By
Melody HanataniDaily Press Staff Writer
MANHATTAN BEACH There’s always next year.
Santa Monica High School’s varsity football team was knocked out of the CIF Western Division playoffs on Friday, falling in the first round to Palos Verdes High School, 34-20.
The Vikings finished the season with a 6-5 record.
Palos Verdes will go on to play Gahr High School this Friday, after Gahr ousted Lancaster High School in the first round.
The Vikings’ game against the Bay League’s top team started out well enough when senior wide receiver Jon Dunn returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Samohi followed up early in the second quarter when senior quarterback Ryan Katz connected with senior wide receiver Al-rilwan Adeyemi for a 71-yard scoring pass.
The Sea Kings fought back and led by seven points halfway through the fourth quarter, putting the game out of reach with a long, sustained touchdown drive.
“We were able to get some big plays, but we didn’t sustain it long enough to beat a good team like that,” said head coach Zach Cuda.
This was the first time Cuda took his Vikings to the playoffs in his two years as the head coach.
Katz, who will play at Oregon State University next fall, finished the game completing eight of 20 passes for 175 yards. Senior linebacker Max Monbouquette once again led the defensive unit with 19 tackles. Dunn finished with two touchdowns, including a 44-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
The Ocean League didn’t have its greatest showing on Friday, with second-place Beverly Hills High School losing to Redondo High School, 15-14. The league’s top-ranked team, Culver City, has yet to drop a game this season, beating Leuzinger High School, the Bay League’s at-large bid team, 35-28, on Friday.
The Centaurs will play St. Paul High School this Friday.
Despite the early exit from the playoffs, Cuda seemed positive about the season.
“When you play a tough schedule like (we did), you’re going to lose tough ball games,” Cuda said.
“Guys kept coming back and played hard.”
melodyh@smdp.com
