CdM rolls, again

Roger Carlson

CORONA DEL MAR - It had all the earmarks of a seeded team’s

first-round encounter in the CIF Division II Boys Water Polo Playoffs ...

in other words, a blowout.

Corona del Mar High’s Sea Kings, however, were engaged in a

quarterfinal matchup with a respected program, Santa Margarita, yet from

the start, blowout was the operative word.

“The boys are all playing well,” said the Sea Kings’ coach,

Stanford-bound John Vargas. “Everyone was into it and we got a lot of

defense. I was really proud of them. They’re coming on at the right

time.”

Corona del Mar meets No. 3-seeded Los Alamitos Wednesday with one eye

on the Griffins, another on No. 1-seeded Servite, which most likely

awaits at Belmont Plaza on Friday in the championship game.

As for the particulars in Saturday morning’s game at Corona del Mar,

where the Santa Margarita Eagles were the hosts, there were no turning

points, no single individual to draw upon, no unique coaching ploy to

explore. Vagas simply turned them loose.

The Sea Kings, like an octopus, punished the Eagles with the likes of

Artie Dorr (four goals and two assists), Michael March (four goals and

three assists), John Mann (three goals and four steals), Bobby Messenger

(three goals and two assists), John Money (three goals and five steals),

Marcello Pantuliano (four steals and two assists), and goalkeepers

Sherwin Kim and Beau Stockstill.

The second unit’s Griffin Gentry (two goals and a steal), David

DiRocco (a goal, three assists and a steal), Ali Kattan (three steals),

and Ryan Moore were just another portion of the overflow superiority of

the Sea Kings, who improved to 21-3.

Corona hit 20 of 36 attempts; Santa Margarita managed 3 for 11,

suffocated by a 34-9 deficit in terms of turnovers.

CIF DIVISION PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinal

Corona del Mar 20, Santa Margarita 3

Corona del Mar 5 2 6 7 - 20

Santa Margarita 0 1 1 1 - 3 CdM - Dorr 4, March 4, Money 3, Messenger 3, Mann 3, Gentry 2, DiRocco

1. Saves - Kim 3, Stockstill 1, Brundage 1.

Santa Margarita - Nolan 2, Radie 1. Saves - Markel 2, Connor 1.