Jack Thomas leads Palisades to important Western League win over Westchester

In the biggest game of the season so far for both teams, Jack Thomas threw three touchdown passes and scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak late in the fourth quarter as Palisades took a huge step toward defending its Western League title Friday night with a 42-34 victory over visiting Westchester.

Harrison Carter set up Thomas’ score with a 41-yard catch-and-run before being dragged down short of the goal line. His 31-yard touchdown catch early in the third quarter gave the Dolphins (6-1, 2-0) a 21-point lead, but the Comets did not give up.

Westchester receiver Jordan Rodgers catches a touchdown pass in the third quarter against Palisades on Friday night.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Rashad Wallace caught a 40-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and Jayden Hightower scored on a one-yard sneak to pull Westchester (6-1, 1-1) within 35-28 with 6:02 left.

Amir Rogers caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Hightower with 14 seconds left, but the two-point try failed. Carter covered a loose ball on the onside kick and Thomas took a knee to secure Palisades’ eighth straight win against the Comets.

“Whenever coach puts me in, I do whatever I can to help my team win,” Carter said. “On that last catch I was just thinking to myself ‘Get the first down’ and I ended up getting a lot more. I’m a junior and my goal is to get our seniors a [City Section] championship.”

Jordan Rodgers caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Hightower and added a two-point grab to cut the Comets’ deficit to 21-14, but Thomas escaped the pocket and tossed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Max Hejazi on the final play of the first half to give Palisades a 28-14 lead.

LeHenry Solomon returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Thomas, and Connor Petoyan scored for the Dolphins on a 47-yard interception return on the third play from scrimmage.