By Sue Pascoe
Editor
Photos by Drew Vaupen
Dakotah Hamilton scored three touchdowns and rushed for 205 yards as Palisades High opened the City Section Division 1 playoffs by crushing visiting Canoga Park 56-6 on November 7.
The 3rd-seeded Dolphins will stay at home to play 6th-seeded Dorsey this Friday at 7 p.m. It should be a good battle. Pali beat Sylmar 48-7 in August and Dorsey demolished Sylmar 63-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
Dorsey’s record is 5-6 overall, but its opponents have included Calabasas, St. John Bosco and Culver City, and the team was 4-1 in Coliseum League play, losing only to powerful Crenshaw.
The Dolphins are 8-3 overall and finished 3-2 in the Western League with losses to Venice and Fairfax.
Against Canoga Park, Hamilton ran 53 yards to score the game’s first touchdown. “The line gave me a clear hole, an open space, and I just booked it,” the senior said. “My line is perfect–love my line.” Campbell Geddes kicked the PAT.
Hamilton’s second touchdown came just minutes later when he bolted 32 yards. The PAT gave Pali a 14-0 lead.
The Dolphins went ahead 21-0 when middle linebacker Noah Karp intercepted the ball at the Canoga 29-yard line and ran it into the end zone. “I saw it and picked it up…and touchdown,” said Karp, who led the Dolphin defense with three solo tackles and six assists.
Canoga’s lone touchdown came two minutes before half-time, but the extra point attempt failed.
Leading 21-6, Palisades wasted no time in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Daniel Hayes kept the ball, made a nice cut and ran 46 yards for the touchdown. The PAT was good.
Afterwards, Hayes said, “They [Canoga players] were calling what Dakotah was going to do. I knew I couldn’t hand it to him, so I just ran.”
The Hunters tried to get some momentum, but sophomore Xavier Whitfield recovered a fumble to put the Dolphins on Canoga’s 27. Three plays later, Max Palees ran the ball for a touchdown and Geddes kicked another extra point for a 35-6 lead.
With four minutes left in the third quarter, Hayes threw a pass from the Canoga 34 to Cameron Bailey, who caught it on the 10 and ran it into the end zone. The PAT was good. “I saw outside coverage, so I went inside,” Bailey said. “He [Hayes] saw me, threw and I took it to the house.”
Dakotah Hamilton scored three touchdowns and rushed for 205 yards as Palisades High opened the City Section Division 1 playoffs by crushing visiting Canoga Park 56-6 on November 7.
The 3rd-seeded Dolphins will stay at home to play 6th-seeded Dorsey this Friday at 7 p.m. It should be a good battle. Pali beat Sylmar 48-7 in August and Dorsey demolished Sylmar 63-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
Dorsey’s record is 5-6 overall, but its opponents have included Calabasas, St. John Bosco and Culver City, and the team was 4-1 in Coliseum League play, losing only to powerful Crenshaw.
The Dolphins are 8-3 overall and finished 3-2 in the Western League with losses to Venice and Fairfax.
Against Canoga Park, Hamilton ran 53 yards to score the game’s first touchdown. “The line gave me a clear hole, an open space, and I just booked it,” the senior said. “My line is perfect–love my line.” Campbell Geddes kicked the PAT.
Hamilton’s second touchdown came just minutes later when he bolted 32 yards. The PAT gave Pali a 14-0 lead.
The Dolphins went ahead 21-0 when middle linebacker Noah Karp intercepted the ball at the Canoga 29-yard line and ran it into the end zone. “I saw it and picked it up…and touchdown,” said Karp, who led the Dolphin defense with three solo tackles and six assists.
Canoga’s lone touchdown came two minutes before half-time, but the extra point attempt failed.
Leading 21-6, Palisades wasted no time in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Daniel Hayes kept the ball, made a nice cut and ran 46 yards for the touchdown. The PAT was good.
Afterwards, Hayes said, “They [Canoga players] were calling what Dakotah was going to do. I knew I couldn’t hand it to him, so I just ran.”
The Hunters tried to get some momentum, but sophomore Xavier Whitfield recovered a fumble to put the Dolphins on Canoga’s 27. Three plays later, Max Palees ran the ball for a touchdown and Geddes kicked another extra point for a 35-6 lead.
With four minutes left in the third quarter, Hayes threw a pass from the Canoga 34 to Cameron Bailey, who caught it on the 10 and ran it into the end zone. The PAT was good. “I saw outside coverage, so I went inside,” Bailey said. “He [Hayes] saw me, threw and I took it to the house.”
The rout continued as Hayes completed a 40-yard pass play to Bailey, down to Canoga’s 4, and Hamilton then scored his third touchdown. The third quarter ended with Pali on top, 49-6.
About six minutes into the fourth quarter, a Canoga Park pass was deflected at Pali’s 30, the ball flew in the air and Chris Howard intercepted it and ran all the way to the 10-yard line. Jared Dodson ran the ball for the game’s final touchdown.
“We had a really good first half,” said senior offensive lineman Syr Riley. “In the second half we fixed all the mistakes and our defense really emerged and was a commanding force on the field. We stepped on the gas and really started scoring.”
Hamilton agreed. “We executed in the second half—we demonstrated what we could do.”
“We played well,” said Karp.
Bailey, who accounted for 45 yards running and 92 yards receiving, summed it up. “We have to do the same thing against Dorsey next week.”
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