunset Showdown” with Brentwood (3-1) in their last nonleague game Sept. 23.

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