Harrison Carter and Cole Ward celebrate after Pali’s win.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT/CTN
And then there were four.
The Dolphins are two games away from taking the Division I Championship by defeating North Hollywood, 56-21. Unlike their first game in the playoffs, when the team had more than 200 yards in penalties, and barely squeaked by, this was a different team on the field.
Going into the game, Palisades was 9-2 and the N. Hollywood Huskies were undefeated. But as one Dolphin player said at the end of the game, “Now they’re 11-1.”
This game saw a different team: the Dolphins were disciplined and focused. They only had three penalties and 35 yards, which meant the Huskies had to fight for every possession and point. The Pali team that played Friday could take the championship.
In a windy, chilly evening the Palisades scored on their first possession, when LeHenry Solomon caught a 26-yard pass from quarterback Jack Thomas. Kicker Jack Malloy would make the first of eight PATS in the evening.
Pali’s next TD came in the second quarter on a nine-yard pass from Thomas to Carter. After that score, the Huskies responded making the score 14-7. With 30 seconds left in the first half, Thomas threw a pass to Max Hezazi, who scored the first of two touchdowns on the evening. Hezazi would have 114 receiving yards for the game.
In the third quarter, Pali’s Harrison Carter would run for an 83-yard touchdown on the first play, extending their lead to 28-7. Thomas would pick up the next score late in the third quarter and a pass to Hejazi, put the Dolphins ahead 42-14 before the start of the fourth quarter.
Michael Merz and Deveron Kearney scored Pali’s final touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Thomas threw for 374 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per attempt, while Carter gained 203 total yards and two touchdowns.
Leading in tackles for Pali was Jake Treibatch (two solo and six assists) and Kenneth Sanchez (one solo and seven assists).
On November 15 the fifth ranked Palisades will face the top-seed Eagle Rock on Friday, November 22.
Palisades will take on Eagle Rock at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 22 away. Eagle Rock is looking for their eighth straight win. If the Dolphins played like they did on Friday, they could be the spoiler.
On the other end of the Division One bracket, the second seed Kennedy, will take on the sixth seed King/Drew.
In the Open Division, the number-one seed Narbonne will take on the number six-seed Birmingham on Friday.
If you want to watch a replay of the game, “Facebook James” records and gives commentary on Live with Facebook James – Pali High Football.
Head coach Dylen Smith is all smiles after his team’s win.
Photo: RICH SCHMITT