LA JOLLA – The Bishop’s and La Jolla High boys water polo teams clash this month in Western League play as talented equals – but they took totally different routes to get there.
In pre-league play, coaches Doug Peabody and Ian Davidson’s Knights endured fewer games and competed in the South Coast Tournament in Orange County. It was tough sledding, but the 6-5 Knights felt ready for conference play after downing San Marcos (Santa Barbara), 12-7, and Mira Costa (Manhattan Beach), 15-11.
Peabody-Davidson’s entity, which plays year-round as the club team La Jolla Shores, then fell to Newport Harbor – the No. 1 team in the nation, according to MaxPreps, with a 12-0-0 record – in the quarterfinals of the tourney, 15-8, the next day.
Meanwhile, coach Tom Atwell’s black-and-red Vikings played many games, culminating in winning the annual America’s Finest (AFC) Tournament in Coronado with lopsided victories over Le Jardin (Kailua, Hawaii), 13-2, Valhalla, 21-9, Damien (La Verne), 15-4, and Canyon Crest, 21-8.
Returning All-CIF First-Teamers Dexter Black and Tor Martin and crew were hardly tested in the AFC, but that was the route Atwell has chosen in the long-running tourney, which used to field 32 teams, but is now down to 12 in a reduced format. In fact, La Jolla was able to play the first day of group (pool) play in the friendly confines of Coggan Aquatic Complex on campus at LJHS.
With the shadow of Cathedral Catholic, the other league power, looming in future combat, Knight All-CIF First Teamer Colton Bell, a 6-foot, 180-pound junior, led Bishop’s into its Western League opener last week against La Jolla at Coggan. Interestingly, Bell plays for coach Tommy Corcoran, the Dons’ coach, on the Del Mar club team.
The teams played to a 12-12 tie in regulation time. Bishop’s broke out to a 12-8 lead with 1:16 left in the third quarter on goals by senior J.T. Moss and sophomore Hanrui Liu.
But La Jolla clawed back behind Black, a 6 feet 6 inches tall junior, who scored on a penalty shot. The officials were a little jumpy in front of the big, vocal crowd, which included students from both local schools. They ruled that Lui didn’t immediately leave the pool after an exclusion, ejected him, and cleared the pool, resulting in awarding Black his penalty shot.
Martin, a center, scored at 5:49 of the fourth quarter, 12-10; Dexter again with 2:49 left. Junior Henry Glenister then applied the pièce de résistance on a pass from Ryder Jaseniuk with 57 seconds left to knot the score at 12-all and send the game into overtime. Two three-minute OTs are required – it’s not sudden death.
Black, whose older siblings also starred at La Jolla, netted two goals at 2:20 and 1:18 of the first overtime, and the Vikings held on through the second OT to survive, 15-14. At this time, they are ranked sixth in the nation by MaxPreps at 15-2-0.
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