Shocked by the Sheiks

Palisades High Football Team Drops Season Opener to Hollywood, 27-9

One play late in the third quarter put last Friday’s varsity football game in a nutshell. Palisades High defensive back Lawrence Villasenor tipped a ball in the end zone right to Hollywood receiver Bryan Silva, who snatched it out of mid-air for the final points of the Sheiks’ shocking 27-9 nonleague victory. The play was symbolic of the freakish misfortune that plagued the Dolphins all night long beneath the bright marquees of such landmarks as the El Capitan Theatre and Hotel RooseveIt. It was also the play that salted away Palisades’ first season-opening loss in four years. Even more surprising was that it came at the hands of the Sheiks, whom the Dolphins had beaten three years in a row by an average of 16 points. Hollywood, playing its first night home game, was fired up and confident, having defeated Manual Arts, 14-10, the previous week. It appeared Palisades would go to the locker room ahead 9-7. Instead, wideout Motu Veavealaagi caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steven De Guzman with 25 seconds left in the second quarter. Villasenor blocked the extra point but the Sheiks suddenly had the lead and the momentum. Silva caught a 31-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter, then found Jeffrey Lawrence over the middle for the two-point conversion that increased the Sheiks’ lead to 21-9. Head Coach Kelly Loftus said the Dolphins were out-hit and out-played, but his message was clear: one bad game does not make a season. “Gentlemen, we have a long way to go,” he said. “I’m not happy with the way we played but I am proud of our effort. Execution can improve but hustle and desire have to be there every game, every series, every play.” Quarterback Branden Sanett, a junior transfer from Trabuco Hills, completed nine of 19 passes for 70 yards and ran four times for 45 yards, but threw an interception to Veavealaagi deep in Hollywood territory that killed a 35-yard drive early in the fourth quarter. Afterwards, Sanett made no excuses: “We came over here maybe expecting an easy game, but you can never underestimate an opponent. No matter who the quarterback is or who the running back is, if one person doesn’t block, the play breaks down. We have to work better as a team.” Making matters worse, Palisades racked up 120 yards in penalties and had to play without defensive captain Casey Jordan for the entire second half. Jordan, a senior linebacker, got his bell rung during a kickoff and could not hear his coaches’ pep talk at halftime. He was taken by ambulance to Cedars Sinai Medical Center with a concussion. “We tried hard in the second half but yeah, we were a little down because of what happened to Casey,” said senior linebacker Joe Brandon, who was ejected after being whistled for his second personal foul penalty late in the game. “I just hope he’s okay. We have to persevere. We have to use this as fuel and play our hearts out next week.” Brandon did his part on both sides of the ball. He led the team with 11 tackles and rushed six times for 59 yards, including the Dolphins’ only touchdown 1:10 before the half. He was wrapped up by several defenders at the two-yard line but officials ruled that the ball, cradled in his outstretched arm, broke the plain of the goal line before his knee touched the ground. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete. After both teams failed to score on their first two possessions, the Dolphins marched 54 yards in 10 plays. The drive stalled at the Sheiks’ 8 but Alex Anastasi booted a 28-yard field goal from the right hash mark to get Palisades on the board first, 3-0, with 7:30 left in the second quarter. Hollywood answered right back Chris Martin ran a fade and De Guzman hit him in stride in the corner of the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. One week before the Dolphins lost their first game, they lost quarterback/defensive back when senior Preon Morgan suffered a ligament strain in his right ankle during Palisades’ scrimmage against Washington. He showed up at practice the next day on crutches and had to watch Friday’s opener from the sideline. “At first they thought it might be a torn meniscus (knee injury) but fortunately it wasn’t,” Morgan said. “Still, it was really frustrating not being out there. It’s a helpless feeling.” Despite the loss there were plenty of positives. Malcolm Creer had 13 carries for 61 yards and Kemonta Reed added seven carries for 46 yards. Kevin Mann had four receptions for 35 yards and Ben Ingram had four catches for 32 yards. Defensively, linemen Juan Climaco and Tommy Brown had eight tackles apiece, Villasenor had seven, Devyn Reyes and Roman Thomas each had six and Jordan had five in the first half alone. Samuel Robertson and John Bolon also made five tackles apiece and Jeremy Smith added four tackles and intercepted a pass to end Hollywood’s opening drive. “We’ve owned them the last few years, but Hollywood turned the tables on us tonight,” he said. “This game is history. The key now is how we bounce back. We have maybe our toughest opponent [Santa Monica] coming up next so as much as this loss hurts, we can’t afford to dwell on it.” Junior Varsity Willie Anderson scored on runs of 15 and 8 yards and fellow sophomore Kristian Hawkins scored on a 70-yard punt return as Palisades built a 21-0 halftime lead on its way to a 27-6 victory over host Hollywood last Friday afternoon. Fullback Max Smith scored the Dolphins’ final touchdown on a 10-yard dive in the third quarter. Tyler Hildreth had an interception on defense. First-year coach Ray Marsden liked what he saw, especially from quarterback Nathan Dodson, who earned the starting job by completing three of five pass attempts for 50 yards. “I’ll take the win but we have a lot to work on,” Marsden said. “We were up big at halftime but I wanted to see the same intensity in the second half. We can’t be content just playing two quarters.”