DOLPHINS WIN DEFENSIVE CHESS MATCH, MOVE ON TO SEMIS

By Jay Leon Guerrero

The Southern Dolphins advanced in the ISA High School Football League semifinals with a hard-fought 2-0 victory against the fourth seed JFK Islanders. Neither team found the end zone in the contest. The Dolphin defense scored via a safety in the second quarter for the only points in the game.

The Dolphins entered the game as a lower seed (fifth seed) and avenged a close loss against JFK earlier in the season.

Defensive end Mike Jesus was the first to close in on the sack/safety.

“I saw there was a bad snap, and as soon as I got by the running back, we all closed in on the quarterback.”

– said Mike Jesus. Three other Dolphin defenders assisted Jesus in the gang tackle.

The safety happened after a long punt by Ethan Guerrero. Guerrero’s punt started deep in his own territory, and the punt went over the returners’ head and took several bounces in favor of the Dolphins.

The Islander offense took the field at their own eight yard line when the safety took place. “I wanted to make sure I planted because we were almost backed up in our own end zone,” said Guerrero. “I booted it and saw it flying. I was surprised that we pinned it all the way back to their eight yard line.”

For the remainder of the contest, defensive plays from both teams stepped up to keep each other out of the end zone. Southern’s John Paul Taimanglo recorded two sacks and three tackles-for-losses to prevent the Islanders from gaining any momentum.

The Dolphin secondary also helped to stop a pair of drives, with Tyler Tevid grabbing an interception in the third quarter. Freshman linebacker Ryan Cole Luzanta put the nail in the coffin with a season-ending interception with less than a minute left in the game to give Southern the victory.

Kevin Beckwith led the offense for JFK with a game high 67 total rushing yards. Dallas Mohr and Malcolm Lim led the JFK defense with six tackles apiece. Jermaine Molo had a sack for the Islanders.

Guerrero led the offense for Southern with four receptions for a total of 65 yards. Donte Salas led the Dolphins on the ground with a hard earned 40 yards on 10 carries.

The Dolphins will play the top seed FD Friars next Friday at GW Field. The winner of the semifinals playoff game will play for the championship on Saturday, Nov 18.

“Next week, we are going to do our best and give it all we have,” said Guerrero. “Our team spirit has improved since the beginning of the season: you can hear the encouragement from the sidelines and the crowd.”

Geckos 44, Bulldogs 0

The George Washington Geckos celebrated their homecoming with a 44-0 victory over the Okkodo Bulldogs Friday night at GW.

Marcello Blas anchored the defense in the first quarter, and Ricardo Leon Guerrero helped the offense score to put the game out of reach early.

The victory sets up a rematch with the second seed Guam High Panthers. The Panthers defeated the Geckos on October 14th by a score of 20-8. The game was described as the mud bowl with the field conditions extremely slippery.

“We are going to be better prepared for our matchup because we have more game experience,” said Blas. “We know they have weapons on their offense, so we are going to try and shut down their run and pass game,” said Leon Guerrero.

“We are also going to try to put some points on the board early,” added Leon Guerrero. “Hopefully, the field conditions are better this time around.” 

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY: