PACIFIC PALISADES — The Santa Monica High School Vikings handled the Palisades Dolphins in a 42-20 victory at the Stadium by the Sea on Thursday, improving the team’s record to 2-0.
But despite the lopsided victory, Samohi Coach Travis Clark said the game’s ending was a disappointment. In the second half, the once stingy Vikings defense collapsed as a heavy fog rolled in. Players missed plenty of easy tackles as Pali’s backup quarterback Ke’monte Reed ran all over the Samohi defense.
“That’s not Santa Monica football. That’s not the way we finish,” Clark said. “It wasn’t prideful. It felt like a loss.”
Wide receiver Kris Comas agreed with his coach.
“It was like we gave up. I don’t even know how to enjoy this,” he said.
Comas performed well in the contest, scoring four touchdowns, including a juggling, 17-yard catch from starter Brock Miller and another 80 yarder off a screen pass in the third quarter.
It was after Comas’ third quarter touchdown catch, which came from backup quarterback Rhys Gervais, that Pali began capitalizing on a sluggish Viking defense.
“We came out thinking our defense will still attack them, but it was like we just gave up,” Comas said. “We thought the game was over. But it wasn’t over. I’m a little upset with that.
“In my eyes it was a loss.”
After a lopsided first half that saw a 28-7 Samohi lead, both Samohi and Palisades had plenty to prove in that second half.
The Vikings had to show that they could maintain their dominance, dominance over their out-of-conference rivals for a second year in a row and dominance for the entire 48 minutes of the football game. The Dolphins needed to find the saving grace for their wishbone formation and overcome a crushing first half.
Knowing he needed a spark, Pali Coach Perry Jones brought in Reed, who energized a struggling Dolphins running game.
In the fourth quarter, Palisades would set up shop from their own 21-yard-line. On first down, Reed opened things up with a 21-yard run, then a 9-yarder. A couple of plays later, Reed exploded past the Samohi defense for a 42-yard touchdown run to tighten the score at 35-14.
“When you have an athletic quarterback like Ke’monte, he can take advantage of the creases,” Jones said, adding that Reed was more able to match up with Samohi’s speedy defense.
“The defense was missing major tackles when they brought in (Reed),” Clark said. “We knew they were going to give him the ball.”
Reed was not all positives for the Dolphins, however, as he would cough up the ball about five minutes after scoring. The Samohi defense took Reed’s fourth quarter fumble 35 yards to the endzone to establish a 42-14 lead with 3:51 to go.
The next drive, Pali put the ball back into Reed’s hands as he would take another series of runs into the endzone.
“For us to start to get our offense moving was a big thing,” Jones said.
With just 6.2 seconds to go with Pali trailing by 22 points, Pali kicker Alex Antanasi would boot a successful onside kick.
The game was out of reach, but the Dolphins still came out swinging. To end the game, the Dolphins completed a 35 yard pass that landed them inside the Samohi 10-yard line, giving players confidence heading into their next game.
A visibly upset Clark immediately told the players to get off the field, despite their commanding victory.
Clark said he was pleased with the play of Gervais, the sophomore transfer from Washington. His decision to substitute Gervais for Miller early in the second half had nothing to do with Miller’s first half interception.
“My plan before the game was to get Gervais in the game ... just to kind of get him action when the game counted,” Clark said.
Clark said the night was a good learning experience for Samohi, a team that was recently ranked No. 9 in the Western Division of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section.
“I’m just disappointed, but I’m glad that this lesson came early,” he said. “I like the way we started (the game). I don’t like the way we finished it … . Championship teams finish strong. If they’re going to dominate an opponent, they’re going to dominate for four quarters.
“Right now we’re not a championship team; we’re not even close to being that.”
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