Palisades quarterback Jack Thomas leads his team to victory over Venice

Despite throwing five touchdown passes to lead his team to a 56-54 victory over Venice on Friday night, Palisades quarterback Jack Thomas wasn’t nearly as satisfied.

“I’ve got to play better — we came up empty five drives and that’s on me,” the senior said after completing 25 of 42 passes for 460 yards. “The defense made some big saves. We expected it to be a penalty shootout.”

The teams traded scores throughout a wild first half that saw six lead changes and ended with the Gondoliers on top 28-27 despite Demare Dezeurn’s 75-yard touchdown catch with 42 seconds left in the second quarter.

“I didn’t think things could be better than last year,” Thomas said of his receiving corps, which now includes DeZorn, who transferred from Bishop Alemany. “We have a lot of players who can play, so I want to pass first, that’s my priority.”

Dezeurn had seven receptions for 156 yards and three touchdowns and scored on a 55-yard interception return to put Palisades ahead 42-35 midway through the third quarter. He has a team-best 12 tackles and four interceptions, two of them for touchdowns.

Harrison Carter scored on runs of 14 and 10 yards in the first half and added a seven-yard touchdown run to give the Dolphins a 14-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Malachi Ross added 10 catches for 141 yards and a score.

Bennett Dohm completed 19 of 35 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score for Venice (3-4, 1-1, No. 9 in the Times City Section rankings), but was intercepted three times, the last by middle linebacker Enzo Allen at Palisades’ 45 with 10 seconds left that sealed the score.

Joshua Aaron ran for 170 yards and four touchdowns, and Aaron Minter caught touchdown passes of 10 and 63 yards for the Gondolas, who hold a 31-27-1 edge in the rivalry that began in 1961, the year Palisades opened.

The schools have shared the last six Western Conference titles and with Friday’s win, the Dolphins (7-0, 2-0, No. 3 in the Times’ City Section rankings) move into first place with three games remaining.

Thomas accounted for all six of his team’s touchdowns (four assists and two, respectively) during last season’s game, which produced five ties and four lead changes before the Gondoliers prevailed 45-44 when the Palisades missed a last-second field goal. The Dolphins went on to set a school record for points in a single season and reached the Division I championship game. This fall, they are on track to advance to the Open Division.

“We have to keep getting better,” said Thomas, who brought his season total to 28 touchdowns with just two interceptions. Conquest is no joke.”