The last time a Metro Conference team won a San Diego Section boys water polo championship was in 1980 when Hilltop defeated Fallbrook, 19-13, to win the then single-division section title.
Several teams have come close: Bonita Vista finished runner-up in the 1995 Division I finals to Valhalla, Mar Vista finished runner-up in the 2014 Division II finals to Fallbrook, Eastlake finished runner-up in the 2015 Division II finals to San Marcos, Bonita Vista finished runner-up in the 2015 Division III finals to Point Loma and Mar Vista finished runner-up in the 2018 Division II finals to Steele Canyon.
Eastlake became the sixth Metro Conference team since 1980 to post a runner-up finish in the CIF championship game after ending the season with a 13-10 overtime loss to Patrick Henry Nov. 16 at La Jolla High School.
Eastlake head coach Stuart Sokil was bidding for a moment in history as his father Greg was a member of that illustrious 1980 CIF championship Hilltop team.
But the sixth-seeded Patriots had other plans in capturing their first CIF title in school history by erasing four Titan leads in the game.
“We’ve been focused, disciplined, playing as a team,” Sokil outlined the team’s mind-set heading into the game. “It’s within reach — it’s not a gimme … but it’s there.”
It was so close the Titans could touch it.
But the taste proved bitter.
Eighth-seeded Eastlake had proven to be the bracket buster after upsetting top-seeded Classical Academy, 6-5, in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded La Jolla Country Day, 11-5, in the semifinals.
The Titans erased four deficits against Patrick Henry in the championship game and appeared on course to score another upset in their biggest game of the season.
Jacob Redden was active in Eastlake’s offensive attack in this year’s Division II championship game. Photo by Phillip Brents
Junior Jacob Redden made the score 2-1 in Eastlake’s favor early on while senior Eli Stewart put the Titans ahead, 3-2, to start the second quarter. A six-on-five goal by Stewart locked the teams into a 4-4 halftime stalemate.
The pace picked up in the second half with 10 goals scored between the teams.
Freshman Zane Derrod scored to bring the reigning Mesa League champions to within one goal at 6-5 midway through the third quarter, and EHS senior Ezekiel Craig scored back-to-back goals to put the Titans up, 7-6, late in the quarter.
Senior goalie James Derrod, the section’s all-time career leader in saves and steals, blocked a five-meter shot by Patrick Henry’s Adam Monroe to keep the score level at 7-all at the end of three quarters.
Senior Diego Scheitt scored on a five-meter shot to tie the game, 8-8, for the Titans with 4:03 to play in the fourth quarter and Stewart scored a man-up goal at the 2:50 mark to give Eastlake a 9-8 advantage on the scoreboard.
But the game-clinching goal proved elusive.
The Patriots came through with a six-on-five goal by junior Alex Wenzel to tie the game, 9-9, with 1:01 to play in regulation.
The teams ventured into two three-minute overtime periods to decide the division title.
Patrick Henry (21-8) deflated Eastlake’s championship hopes with three goals in the first OT period. Austin Wenzel scored on a six-on-five, Alex Wenzel scored on a breakaway and Nico West scored a clutch goal with just 20 seconds left to put the Patriots ahead 12-9.
Alex Wenzel scored into an empty cage with 49 seconds to play in the second overtime period to increase the Patrick Henry lead to 13-9.
Stewart scored on a six-on-five with 30 seconds left in the game.
It was an entirely disappointing result to end an otherwise spirited playoff odyssey.
“It was a really hard-fought game,” James Derrod said. “The whole playoffs, it seemed, we were the underdogs. We wanted it as much as Patrick Henry. We had a lot of success in the second half of the season. I thought we played well against them but they came out on top. But it was still a great season for us.”
The championship game loss to the Patriots ended an eight-game winning streak for Eastlake (17-13). The Titans won 14 of their last 18 games to end the season.
Stewart led Eastlake with six points in the division final (four goals, two assists) while Craig collected five points (three goals, two assists). Redden contributed one goal and three assists while James Derrod recorded 11 saves and five steals. The EHS goalie also blocked two five-meter shots in the game.
Derrod ended his season with a Southern California-record 1,262 career saves and a section record 342 steals.
Alex Wenzel keyed Patrick Henry offensively with six goals while sophomore goalie Tanner Furtak keyed the Patriots defensively with a game-high 21 saves. Furtak also drew assists on two overtime goals and blocked a five-meter shot by Stewart in the first quarter.
Henry upset third-seeded Granite Hills, 8-6, in the quarterfinals and slipped past 10th-seeded El Camino, 12-11, in overtime in the semifinals after El Camino had posted an 8-6 upset win over second-seeded Del Norte.
The Titans lost, 14-13, to the Patriots in the Bronco Invitational on Aug. 24.
Interestingly the teams faced off in the preseason Draz Classic, with Eastlake posting an 8-5 win.
SAN DIEGO SECTION BOYS WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Open Division: (1) Bishop’s 9, (2) Cathedral Catholic 8
Division I: (1) Westview 10, (2) San Pasqual 6
Division II: (6) Patrick Henry 13, (8) Eastlake 10 (OT)
Division III: (3) Mt. Carmel 15, (1) Francis Parker 7
Men of Steele still making waves in water polo
While the Steele Canyon High School boys water polo team came up short in its noble quest to win three consecutive San Diego Section division championships, the Cougars did score a first in the section by becoming the first team to qualify three times for the Southern California regional playoffs in the three-year history of that tournament.
Steele Canyon defeated Carlsbad, 15-10, in last Saturday’s state play-in seeding game at La Jolla High School to secure the No. 3 seed in the Division II field. The Cougars are set to play sixth-seeded Northwood High School in the opening round on Friday, Nov. 22, at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach.
The semifinals and finals follow on Saturday, No. 23, at Sagerstrom High School in Santa Ana.
Steele Canyon (20-6) should feel right at home with four of the eight teams in the division regional bracket from the San Diego Section.
Vista (21-8) is seeded first while La Jolla (18-10) is seeded second. Westview (22-6) is seeded seventh.
La Jolla meets Westview in a first-round match-up, with the winner to face the Steele Canyon-Northview winner in the semifinals.
The Cougars would love a rematch with La Jolla after the Vikings handed them a heartbreaking 11-10 setback in the section’s Open Division quarterfinals on Nov. 6.
Steele won the Division III championship in 2017 and the Division II championship last year and was bidding to win the Open Division championship this season.
It was an untimely exit, Cougar head coach Dan Way said.
The four Open Division semifinalists earned automatic berths in the state regional playoffs, with the fifth-place team in the division also qualifying along with the section’s Division I, Division II and Division III champions.
Fifth-seeded Steele Canyon met eight-seeded Coronado in a consolation semifinal game on Nov. 12. The Cougars won, 16-10, to advance to the fifth-place seeding game against Carlsbad — 17-12 winners over third-seeded Canyon Crest Academy in the consolation semis.
The Steele Canyon-Carlsbad state play-in game took place between last Saturday’s Division II and Division I championship games at the Coggan Family Aquatic Complex in La Jolla.
Sixth-seeded Patrick Henry (21-8) defeated eighth-seeded Eastlake (17-13) by a score of 13-10 in two overtime periods to win the Division II title while top-seeded Westview topped second-seeded San Pasqual (23-8) by a score of 10-6 to capture the Division I championship.
The day opened with third-seeded Mt. Carmel (15-11) pulling a 15-7 upset over top-seeded Francis Parker (17-12) to win the Division III title; the quintuple header ended with the top-seeded Bishop’s School (22-7) edging second-seeded Cathedral Catholic (15-14) by a 9-8 score in the elite Open Division final.
Bishop’s defeated fourth-seeded La Jolla, 16-7, in the semifinals while Cathedral Catholic tipped third-seeded Vista 11-10.
Steele Canyon finished 8-0 in Grossmont Hills League play.
Way said he is proud of his team in battling its way into the state regional playoffs for the third consecutive year.
“It’s not uncommon for many of the Open Division teams to have as many as 15 club players on their team, we have three,” Way said. “What we’ve done is unheard of.”
Way remains proud of the core group led by senior Trevor Moore that has led the Cougars program to new heights over the past four years.
“Until we won two years in a row, the school hadn’t won a boys water polo championship at Steele Canyon,” Way said.
It will be hard for the nine seniors to part ways with the team after this weekend’s state playoffs are finished.
“We have been together four years,” Way said. “They feel like a part of my family. We set a goal of winning the Open Division. We knew it would be difficult. We spent a day crying after the loss to La Jolla, then we rebounded and felt good about our win over Coronado.”
The Cougars have to feel good about where they stand now.
“This is special for the kids,” Way said.
Then and now
Way is among a select few individuals who have played in a section championship game and also coached in one (actually two with the Cougars).
Way was on the 1995 Bonita Vista team that lost 15-10 to Valhalla in the Division I championship game.
“When you’re a player, it’s all about you and your team,” Way said. “It’s family. You’re striving together for a single goal.
“As a player, it seems you have more control. As a coach, you’ve got to lay it on the line and hope your players can perform.”
Valhalla, which is still coached by Kent Houston, received the fifth seed in this year’s Division I playoffs and advanced to the division semifinals, losing 10-5 to Westview.
The Norsemen (14-17) defeated 12th-seeded Clairemont, 18-5, in the opening round on Nov. 5 and upset fourth-seeded Poway, 9-7, in the quarterfinals on Nov. 9.
Grossmont (11-18) and Santana (11-18) joined Valhalla in this year’s Division I playoff field.
Grossmont, seeded sixth, eliminated 11th-seeded Mater Dei Catholic, 17-9, in the first round, then upset third-seeded Point Loma, 8-5, in the quarterfinals before bowing out with a narrow 11-10 loss to San Pasqual in the semifinals.
Santana, seeded ninth, lost 10-8 to eighth-seeded Rancho Bernardo in the first round.
