Palos Verdes quarterback Steven Delcarson couldn’t stop smiling as he leaned over the railing to pose for photos with family members after Friday night’s football game at Redondo.
His family and friends were among the fans that filled the visitor bleachers to watch Palos Verdes (6-3, 4-0) win its 22nd consecutive Bay League football game and clinched at least a tie of its fourth straight league title with a 21-10 victory.
Delcarson ran over Redondo as the 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior rushed for 86 yards on nine carries in the first half including a 53-yard touchdown to give Palos Verdes a lead it would not relinquish.
“This win feels so good,” Delcarson said. “I like working on the ground. It all starts with the offensive and defensive lines. When we have guys who can fire off the ball, get to the quarterback and get off their blocks, it makes things easier for me and things begin to click. Our offensive line was great tonight.”
Redondo (4-5, 3-1) forced two turnovers in the first quarter but was only able to convert the miscues into three points.
Zane Zent’s interception halted a Palos Verdes drive with the Sea Kings facing a third-and-8 at the Redondo 17-yard line.
After Redondo’s possession stalled at midfield, Palos Verdes fumbled on its first play after the punt. Ryan Armalin jumped on the ball at the Sea King 22-yard line but the Sea Hawks were forced to settle on an 18-yard field goal by Colin Castillo with 2:05 left in the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Delcarson’s 53-yard touchdown run put Palos Verdes on top 7-3 and appeared the Sea Kings would pull away when, facing a fourth-and-3 at the Redondo 14-yard line, Delcarson pitched the ball to Lance Brown who began to run right. Spotting Shawn Hill wide open in the end zone, Brown tossed him the ball to give Palos Verdes a 14-3 lead going into halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Redondo got back in the game when quarterback Preston Faecher connected with Warren Jackson for a 59-yard touchdown strike with 10:28 remaining in the game.
Redondo mistakes proved costly, however, against the sixth-ranked team in the CIF-SS Western Division. Following an interception, Delcarson led the Sea Kings on a seven-play, 53-yard drive culminated with Delcarson’s 11-yard touchdown run with 3:02 left.
“Redondo is tough, definitely the best team we’ve faced so far,” Delcarson said. “My hat’s off to them. They’re a great program and we just played a little better than them tonight. I’m glad we had such a great opponent to win the Bay League title against.”
Palos Verdes head coach Guy Gardner took the Bay League title in stride.
“I’m not thinking about the consecutive titles, what feels good is that the kids came out and played very hard,” Gardner said. “Redondo has a great team and is very worthy of going into the playoffs.”
Zent was disappointed with the loss but expects Redondo to rebound in its rivalry game next Friday at 7 p.m. when the Sea Hawks host Mira Costa in hopes of avenging their 35-0 loss to the Mustangs last year.
“We didn’t play our best game. We really wanted it,” Zent said. “We knew everything they were going to do and just couldn’t finish and do our assignments on certain plays and that was the 21 points.”
“This was a tough loss for us,” Redondo head coach Matt Ballard said. “Costly penalties and the inability to execute, led to a tough game, but credit goes to Palos Verdes who is a solid football team and is the four-time Bay League Champions for a reason.”
Fullback Michael Navarro was named Redondo’s Offensive Player of the Game while Faecher earned Defensive Player of the Game honors.
Zent was selected Special Teams Player of the Game and the Scout “Eager Beaver” Player of the Week was awarded to sophomore linebacker Noah Martin.
Known as the Battle at the Beach, the Mira Costa-Redondo game will have significant playoff implications and the winner will receive the perpetual award – a surfboard donated by Spyder Surfboards in Hermosa Beach.
“Costa is going to be a hard fought game,” Zent added. “They’re not going to come easy and we won’t go easy. It’s the battle for the surfboard and that surfboard’s ours.”
Mira Costa (3-6, 2-2) remained in the playoff picture with a 49-19 win against visiting Morningside.
Omar Morrison rushed for 143 yards and one touchdown and Tre Searcy added 81 yards and three touchdowns for the Mustangs.
Quarterback Jacob Silvera connected of 7 of 11 passes for 96 yards and also ran for 48 yards.
Morningside (4-5, 0-4) was led by Christian Williams who rushed for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
On a night when Mira Costa honored its seniors, a moment of silence was given in honor of Morningside assistant coach Eddy Lewis who was killed in a reported gang shooting last Saturday.
Morningside hosts rival Inglewood (3-6, 2-2) in its Bay League finale next Friday. Like Mira Costa, Inglewood is playing for trip to the postseason. Inglewood is coming off a 49-35 win against visiting Peninsula (3-6, 1-3).
