HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Palmdale Goes to Air in Victory : Speer’s Passes Stop Channel Islands

With its running game grounded, Palmdale High went to the air Friday night. And the results proved devastating for Channel Islands.

Palmdale quarterback Cole Speer threw 3 second-half touchdown passes to lead the Falcons to a 28-14, come-from-behind victory over Channel Islands in a Southern Section Division II first-round playoff game at Hueneme High.

Channel Islands, the Marmonte League co-champion, put together a 12-play, 72-yard scoring drive on its first possession, quarterback Vince Medina capping the march with a 28-yard touchdown run. The Raiders held that 7-0 lead at halftime.

One of the reasons for Palmdale’s inoffensive first half might have been the absence of running back LaShante Parker. Parker, who rushed for 951 yards and scored 13 touchdowns this season, was ruled academically ineligible this week. Travis Collier, who is better known for his defensive heroics, started in Parker’s place.

“We missed Parker, but we’ve had bad things happen to us all year long,” Palmdale Coach John Lowry said. “But our kids suck it up and play well with adversity.”

Speer, who threw for 1,547 yards and 18 touchdowns this season, hit 6 of 10 throws for 80 yards in the first half. But the closest he got to the end zone was the Raiders’ 10-yard line. But Channel Islands stiffened there, forcing Palmdale to turn the ball over on downs.

After watching his offense sputter for most of the first 2 periods, Lowry made the necessary changes at halftime. And Speer made them work, throwing touchdown passes of 19 yards to Tino Carranza and 20 yards to Shannon Culver in the third quarter to put Palmdale (8-3) on the comeback trail.

Channel Islands (8-3) clung to a 14-13 lead at the end of the third quarter, after Medina hit tight end Rick Eckert with a 17-yard scoring pass, but that was the last noise the Raiders made.

Speer, who completed 14 of 19 passes for 245 yards, threw a 33-yard scoring pass to Collier in the fourth quarter and the Falcons were never pushed.

Palmdale added 1 more score in the final minute.

“Our passing game was a little shaky in the first half,” Lowry said. “Speer stepped up to the line though and threw well after that.”

Channel Islands senior tailback John Johnson ended his Raider career with a game-high 157 yards rushing on 25 carries.

“We have a great bunch of kids,” Channel Islands Coach Joel Gershon said. “The kids played like champions, but we lost to a good team.”

In addition to his 33-yard touchdown reception, Collier rushed for 102 yards in 7 carries, including a 46-yard scoring run with 33 seconds left.