Running back Innocent Okoh scored two touchdowns to lead Pali’s football team to a 41-0 victory over visiting Carson in the first round of the City Section playoffs on Thursday, Nov. 10, setting up Friday night’s quarterfinal game at San Pedro High School.

Quarterback Jonah Manheim turned in a strong performance against Carson, throwing for two touchdowns to help the Dolphins (9-2) advance out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Head Coach Tim Hyde’s tenure.

Despite losing starting quarterback Gabe Galef early in the season, the Dolphins won the Western League title for the second consecutive year, marking the first time that this has happened in 41 years.

Hyde cited continuity and chemistry built over these last few seasons as the reason for the team’s success.

“This group of seniors have been with me since they were freshmen,” Hyde said. “So it’s really that first group that’s heard me, seen me, been around me, been around this coaching staff. Most of my coaches have been here [with me] since day one. That’s been the key, the constant messaging, the believing in the message, working out in the offseason — all of those things. The kids want to win.”

This is the first time since 2000 that the Dolphins won eight regular-season games, and they’re not done just yet, according to Hyde.

“My first three years [at Pali] we’ve been on the road [in the playoffs],” he said. “We were the 12th seed at Garfield, we were the ninth seed at Arleta, we were the 15th seed last year at Birmingham. All three of those games we’ve lost by single-digits. We lost by a touchdown or less as the underdog on the road. We’ve been one play away. We like our chances. We like our seed, we like the bracket we’re in. We’ll play.”

Leading up to the game against Carson, visitors to Coach Hyde’s office saw this message written on the whiteboard: “#WINAPLAYOFFGAME.”

The Dolphins did just that, shutting out Carson and advancing past the first round.

“We haven’t done that (won a playoff game) since I’ve been here,” Hyde said. “Three years in a row we’ve had the ball with a chance to do it, but we haven’t. We’re not even thinking about losing. Our ultimate goal is to win. This place [Pali] hasn’t had a Division I playoff game since 1997. That [winning] is our only mission.”

Early in the season, Galef went down with an injury that sidelined him for weeks. Many thought the Dolphins would struggle without him, but the team responded to the challenge.

“Tremendous,” is how Hyde described his team’s reaction to Galef going down. “We’ve talked about ‘next man in’ since day one. What we mean by that is it doesn’t matter who starts the game, who finishes the game, who plays. There are always 11 out there – no matter what, every single snap, there are 11 guys on the field.”

Hyde said the team’s first game without Galef was a crucial moment in their season.

“The key to the 2016 Palisades Charter High School football team was going to Sylmar the very next week after losing Gabe, [after] getting our tails kicked in against Sierra Canyon, going on the road and beating another playoff team in Sylmar,” Hyde said. “That jump-started this team.”

And although that moment in their season was crucial, Coach Hyde thinks the Dolphins’  30-23 victory over Hamilton on Oct. 14 really epitomized what this season’s team is all about.

“The ultimate key was being down 23 to nothing at Hamilton,” Hyde said. “We went into the locker room (at half-time), regrouped, and came back out and won, 30-23.”

The football team has found themselves in a position they haven’t been in these last few years – in the quarter-finals of the playoffs. They’re not satisfied just yet, though, and are looking to go as far as they can.