SD Prep Sports:

2006 Fall Sports Previews
Grossmont Conference

Boys Water Polo

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.

El Capitan water polo team making waves
El Capitan Cowboy Invitational

The first words out of the mouth of El Capitan boys water polo coach Robin Sanchez following his team’s 10-5 non-league victory against Otay Ranch Oct. 7 at the Loma Verde pool in Chula Vista were “vastly improved.”

He wasn’t necessarily referring to his squad, though the words might easily fit as well, but to the opposing Mustangs, now in their third year of varsity play.

Compliments aside, the Vaqueros are off to one of their strongest starts since Sanchez returned to coach the boys team three years ago. El Capitan qualified for last year’s Division II playoffs after a lengthy absence from post-season play. The goal is to return this year.

At 10-1 overall and 1-1 in Grossmont North League play, the Vaqueros seem to be zeroing in on that goal.

“Our goal is to finish .500 or better and end the season in the playoffs. It’s been pretty much the same goal every year since I’ve been back coaching the boys,” Sanchez said. “It’s that cheesy saying: we’re taking it one game at a time.”

Assistant coach Bob Jeffrey said the team’s path to success thus far this season has been its ability to play as a unit. “We don’t have any super stars on this team. Everyone is working hard and contributing,” Jeffrey said.

Tucker Warford and Brian Van Vechten each scored three goals to lead El Capitan past Otay Ranch (6-6) while Brad Craighead, Jacob Hajek, Jared Radtkey and Patrick Sullivan each scored one goal. Radtkey also made three steals on defense while goalie Austin McBrady had seven saves, two steals and one assist.

Van Vechten and Hajek scored single goals to help the Vaqueros to a 2-1 lead after the first quarter. Warford scored twice in the second quarter to push El Capitan to a 5-2 lead. The Vaqueros were leading 6-2 when the Mustangs top scorer, Ryan Castro, received a game ejection early in the third quarter. The Vaqueros would extend their lead to 9-2 and 10-3.

El Capitan also won the junior varsity game between the teams by a score of 7-4.

Despite the Vaqueros’ lofty midseason record, Sanchez said nothing is a given at this point. The upcoming playoffs will be seeded based on strength of schedule. El Capitan’s standing in league play, as well as the order of finish in the annual San Diego Open tournament, will likely play a significant role in determining the team’s post-season position.

The Vaqueros opened league play Oct. 3 with an 18-10 victory against El Cajon Valley behind six goals from Warford. Santana, which opened league play with a 17-4 win against West Hills that same day, made it two league wins in a row by dealing El Capitan a 14-6 loss on Oct. 6.

Grossmont and West Hills both expect to present challenges for the Vaqueros. Santana entered this week ranked sixth among the San Diego Section’s Division II teams.

“There’s a lot of water polo to be played,” Sanchez said succinctly.

Preview: Helix Highlanders
The Helix Highlanders boys water polo team finished 5-5 in Grossmont South League play last season, good for a fourth-place finish. The Scotties earned the 12th seed in the Division I playoffs, dropping a first-round decision to Scripps Ranch.

Coach Joel Hull is looking for the 2006 edition of the team to inch up the ladder a bit.

“Our team returns three varsity players from last year. The juniors moving up from JV all swam last year and played on a club team during the summer. We are looking to return to CIF and improve our seed,” Hull said.

Senior Mitch Shaw is the team’s top returner at two meters after earning all-league honorable mention last year.

Impact newcomers include juniors Chris Ferguson (goalie), Vaughn Rios (driver), Josh Aguayo (two-meters), Ray Johnson (driver) and Paul Johnson (driver), all up from last year’s JV team.

Boys water polo season faces off with Coach Draz Classic
The inaugural Coach Draz CIF Water Polo Classic is being held Saturday, Aug. 26, at La Jolla High School. The event honors the contributions made by Dick Draz, a former coach at Crawford High Schools (where he led the Colts to five consecutive boys swim titles between 1968 and 1972 and back-to-back boys water polo titles in 1970-71) and longtime aquatics official.

The schedule features seven games, starting with Hilltop against Mira Mesa at 8:50 a.m. and followed by Cathedral Catholic against Santa Fe Christian at 10 a.m., Westview against Grossmont at 11:10 a.m., Santana against Patrick Henry at 12:20 p.m., Coronado against Vista at 1:30 p.m., Bishop’s against Carlsbad at 2:40 p.m. and Poway against La Jolla at 3:50 p.m.

Grossmont and Santana both qualified for last year’s section playoffs. Santana reached the Division II quarterfinals while Grossmont dropped a first-round decision to third-seeded Bonita Vista in the Division I playoffs.

All-day tickets cost $6. There are no in-out privileges.