Uni Football Falls in Western Shootout

In a game dominated by offense, it was a defensive stand that made the difference in Friday afternoon's Western League football opener between University High and visiting Palisades.

University drove all the way to the opposition's 5-yard line, but couldn’t punch it in on four plays and Palisades hung on for a 42-35 victory--its first win of the year.

“We are here to win a City championship," University Coach Lee Lowe said. "I told the kids before the game that you have to deal with wins and you have to deal with losses. This is a tough loss but we can grow from here and get better."

The Wildcats started off strong, running the ball effectively and capping off the drive with a Tevin Epps touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. It didn’t take long for visiting Palisades to answer, as senior running back Mylz Blake broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown run. The ensuing extra point gave the Dolphins more points than they had scored in the previous three games combined.

On University's next drive, quarterback Alif Vannah had a pass intercepted and Blake scampered 30 yards for his second score on as many carries, giving the Dolphins a 14-7 lead.

“We made an adjustment against Blake on the first play, but we just couldn’t seem to line up against him,” Lowe said. “We knew it would be dive all day, yet it still took us a while to figure it out.”

In what seemed like déjà vu for the crowd, the Palisades defense held again, and yet again, Blake took off on his first carry, this time for a 50-yard touchdown. After failing on the two-point conversion try, the Dolphins were up 20-7 and it appeared a blowout was in the making.

University had yet another three-and-out, and Palisades had a chance to virtually put the game away on its next possession, but a fumble recovery by the Wildcats seemed to give them renewed energy.

Vannah scored from a few yards out, and just like that, it was a 20-14 game. After another stop, University got the ball back and scored another touchdown, and the extra point gave the Wildcats a 21-20 lead.

Palisades regained the lead, 27-21, and after the teams traded turnovers, the wild first half ended with the home team trailing by six points. 

In the second half, Palisades continued its offensive momentum, scoring on a touchdown pass to Ben Ingram. However, University returned the kickoff for a touchdown to pull back within six points, 34-28.

From there, the offenses slowed down until Palisades broke yet another long touchdown run, this time by Justin Sinclair, who was back in the lineup after missing the Dolphins' previous four games with an injury. The two-point try was successful and Palisades entered the fourth quarter with a 42-28 lead.

University receivers made a few athletic catches--included a David Tyree-like helmet catch by junior Alvin Clark, who finished off the drive with an 18-yard touchdown, to narrow the gap to 42-35. Then, after Palisades went three-and-out, the stage was set for an instant classic.

“I’m very excited that all my wide receivers are coming back next year," Lowe said. "We have some incredible talent out there and they're going to be stars here. I texted Alvin [Clark] last night telling him he was going to make plays today and he did. I’m proud of him.”

The Wildcats converted a fourth-and-two situation at the 16-yard line and had a first down at the Dolphins' 5-yard line in the final seconds, but Vannah threw four incompletions, and Palisades held on for the win.

“Games like this are part of the journey," Lowe said. "We will win a City championship eventually, and this is the type of game that can make or break us, but I know we will be just fine.”

The loss dropped the Wildcats to 3-3 overall and they will try to bounce back when they host Fairfax next week.