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Palos Verdes football edges Dana Hills on blocked PAT in CIF-SS quarterfinals

November 15, 2025

Palos Verdes quarterback Ryan Rakowski throws the ball during a CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinal against Dana Hills on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, at Palos Verdes. PV held on for a 14-13 win. (Photo by Gil Castro-Petres, Contributing Photographer)

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PALOS VERDES ESTATES — One of the consistent messages from the Palos Verdes coaching staff is to keep fighting until the end, no matter what.

In Friday’s CIF-Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinal battle with Dana Hills, that message played true.

Defensive lineman Dabe Nwude came up with a crucial block on a PAT attempt, and PV held on for a 14-13 victory.

“I knew I had to make a play,” Nwude said.

Palos Verdes (9-3) will host Edison in a semifinal next week. Edison defeated PV, 21-20, in a nonleague game earlier this season.

PV jumped ahead 7-0 on its first drive of the second half, thanks in large part to a critical 5-yard Morley Boyd reception on a fourth-and-3.

After Christian Reis’ 1-yard run on fourth-and-short allowed PV to extend the drive once again, quarterback Ryan Rakowski saw the window he needed, connecting with Jalen Flowers for the first touchdown of the game with 6:39 to play in the third quarter.

PV converted three of four conversions on fourth down.

“When I see Jalen out there, I know that’s my guy,” Rakowski said. “I’m going to go to him more times than not. He made a play like he always does.

PV had a chance to distance itself from Dana Hills (10-2) after its defense forced the Dolphins to go three-and-out.

It was Rakowski to Flowers again, this time for 30 yards, putting the PV offense at the Dana Hills 1-yard line. Rakowski finished with 126 yards, and PV’s offense was limited to 211 yards.

The Dana Hills defense stepped up. Rakowski was stopped for a 3-yard loss. After being stopped at the goal line on consecutive plays, a penalty forced PV back to the 6.

Niko Dragin’s field goal attempt then hooked left, giving Dana Hills’ offense another chance.

PV’s defense answered the call, as it did for the majority of the game. On the fourth play of the drive, Weston Reis intercepted Carter Anderson, returning it 40 yards for a touchdown to put the Sea Kings ahead 14-0 with 9:30 left in the game.

“I got a huge help from my corner (Nick Yakubik), squeezing the wide receiver into my zone,” Weston Reis said. “It was really bread and butter from there.”

Down but not out, Dana Hills began to utilize the size of its offensive line. A screen pass to Jack Norman resulted in a 47-yard gain to the PV 15. Two plays later, the Dolphins called another screen pass, this time to James Leicester for a 12-yard gain before Radley Geiss’ 1-yard score cut the margin to 14-7.

PV opted to punt on its ensuing drive, and looked poised to run out the clock after Joseph Sarmiento came down with an interception with 2:58 to play.

After Dominic Hernando’s 6-yard gain, Rakowski found an open lane, picking up 12 yards before a fumble that gave Dana Hills the ball at the 42 with 2:41 to play.

Anderson began the drive with a 15-yard strike to Aiden Desormiers before the Dolphins found themselves in a third down-and-6 situation after Weston Reis hurried Anderson into a throw.

On the next play, Anderson exploited the favorable matchup, hitting the 6-foot-3 Norman in stride for a 39-yard touchdown to make it a 14-13 game. Anderson finished with 208 yards passing. Norman finished with 136 receiving yards, and Leicester added 57.

With special teams being a thorn in PV’s side at the beginning of the year, Weston Reis knew the Sea Kings had gotten big plays from that unit over the last few weeks.

Friday was no exception.

“Special teams, every week, we’ve just gotten better and better,” Weston Reis said. “We didn’t start off so hot, but every week we have a big play on special teams and it really just flips the script.”

PV was hampered by penalties in the opening 24 minutes, getting flagged five times for 50 yards, but for the second straight week, PV’s defense forced four turnovers. Christan Reis and Oliver Betz had fumble recoveries in the first half.

“Defense had some great turnovers, and we didn’t get away,” PV coach Guy Gardner said. “We just kept playing hard, every play. Then we got a chance. There’s still things to improve, but this was definitely a team effort.”

Palos Verdes football edges Dana Hills on blocked PAT in CIF-SS quarterfinals Orange County Register

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Palos Verdes football edges Dana Hills on blocked PAT in CIF-SS quarterfinals

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