Pali High Football Falls to Venice

The scenario was crystal clear. Win and possibly sneak into the playoffs or lose and turn your pads in for the year. That is what was at stake for the Palisades High School varsity football team as it headed into Thursday night's Western League finale against archrival Venice.

Having lost back-to-back games, the Dolphins were seeking to steady the ship and create to a logjam in the standings, but despite staying close for the first half they could not keep up with the defending champions, who wrapped up their 10th consecutive league crown with a 42-14 victory at Stadium by the Sea.

Palisades (3-7 overall, 2-3 in league) got the ball first but immediately gave up a safety and had to punt the ball back to the Gondos, who scored on a 50-yard run by SMU-bound wide receiver Gabe Marks.

Sophomore quarterback Alex Diamont found receiver Jahret Hood on a 20-yard touchdown pass play and McLean Emmanuel's extra-point made it 16-0 Venice midway through the second quarter. 

However, the Dolphins responded on a 20-yard scoring run by Mylz Blake that pulled them to within 16-6 with just over three minutes left in the first half. On their next drive, the Dolphins scored again on Justin Sinclair's run and Adrian Romero added the two-point conversion run that narrowed Palisades' deficit to 16-14 less than one minute before halftime.

Venice (6-4, 5-0) received the second half kickoff and marched to the end zone, Diamont capping the drive with a one-yard run and Emmanuel's point-after kick made it 23-14 Gondos. Three minutes later, Venice got another safety and as the clock wound down in the third quarter Emmanuel converted a 36-yard field goal attempt to give Venice a 28-14 lead.

Diamont connected with Hood again, this time from 12 yards out, early in the fourth quarter and Alijah Lee added a five-yard touchdown run with about one minute left to produce the final margin.

It was a disappointing end to a season that began with promise for Palisades, which advanced to the semifinals of the City Section Division II playoffs a year ago and was bumped up to Division I this fall. All of the Dolphins' seniors were honored for their commitment to the program.

Venice, meanwhile, is seeded No. 4 in the Division I playoffs and hosts No. 13 Taft in the first round Friday. Westchester and Fairfax tied for second place and also earned playoff berths. Tenth-seeded Westchester travels to No. 7-seeded West Adams while No. 14 Fairfax plays No. 3 Dorsey at Rancho Cienega Park.

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Venice

9

7

14

42

Palisades

0

14

0

0

14

Scoring Summary

Venice -- Safety, 1st qtr.

Venice -- Marks 50 run (Emmanuel kick), 1st qtr.

Venice -- Hood 20 pass from Diamont (Emmanuel kick), 2nd qtr.

Palisades -- Blake 20 run (run failed), 2nd qtr.

Palisades -- Sinclair 20 run (Romero run), 2nd qtr.

Venice -- Diamont 1 run (Emmanuel kick), 3rd qtr.

Venice -- Safety, 3rd qtr.

Venice -- Emmanuel 36 field goal, 3rd qtr.

Venice -- Hood 12 pass from Diamont (Emmanuel kick), 4th qtr.

Venice -- Lee 5 run (Emmanuel kick), 4th qtr.

Records: Venice 6-4, 5-0; Palisades 3-7, 2-3.