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Sports

Vikings Extend Streak Vs. Palisades

Samohi makes it eight in a row over its crosstown rival with a 33-15 victory.

It wasn't a flawless performance, but Friday night's 33-15 victory over Palisades was good enough to keep the football team unblemished. At the game, which was played at , the team extended to eight games.

The Vikings had too many penalties and did a poor job tackling at times, but there was nothing to criticize about the play of senior quarterback Christian Salem. He was hot from the start, connecting on eight of his first 10 passes, and threw touchdown strikes of 85 yards to Kori Garcia and 30 yards to Sebastian Larue.

"I thought he was terrific," Samohi Coach said of Salem, who finished 14-of-19 for 267 yards. "I've said all along that he's got all the tools and he's showing it. That's about as efficient as it gets."

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The Vikings (2-0) also got a courageous effort from senior linebacker Chris Collins, who was injured in and played only sparingly against Palisades. When his number was called and a big play needed, however, Collins delivered.

"It made a big difference not having him in there," Clark admitted. "They were running their offense and moving the ball, but I thought we did a nice job inside the 20s."

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As impressive as Salem looked, the Vikings' aerial assault was aided by the acrobatics of Larue, who caught nine passes for 205 yards. Included among them was his scoring reception in the end zone on a laser from Salem that closed out the scoring with 39 seconds left.

"We worked on that play all week in practice," Larue said. "He made a perfect throw, and I caught it. We were on the same page all night."

According to the junior wide receiver, Salem wasn't necessarily making a conscious effort to find him. The Vikings were simply running their normal offense. That included 154 yards rushing—most of it by Garcia, who carried nine times for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

"We were pretty much doing what we usually do," Larue said. "We always knew we were balanced, we just didn't have to show it last week."

The Vikings entered the game having won a record seven straight in the rivalry that began in 1979 and in which Clark played three times when he was at Samohi in the mid-'80s. However, Palisades (0-2) started as if it might snap the streak, using its triple option to march 78 yards in nine plays, capped by Arte' Miura's 15-yard run.

Clark didn't wait until halftime to make adjustments.

"I noticed what they were doing on that drive, and I changed up our defense immediately," he said. "The kids were comfortable with what we switched to and it worked."

It took Samohi only four plays to answer Palisades' score, with Garcia sprinting 42 yards to paydirt. 

The turning point occurred on the Dolphins' next possession after they drove to Samohi's 5-yard line early in the second quarter. First, Collins recovered a fumble on an errant pitch and the Vikings took over at their 20. Then, on third and long, Salem lofted the ball to Garcia at the last moment and the senior running back caught the screen pass, broke outside and raced 85 yards for a touchdown.

Elliott Stahler added field goals of 31 and 23 yards—the second as the second-quarter clock expired—and the Vikings entered the locker room with a comfortable 19-7 lead. 

"I felt it from the beginning that the kids weren't quite as focused as they needed to be and we weren't as sharp," said Clark, whose team was flagged for offsides five times and had a two-yard touchdown negated by a holding penalty in the second quarter. "You're going to have those nights. It was good to face some adversity tonight and we pulled it together."

After a scoreless third quarter, Palisades drove to the Vikings' 12-yard line but a holding penalty cost the Dolphins 10 yards and Samohi held on fourth down, taking over at their own 7. The Vikings proceeded to march 93 yards in eight plays, capped by Garcia's 52-yard burst up the middle.

Mylz Blake scored on a 28-yard run and the two-point conversion pass from Kevin Acosta to Adrian Romero cut Samohi's lead to 26-15 with 6:34 left. After forcing a punt, the Dolphins took possession at their 15-yard line. Needing two scores with under one minute remaining, they opted to go for it on fourth-and-two at their own 31, but Samohi's defense held.

"I'm glad this one's over and I don't have to think about Palisades for another year," Clark said. "This is one of those games I had circled on my calendar because I knew it'd be tough. I knew they'd be fired up and one of these times they're going to beat us. I just didn't want them to do it on my clock."

Palisades quarterback Nathan Dodson attempted only three passes--the first of which was intercepted along the sideline by senior cornerback Dylan Muscat in the second quarter. However, the Dolphins had as many yards rushing (267) as Salem did passing.

"Defensively we had some lapses, but we haven't seen anyone who threw it that well—not in the [City Section] playoffs last year and certainly not last week at El Camino Real," Palisades Coach Perry Jones said. "We stood toe-to-toe with them the whole way, we just came up short."

Santa Monica leads the series 18-6-2. The Vikings will play their third straight game at SMC on Friday when they host a nonleague game against Anaheim Canyon (0-3).

Score by Quarters

1

2

3

4

Final

Palisades

7

0

0

8

15

Santa Monica

7

12

0

14

33

Scoring Summary

Palisades -- Miura 15 run (Lynch kick), 5:24 left in 1st qtr.

Santa Monica -- Garcia 42 run (Pavon kick), 3:03 left in 1st qtr.

Santa Monica -- Garcia 85 pass from Salem (kick failed), 8:29 left in 2nd qtr.

Santa Monica -- Stahler 31 field goal, 1:07 left in 2nd qtr.

Santa Monica -- Stahler 23 field goal, 0:00 left in 2nd qtr.

Santa Monica  -- Garcia 52 run (Stahler kick), 8:33 left in 4th qtr.

Palisades -- Blake 28 run (Romero pass from Acosta), 6:34 left in 4th qtr.

Santa Monica -- Larue 30 pass from Salem (Stahler kick), 0:39 left in 4th qtr.

Records: Palisades 0-2; Santa Monica 2-0.

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