Palos Verdes adjusts, uses second half to pull away from Carson behind Ryan Rakowski's five touchdowns

For a half, Carson gave Palos Verdes exactly the kind of fight expected from a matchup between two of the South Bay's top football teams Thursday evening at Carson High Then the Sea Kings adjusted. Palos Verdes turned a one-point halftime advantage into a 35-20 victory over Carson, scoring 21 unanswered points to open the second half as quarterback Ryan Rakowski accounted for five touchdowns and the Sea Kings' defense found an answer for Carson quarterback Chris Fields III. 'We kind of got a feel for what they're doing, we just adjusted to that and I think we got it going pretty good, especially in the second half,' Rakowski said. The quarterback finished 8 of 14 for 161 yards and two touchdowns and added 74 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. But the final score didn't reflect how uncomfortable Carson made things early. Carson wasted little time putting the ball in Fields' hands. Fields repeatedly used his legs on the Colts' opening possession, extending plays and moving the chains before eventually taking it in himself to give Carson an early 6-0 lead. Palos Verdes punted on its first possession, and Carson had an opportunity to build on its early advantage. Instead, Travis Tomaro intercepted Fields to give the Sea Kings their first major break of the night. PV turned the takeaway into its first touchdown and a 7-6 lead after Rakowski found receiver/athlete Jalen Flowers. After forcing a Carson punt, the Sea Kings went back to work. This time Rakowski provided a glimpse of what would become a recurring problem for the Colts. He rolled out, surveyed the field and ultimately used his legs to score, putting PV ahead 14-6. Carson wasn't going away. Fields continued to cause problems as both a passer and runner, while a pair of costly PV penalties helped extend another Colts possession. Fields eventually finished the drive himself for his second rushing touchdown. Suddenly it was 14-13. PV had another opportunity to add to the lead before halftime, leaning heavily on running back Christian Reis as he fought through contact and repeatedly pushed for extra yards. Carson's defense held. Derric Myers, Kingston Sula and Preston Leomiti were among a Colts defensive unit that prevented PV from finishing the drive, stopping the Sea Kings on fourth down deep in Carson territory. PV's defense returned the favor. Weston Reis came off the blind side to sack Fields late in the half, and Flowers later gave the Sea Kings one more chance with a long punt return into Carson territory. Niko Dragin's long field-goal attempt came up just short as the half expired. Palos Verdes went to the locker room leading only 14-13. Then the game changed. Weston Reis said the opening Carson possession forced the Sea Kings to settle down defensively. 'We kind of got a little out of our zone a little bit in that first drive especially,' Reis said. 'But halftime we made some adjustments. We dialed it in, just kind of played our brand of football that we love to play and we just simplified things and went and got the quarterback.' The results were immediate. PV opened the second half with a long, physical possession. Christian Reis continued to grind for yards behind an offensive line that increasingly controlled the point of attack. A running-into-the-kicker penalty against Carson helped extend the possession, and Rakowski and the Sea Kings took advantage. Rakowski eventually finished the drive with his second rushing touchdown. PV 21, Carson 13. Then the Sea Kings' defense got Fields and the Colts off the field. That sequence — touchdown, stop — was the beginning of PV taking control. Rakowski credited the offensive line and Christian Reis, who finished with 76 rushing yards. 'Our line obviously brought the blocks up front really well,' Rakowski said. 'Christian, he had a hell of a game running. So hats off to him. Just, yeah, pound the rock.' Weston Reis wasn't surprised to see his brother repeatedly fighting through Carson defenders. 'Christian needs more — he needs the recognition he deserves,' Weston said. 'He's always fighting for those extra yards, hurdling guys. So yeah, it's fun to watch.' PV carried another possession into the fourth quarter. On the first play of the quarter, Rakowski went behind his offensive line on a quarterback sneak for his third rushing touchdown of the night. The Sea Kings had turned a 14-13 halftime lead into a 28-13 advantage. Carson punted again. PV needed only one play to score this time. Rakowski rolled out, jumped and delivered the ball to Aaden Brady for a touchdown, providing the explosive play that broke the game open. Brady finished with 55 yards on only two receptions. PV led 35-13. The sequence also demonstrated something Rakowski believes makes the Sea Kings difficult to defend. Carson had speed and athletes throughout its defense. Rakowski knew that going into the game. So did PV. 'We had a good game plan,' Rakowski said. 'First drive, like I said, we wanted to kind of feel them out and kind of saw some things that we could attack and just get a little quick game going, quick passes to our athletes. 'They have athletes, but I think we also have some really good athletes on our team.' Rakowski pointed to Flowers, Brady, Jackson Reese and Antonio Robles as part of a deep group of weapons around him. 'Jalen's one of the best players in the country, there's no doubt about that,' Rakowski said. 'We have a lot of other great receivers too. Aaden Brady is gonna be really good — he already is really good. Jackson Reese is a really good senior, Antonio Robles, kind of our Swiss Army knife. We can do whatever we want with him and put him in any position.' With that group around him, Rakowski believes PV's ceiling offensively remains high. 'The possibilities for our offense are endless,' he said. Fields eventually scored his third rushing touchdown to account for Carson's final points, but PV had already created too much separation. The Carson quarterback finished 9 of 14 for 71 passing yards while rushing for 83 yards and all three Colts touchdowns. Those numbers tell part of the story. Fields' mobility was a significant problem early. He escaped pressure, extended possessions and forced PV defenders to account for him even when passing plays broke down. After halftime, the Sea Kings increasingly kept him from turning those plays into sustained drives. Weston Reis was frequently around the ball, including the blindside sack late in the first half and several stops involving Fields. Josh Williams was also credited with an early stop on Fields, while Joseph Sarmiento and Owen Shearing were among the Sea Kings involved in bringing him down during another first-half scramble. (Palos Verdes does not have individual defensive stats posted, so most defensive plays are based on observations and notes from the sideline). Carson's defensive leaders are as follows: Sula finished with nine tackles and a sack, Myers recorded nine tackles and Leomiti added eight. (Many thanks to both Palos Verdes and Carson for adding their game stats to MaxPreps.) The most significant number might still be 14-13. That's what separated these teams at halftime. PV didn't overwhelm Carson from the opening whistle. The Sea Kings had to figure the Colts out. Once they did, the game changed. PV scored on its opening possession of the second half. Its defense forced Carson to punt. Rakowski scored again on the first play of the fourth quarter. The defense got another stop. Then Rakowski and Brady needed one play to make it 35-13. Twenty-one unanswered points. 'I think it was a great overall team effort,' Rakowski said. 'All three phases of the game played well.' For Weston Reis, it was another example of what PV expects while navigating a nonleague schedule that has already included Serra, Bishop Moore and Carson, with Edison up next. 'You play Sea King football, you know it's never gonna be easy and you know every team, you got a target on your back,' Reis said. 'So we just really try to keep it one practice at a time, looking forward to the next day.' PV's victory also came with a difficult moment. The Sea Kings lost offensive lineman Logan Lara to a lower-leg injury during the final quarter. The injury was serious enough to visibly shake his teammates. 'We're praying for Logan,' Rakowski said. 'It was a huge loss. I mean, he's not only a great player on our team but just a great person.' Rakowski didn't want to speculate on the exact nature of the injury. 'It's hard to see your brother go down like that because, you know, we love him,' Rakowski said. Even as PV celebrated another significant victory, Rakowski's thoughts remained with his teammate. Then comes the next challenge: Edison. 'Like everyone says — PV always schedules nonleague hard,' Rakowski said. 'Just trying to go 1-0 every week, prepare every day to the best of our ability.' Three games have already provided three different tests. Against Carson, PV's biggest test came early. Its response came after halftime. And once the Sea Kings found their answer, a one-point game didn't stay close for long. South Bay Sports Radio is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.