The Mar Vista and Eastlake high school boys water polo teams split their matches last year to finish as Mesa League co-champions. Eastlake won the first game between the teams at its home pool while Mar Vista won the return engagement in Imperial Beach to finish tied for the league lead with 9-1 records.

Mar Vista holds a 1-0 edge in this year’s battle for league supremacy after slipping past an undermanned Eastlake squad, 11-8, last Friday (Sept. 13) in the Mariners’ on-campus pool.

The teams rematch Oct. 22 at Southwestern College.

“We got the first one this time – hopefully we can get the second,” MVHS head coach Chad Kavanagh noted after last Friday’s league opener for both teams.

If the rematch between the defending Mesa League co-champions plays out anything like the first, fans in October will be in for another power-packed contest.

Last Friday’s match-up was close throughout. The game was tied four times, with the Titans battling back from a 6-3 deficit to knot the game, 7-7, on the strength of the opening goal of the fourth quarter.

Otherwise, most of the game was played with one team holding a one-goal lead or the teams tied on the scoreboard.

Eastlake came out of the halftime break playing smothering defense, which fed the offense for some opportunistic goals.

While senior James Derrod (12 saves) had kept the visiting Titans within striking distance throughout the game, it was time for Mar Vista senior Levi Lord to do his best impersonation of Derrod, who is set to etch his name in the section record book for career goalie saves.

Lord came up huge on three separate occasions to stop breakaway attempts in the final quarter. Braced by Lord’s stellar goaltending at one end, the Mariners (6-3) converted on some opportunistic chances of their own at the other end of the pool to pull away on the scoreboard.

Sophomore Ethan Hastings scored to make the score 8-7 with 4:10 left in the fourth quarter, while sophomore Luke Wilson followed with a goal at 2:58 to up the Mar Vista lead to 9-7.

Sophomore T.C. Spaulding scored with 1:40 left on the clock to increase the Mariners lead to 10-7. The Titans made it 10-8 with 1:27 to play but Wilson closed out scoring in the game with 56 seconds left to record the final margin of victory.

Playing in the narrow confines of the Mar Vista pool can be challenging, especially for teams used to much larger dimensions.

“The strategy was to use as much of the pool as possible to set up the offense,” Kavanagh said. “When we stayed big, we had opportunities to score.”

Wilson led the victors with three goals and four assists while Hastings and sophomores Fletcher Field and Carlos Ibarra each scored two goals.

Sophomore Kevin Stucki contributed one goal and one assist.

Hastings also dished out two assists while Field had four steals.

Eastlake, which dropped to 1-5 on the season, did not suit up several key players for the game against Mar Vista, including top play-makers Eli Stewart and Will Gammon.

Both are expected to play when the teams rematch, which could conceivably tip the balance in the Titans’ favor for another co-championship.

Ezekiel Craig led Eastlake in last Friday’s setback with five goals while Diego Scheitt had three goals, three steals and one assist.

Freshman Zane Derrod logged six steals and one assist.

Older brother James made several key blocks in the third quarter to allow his team the opportunity to play catch-up. He finished the game with eight steals.

James Derrod enters Tuesday’s non-league game at Grossmont needing five more saves to tie the section record for career saves. He can set a new record by eclipsing that number.

The record stands at 1,049 saves posted by Monte Vista’s Gavin Glauser (1995-98). Derrod has 1,044 career saves.

Tuesday’s record-setting game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start at Grossmont High School.

 

Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents

Eastlake’s Derrod sets CIF saves record

Eastlake High School senior goalie James Derrod entered Tuesday’s (Sept. 17) non-league boys water polo game at Grossmont High School needing five saves to tie the existing San Diego Section record for career saves of 1,049 set by Monte Vista’s Gavin Glauser (1995-98).

Derrod finished the game — a 12-10 Titan loss to the Foothillers — with seven saves to set a new record.

Derrod now stands alone at the top of the section record book with 1,051 career saves — and counting.

Eastlake will next compete in this weekend’s America’s Finest City tournament before opening Mesa League play Oct. 4 against San Ysidro at Southwestern College.

Hilltop comes out 13-11 winner over Bonita Vista

Bonita Vista and Hilltop high schools have had a long-standing rivalry in water polo and this year appears to be no exception after the teams met in their Mesa League opener Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 18) at the Parkway pool.

Bonita Vista led by three goals on two occasions but it was a late surge that propelled the host Lancers to a key 13-11 victory.

The game doubled not only as a league game but a Division III match-up as well.

“We came on strong,” said veteran Hilltop head coach Ernie Medina, whose team improved to 5-1 on the season. “We were confident. Every ball we gave up was a score of them. If we can minimize our mistakes, we’ll be where we want to be. I give my guys a lot of credit. They showed a lot of heart coming back.

“It’s a big win for us — a league game, a division game.”

Bonita Vista (3-2) led 5-3 at halftime and 9-6 entering the fourth quarter. The Barons led 10-7 when Archie Orozco scored with 6:08 left in the game.

But the Lancers rallied by scoring the game’s final four goals. Dominic Carlucci made it 11-10 with 3:26 to play. Back-to-back goals by Raul Rico put Hilltop ahead 12-11 with 1:36 remaining.

Nic Garces scored an insurance goal on a quirky rebound with 48 seconds left to ice the victory.

Rico led the Lancers with six goals in the game while Carlucci scored four times.

Arie Jajati and Orozco both scored three goals to paced Bonita Vista while Felix Ikeda and Isaiah Ceballos both scored two goals.

Hilltop goalie Alec Lizarraga was kept active, especially in the late stages of the game, by making 12 saves to post the win. BV’s Angelo Roman had nine blocks, several of them key as well.

The game featured 19 ejections — 13 against Bonita Vista and six against Hilltop. The Barons were without top playmaker Sami Metta in the second half after fouling out at halftime.

Both teams were coming off substantial non-league wins: Hilltop defeated Otay Ranch, 19-5, last Friday (Sept. 13) at the Parkway pool while Bonita Vista defeated Olympian, 11-4, in a game played Tuesday (Sept. 17) at Southwestern College.

Rico racked up 10 goals in the win over Otay Ranch while Carlucci and Garces both notched three goals. Aiden Garces scored two goals while Evan Rodriguez was credited with one goal.

Trystan Marshall led Otay Ranch (0-5) with two goals.

Tuesday’s game was closer on the scoreboard as Olympian proved to be a pesky opponent.

Metta figured prominently in the win for the Barons.

Metta gave his team an early 2-0 lead before the Eagles halved the deficit on a goal by freshman Caleb Collins. Bonita Vista increased its lead to 4-1 on ensuing goals by Orozco and Ceballos.

Diego Vazquez cut the score to 4-2 with a goal for Olympian but the Barons responded with goals by Cale Merton and Jajati to lead 6-2 at halftime.

The Barons outscored Olympian 5-2 in the second half. Metta led Bonita Vista with three goals in the win while Orozco, Ceballos, Merton and Jajati all scored two goals. Zion Murillo also scored for Bonita Vista, which extended its winning streak to two games.

Collins scored two goals to lead Olympian while Vazquez, a sophomore, and senior Chris Salang both scored goals.

The Eagles, who fell to 0-10, look to have better fortunes ahead, according to coach Craig Collins.

“I’ve piled up the competition at the beginning of the season — we’re taking on all-comers,” Collins explained. “We’re getting ready for league. I think we have a good chance to do well in our league. I want to expose the guys to good polo and see what will happen in league.”

Th elder Collins will not have to wait long to see the results of the team’s challenging preseason slate.

Olympian will test Otay Ranch in a key league game Oct. 2 at Southwestern College.

 

Barons split to improve to 2-1 on season

Bonita Vista split its two non-league games last week, dropping a 14-8 decision to visiting Mission Bay on Sept. 10 and topping Castle Park, 17-6, on Sept. 12.

Archie Orozco led the Barons with three goals in the loss to Mission Bay, which pulled away from a 6-6 tie early in the third quarter by outscoring the hosts 8-2 over the balance of the game.

Alex Branch led the Bucs with eight goals in the win.

The game was tied four times early on. Mission Bay led 5-4 at the end of the first quarter and 9-7 at halftime.

Kristian Gutierrez, Wesley Haslett, Felix Ikeda, Sami Metta and Arie Jajati also scored goals for Bonita Vista.

“It was a close game until we got tired,” BVHS head coach Betty Alexander noted. “I was impressed by how our guys played against a bigger team. They never gave up and kept playing for each other.”

The Barons defeated their second Metro Conference rival in as many encounters on the young season when they got back in the win column by sinking Castle Park two days later.

The Trojans are enjoying a healthy rebuild under new head coach Mark Esquivel as evidenced by a turnout of 24 players and a 4-1 start to the season that included a confidence building 15-9 non-league win at Monte Vista on Sept. 10.

Bonita Vista bolted to a 6-0 lead before Castle Park could get on the scoreboard, however. The Barons led 11-3 at halftime.

Adam DePratti logged five goals in the win while Isaiah Ceballos scored four goals. Zion Murillo and Ikeda each scored two goals.

Caleb Hutchins and Metta each collected two assists. Angelo Roman was credited with six saves.

“It was nice to give my subs some game time to work on skills they’ve been learning in practice,” Alexander said.

Ryland Humphrey, Sebastian Silva and Emilio Hernandez each scored two goals for Castle Park.

Humphrey notched eight goals in the preceding win over Monte Vista while Hernandez scored three times. Christopher Esquivel was credited with seven goalie saves in posting the victory.

The Trojans have also defeated Southwest (15-10) and Montgomery (19-6 and 16-4). Castle Park’s prior loss was 13-7 to San Ysidro in a non-league game.

The Trojans play at Mira Mesa on Thursday, Sept. 19, and host Chula Vista on Friday, Sept. 20, at 3:30 p.m. at the Loma Verde pool.

Bonita Vista hosts Olympian in a non-league match-up on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 3:45 p.m. at the SWC pool in a bid to stay unbeaten against Metro competition. The Barons have a busy week by testing Mesa League rival Hilltop on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m. at the Parkway pool in the teams’ league opener.

Hilltop defeated defending South Bay League champion Otay Ranch, 19-5, in a non-league game played last Friday at the Parkway pool.

Olympian is 0-9 but seems to be playing its best water polo of the season in recent games. The Eagles are coming off an 11-9 loss Monday to host Serra. Olympian lost, 12-9, at Clairemont on Sept. 4.

The Eagles will host Montgomery on Friday, Sept. 20, in a 5:45 p.m. game at Southwestern College.

Senior Chris Salang tops Olympian in season scoring with 15 goals and 20 points.c

 

Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents