In the biggest game of the season so far for both teams, Jack Thomas threw three touchdown passes and scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter as Palisades took a huge step toward defending its Western League title Friday night with a 42-34 victory over visiting Westchester.
Harrison Carter set up Thomas’ score with a 41-yard catch-and-run before being dragged down short of the goal line. His 31-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter gave the Dolphins (6-1, 2-0) a 21-point lead, but the Comets did not give up.
Rashad Wallace caught a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and Jayden Hightower scored on a one-yard sneak to pull Westchester (6-1, 1-1) within 35-28 with 6:02 left.
Amir Rogers caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hightower with 14 seconds left, but the two-point try failed. Carter covered a loose ball on the onside kick and Thomas took a knee to secure Palisades’ eighth straight win against the Comets.
“Whenever coach puts me in, I do whatever I can to help my team win,” Carter said. “On that last catch I was just thinking to myself ‘Get the first down’ and I ended up getting a lot more. I’m a junior and my goal is to get our seniors a [City Section] championship.”
Jordan Rodgers caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hightower and added a two-point grab to cut the Comets’ deficit to 21-14, but Thomas escaped the pocket and tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Max Hejazi on the final play of the first half to give Palisades a 28-14 lead.
LeHenry Solomon returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Thomas, and Connor Petoyan scored for the Dolphins on a 47-yard interception return on the third play from scrimmage.
