SD Prep Sports:

2006 Fall Sports
San Diego Section Playoffs

Boys Water Polo

Barons top Foothillers, Titans to gain CIF semifinal foothold

Posted Nov. 17, 2006
Bonita Vista returned to familiar territory — and against an all-too-familiar opponent — after advancing to the semifinal round of this year’s San Diego Section Division I playoffs. The Barons faced off Wednesday night at La Jolla High School against the Torrey Pines Falcons, the only team that stood in the way of the Metro Conference monster squad reaching the past two championship games.

Torrey Pines prevailed by a tenuous 10-9 score both times.

Third-seeded Bonita Vista (24-5) earned the right to face its new-found North County rival for the third time this season (following two regular season defeats) after downing sixth-seeded Poway (16-9) by an 11-3 score in last Saturday’s quarterfinals, also at LJHS.

The Barons defeated Poway — a longtime measuring stick in the section — twice this season. The teams first met in the championship game of the 32-team Poway Invitational to start the season, with Bonita Vista claiming a 10-5 win. Bonita Vista rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the quarterfinals with an awesome display off offense and defense as the 20-time defending league champion Barons finished with the game’s final 10 goals.

“I think the boys realized they were coming out soft,” Baron coach Dan Way said. “What made me proud was that we turned it around to win. After that first half, we didn’t let them counter us. We chipped in with a goal here and there. I was most proud of our defense. When you hold a quality team like Poway to three goals, that’s great.”

The quarterfinal victory will likely assume legendary status in the annals of the Bonita Vista program.

Robert Newman led the spirited comeback effort with four goals while Gabriel Gonzalez had three goals and Derrik Clair-Williams scored twice. Justin Hulson, who rose to the occasion with some of his best water polo of the season, finished the game with one goal while Jono Newman had a goal in the waning minutes as the Barons substituted freely with the victory well in hand. Goalie Austin Toogood was credited with seven saves.

After topping Grossmont, 19-5, in the opening round of the playoffs on Nov. 9 in perhaps the team’s most focused and ferocious performance of the season, Bonita Vista played the opening stages of its quarterfinal match against Poway in the same manner in which it ended regular season play — slow and firing off the mark, attributes that led to an 11-7 loss to Torrey Pines.

Poway’s Dominic Tournambe notched a power play goal and then Tommy Koning scored on a turnover to put the Barons behind by a 2-1 score. Koning hit on a long-range shot and the score was suddenly 3-1 early in the second quarter.

The Titans would not score again in the contest.

Hulson brought Bonita Vista to within one goal and Newman tied the game with 2:37 left in the opening half. After misfiring on three previous man-advantage situations, the Barons finally notched a goal — and what a momentum-shifter it turned out to be by Newman.

Bonita Vista weathered a power play attempt by Poway to start the second half and goals by Newman and Clair-Williams had the Barons up with 2:28 remaining in the third period.

“Now it’s time to play some defense,” Way shouted to his team.

The Metro kingpins responded. Bonita Vista rang up four more goals in the final quarter without giving up another power play.

The Baron defense also showcased itself in a critical juncture in the opening moments of the second quarter when Toogood drew an exclusion foul, thereby leaving the cage protected only by field players. Had the Titans scored, momentum in the game might have remained on Poway’s side.

The game against Grossmont may have been Bonita Vista’s most complete effort of the season, with players likely wanting to make up for the sluggish loss to the Falcons a few days before. “It sparked us,” Way said.

Nine players scored goals in the game for the Barons, who led 4-0 after the first quarter and 9-1 at halftime. Clair-Williams led the scoring attack with five goals while Beto Vasquez had three goals. Jono Newman, Robert Newman, Gonzalez and Memo Vasquez each scored twice and Ryan Wheeler, Hulson and James Allison each had one goal. Cameron Freels had two goalie saves in reserve duty.

Granite Hills Eagles fly into water polo semifinals

Posted on Nov. 14, 2006

The Granite Hills High School boys water polo team set three goals this season, according to head coach Rhett Gaeir. All were accomplished in a 10-6 victory against Vista in the quarterfinal round of this year’s San Diego Section Division I playoffs.

“Our No. 1 goal was to beat Poway. We have a tremendous amount of respect for them,” Gaeir said. “Our No. 2 goal was to go 10-0 and win the league title by ourselves and not share it with anyone. Our No. 3 goal was to make it to the top four in CIF. Anything else is a bonus.”

The win against Vista on Nov. 11 at La Jolla High School propelled the fourth-seeded Eagles (24-6) into a semifinal-round matchup against top-seeded Carlsbad (24-6) on Nov. 15, with the winner advancing to this year’s Division I championship game on Nov. 18, also at La Jolla High School.

Granite Hills led by as much as seven goals —8-1 and 9-2 — in the quarterfinal matchup against the Panthers (18-12). Chris Gwinn opened scoring for the Eagles and Remington McKittrick followed with a goal for a 2-0 first quarter lead. Vista halved the score but the reigning Grossmont South League champions responded with four unanswered goals to lead comfortably by a 6-1 margin at halftime.

McKittrick and Gwinn each scored twice in the first half of play while Sean Little and Jeremy Atkinson each scored one goal. Atkinson also had two assists in the opening half of play.

It was then Dean Anderson’s turn to put his name on the score sheet with a pair of goals to open the second half and guide Granite Hills to an 8-1 start. Anderson’s first goal came just 20 seconds into the third period; his second goal came on a rebound shot after Panther goalie Jorgen Tonne had drawn an exclusion foul.

Little scored his second goal of the game on a five-meter penalty shot early in the fourth quarter and Anderson notched his third goal of the contest to extend the Eagles’ lead to 10-4.

Granite Hills goalie Derek Kuiper was credited with seven saves in the game.

The Eagles suffered a disappointing first-round exit in last year’s playoffs and have been driven ever since that upset loss against Fallbrook to live up to the potential they believed they possessed. Granite Hills was challenged for a half in its opening round game this year, leading 13th-seeded Eastlake 10-8 after two periods, before returning to the pool with a renewed sense of intensity and winning the second half by a decisive 11-3 edge for a final 21-11 victory.

Little had eight goals in the first-round playoff victory against Eastlake (18-9).

The Eagles defeated Poway, 14-10, in a high profile non-league encounter on Sept. 29.

Granite Hills defeated Valhalla twice by one-goal margins to lay sole claim to this year’s league title. In the second game against the Norsemen, the Eagles rallied from a deficit to complete an undefeated 10-0 league campaign.

Grossmont North League champion Santana also met its primary goals this season even though the Sultans failed to advance past this year’s quarterfinals, according to coach Rod Bowen. “We accomplished the goals we wanted — to win league and make the playoffs,” he said.

Santana, which secured its ninth consecutive league title with a 7-1 league record (ahead of runner-up Grossmont), defeated Steele Canyon, 11-7, in the opening round of the Division II playoffs on Nov. 8. The sixth-seeded Sultans (20-11) finished their season with a 12-5 loss to third-seeded Coronado (20-8) in the quarterfinals.

Top scorers this season for Santana included seniors Cody Dodd and Greg Shields while senior goalie Jason Sammons stood out as the Sultans’ top defensive player, Bowen said.

Santana expects to be competitive once again next season with four returning starters and three returning players off the bench.

Shields had two goals and one assist in the loss to Coronado while Dodd had a goal and two assists. Sean Young contributed a goal and assist while Josh Clark scored one goal and Sammons made five saves.

Grossmont ended its season with a 19-5 loss against third-seeded Bonita Vista (24-4) in a Division I opening round game played Nov. 9 at Southwestern College. Joey Dascomb scored four goals and Bryce Mayer scored one goal for the Foothillers, who finished 11-12 on the season.

A total of six East County teams qualified for this year’s section playoffs. Valhalla, which earned the fifth seed in this year’s Division II field, defeated Serra, 18-7, in first round play before ending its season with an 8-6 loss against fourth-seeded Santa Fe Christian (24-6) in the quarterfinals.

Tyler Ormsby paced Valhalla (21-10) with three goals in the loss to SFC. Thomas Faucher, Luke Collins and Thomas Amberg each scored once for the Norsemen, who led 5-3 at halftime and entered the final period locked in a 6-6 tie.

Matt Farrington scored the game's final two goals -- both in the fourth quarter -- to finish with four goals for SFC.

El Capitan (15-7-1) closed out its season with a loss against University City (8-15) in the opening round of Division II play.

Joining Granite Hills and Carlsbad in this year’s Division I Final Four were second-seeded Torrey Pines (23-7) and third-seeded Bonita Vista. The Division II Final Four field featured top-seeded La Jolla (27-5), second-seeded Bishop’s (22-7), third-seeded Coronado and fourth-seeded Santa Fe Christian.

The Division I championship game is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, preceded by the Division II title game at 5:30 p.m. For score updates, visit the website at www.cifsds.org.

Six East County teams qualify for CIF boys water polo playoffs
Granite Hills, Santana make a splash with league titles

Posted Monday, Nov. 6, 2006

The top three teams from both the Grossmont North League and Grossmont South League — six East County teams total — earned berths in this year’s San Diego Section boys water polo playoff tournament. Headlining the entries were Granite Hills (in Division I) and Valhalla (in Division II), both of which earned the fourth seed in their respective divisions.

Granite Hills finished regular season play 10-0 in Grossmont South League play, 22-6 overall. The Eagles cemented their league title with an 11-10 victory against Valhalla on Nov. 2. The Norsemen finished 8-2 in league play, 20-9 overall.

Granite Hills will host 13th-seeded Eastlake (18-8) in the opening round of the Division I playoffs on Thursday, Nov. 9.

Valhalla was scheduled to play 13th-seeded Serra (12-8) in the opening round of the Division II playoffs on Wednesday, Nov. 8.

The Granite Hills-Eastlake winner will advance to the Division I quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 11, at La Jolla High School and will face the winner of the first-round pairing pitting fifth-seeded Vista (17-11) and 12th-seeded Patrick Henry (20-6) at 2:45 p.m.

The Valhalla-Serra winner will play the Santa Fe Christian-Point Loma winner in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 9:45 a.m., also at La Jolla High School.

Steele Canyon, the third-place finisher in the Grossmont South League standings, was pitted against Santana, this year’s Grossmont North League champion, in Wednesday’s opening round of the Division II playoffs. Santana (7-1 in league play, 19-10 overall) was seeded sixth while Steele Canyon (6-4, 9-9) was seeded 11th. The winner will face either third-seeded Coronado (18-8) or 14th-seeded Ramona (17-9) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 11 a.m. at La Jolla High School.

Grossmont (6-2, 11-11) and El Capitan (5-3, 15-6-1) finished second and third in the Grossmont North League standings. Grossmont earned the No. 14 seed in the Division I playoffs and will open against third-seeded Bonita Vista on Thursday. El Capitan (seeded 10th) was paired against University City (seeded seventh) in Wednesday’s Division II first round.

The Grossmont-Bonita Vista winner will play either No. 6 Poway (15-8) or No. 11 Scripps Ranch (12-14) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 4 p.m. at LJHS.

The El Capitan-University City winner will play either No. 2 Bishop’s (20-7) or No. 15 La Jolla Country Day (10-10) in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 12:15 p.m. at LJHS.

Both Grossmont and El Capitan showed the potential for upsets in the final stages of regular season play. Grossmont upended Santana, 10-9, in a dramatic triple overtime matchup on Nov. 2 while El Capitan followed with an equally dramatic 8-7 win against Grossmont on Nov. 3 to prevent the Foothillers from claiming a share of the Grossmont North League title.

Avocado League champion Carlsbad (22-6) earned the No. 1 spot in the Division I playoffs while Western League tri-champion La Jolla (25-5) earned the top-seeded nod in the Division II field.

Palomar League champion Torrey Pines (20-7) and Western League tri-champion Bishop’s received the Nos. 2 seeds in the Division I and Division II playoffs, respectively.

A total of 11 league champions were entered in this year’s 32-team playoff draw (16 teams in each division). La Jolla, Coronado and Bishop’s traded wins to finish in a three-way tie for the Western League championship, all with 8-2 league records. The other eight league champions included Granite Hills (Grossmont South League), Santana (Grossmont North League), Patrick Henry (Eastern League), Bonita Vista (Mesa League), Mar Vista (South Bay League), Torrey Pines (Palomar League), Carlsbad (Avocado League) and San Pasqual (Valley League). Coronado was the designated Western League champion for seeding purposes.

Carlsbad has won the last three Division I titles and looks in line to win a fourth consecutive CIF banner. However, Bishop’s will face a challenge if it is to build on its current string of four straight Division II titles.

La Jolla defeated Bishop’s, 10-9, in Bishop’s pool on Oct. 25 to earn major seeding marks towards securing the No. 1 position in this year’s playoff field. La Jolla also defeated longtime division power Coronado for what is believed to be the first time in school history this season. Bishop’s then edged Coronado, 7-6, on Halloween to further evidence the closeness between the top three Western League teams.

In potential quarterfinal-round previews, Valhalla defeated Santa Fe Christian in a triple overtime contest in regular season play while Granite Hills edged Patrick Henry by a 13-10 score to capture the third-place game at this year’s Poway Invitational tournament.

La Jolla High School will serve as the site for eight quarterfinal games on Saturday, Nov. 11. The four Division II games will be played at 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. The four Division I games will be played at 1:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.

Semifinals follow on Nov. 14 (for Division II) and Nov. 15 (for Division I) at 5:45 and 7:30 p.m., also at LJHS.

The two division championship games are scheduled Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. (Division II) and 7:30 p.m. (Division I), also at LJHS.

For tournament updates, visit the Web site at www.cifsds.org.

Division I Pairings
First Round
Thursday, Nov. 9
(1) Carlsbad (22-6) vs. (16) San Pasqual
(8) Rancho Bernardo vs. (9) Rancho Buena Vista
(5) Vista (17-11) vs. (12) Patrick Henry (20-6)
(4) Granite Hills (22-6) vs. (13) Eastlake (18-8)
(3) Bonita Vista (22-4) vs. (14) Grossmont (11-11)
(6) Poway (15-8) vs. (11) Scripps Ranch (12-14)
(7) Westview vs. (10) Fallbrook
(15) Mira Mesa vs. (2) Torrey Pines (20-7)

Twenty teams applied for the 16 Division I spots.

Division II Pairings
First Round
Wednesday, Nov. 8
(1) La Jolla (25-5) vs. (16) Mar Vista (11-7)
(8) Cathedral Catholic (10-17) vs. (9) Mt. Carmel (11-15)
(5) Santa Fe Christian (22-6) vs. (12) Point Loma (12-14)
(4) Valhalla (20-9) vs. (13) Serra (12-8)
(3) Coronado (18-8) vs. (14) Ramona (17-9)
(6) Santana (19-10) vs. (11) Steele Canyon (9-9)
(7) University City (7-14) vs. (10) El Capitan (15-6-1)
(2) Bishop's (20-7) vs. (15) La Jolla Country Day (10-10)

Eighteen teams applied for the 16 playoff berths.