Sea Kings come up short, 14-11

Richard Dunn

Leaving no doubt about it, the Long Beach Wilson High boys water

polo team captured another CIF Southern Section Division I

championship Saturday night with a 14-11 victory over Corona del Mar

before an estimated 2,000 at Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool.

The top-seeded Bruins, however, were pushed by the designated

visitors as Coach Tim Salvino’s second-seeded Sea Kings rallied to

tie the game, 10-10, at third quarter’s end.

Wilson (31-0), which has won five of the last six CIF Division I

titles and six of the last eight, had too much in the fourth quarter

for CdM (20-8), outscoring the Sea Kings, 4-1.

“Being tied with (the Bruins) going into the fourth quarter, I

couldn’t ask for anything more, because they really have some

horses,” Salvino said.

Corona del Mar, which won the last three CIF Division II

championships before moving up to Division I this year, lost to Long

Beach Wilson for the fourth time in as many contests this season. The

Bruins’ other victories over CdM were 10-7, 10-7 and 11-9, the latter coming in the semifinals of the TruWest Tournament Nov. 2.

“We’re definitely a second-half team,” Wilson Coach Tony Martinho

said. “Our players train so hard, I think it shows in the second half

... I just think our style of play is difficult for Corona del Mar to

play against. We were just fortunate to play our game. (The Sea

Kings) did an unbelievable job tonight. They always do.”

Corona del Mar, which was aiming for its 13th CIF title, enjoyed a

6-5 halftime lead, then the Bruins came back early in the second half

with three straight goals to build an 8-6 advantage.

CdM senior standout John Mann, who led the Sea Kings with eight

goals, scored from set with 5:17 left in the third quarter after a

CdM timeout to pull his team within a goal. Scott Swanson scored for

Wilson on a cross-pool pass from left-hander Thomas Hale, then CdM’s

Kevin Amendt scored on a loose ball in the hole. Hale followed with a

counterattack goal with 2:29 on the clock for another two-goal Wilson

lead.

On the Sea Kings’ next trip down, CdM’s John Money fired one from

set, but the shot was stopped by Wilson goalie Brent La Bounty (seven

saves). Mann, though, scored on a rebound shot with 2:03 remaining to

cut the Bruins’ lead to 10-9, then Ryan Moore tied the game on a

man-advantage goal with 0:11 left on a pass from Money.

After an exchange of turnovers to begin the fourth quarter, Wilson

two-meter man John Foster (team-high five goals) scored a

man-advantage goal on an assist from Hale with 5:43 to play to give

the Bruins an 11-10 lead.

Wilson never trailed again.

Foster scored again from set when he worked around CdM’s Griffin

Gentry with 4:43 left, then Mann scored on a backhand shot from set

with 4:29 remaining on a pass from Gentry to cut Wilson’s lead to

12-11.

Wilson’s Paul Sherrin scored from the flank during a six-on-five

and Garrit Barth (four goals) added the Bruins’ final goal with 2:49

to play on a pass from Hale on the counterattack.

“They did nothing different defensively in the fourth quarter,”

Salvino said.

Mann was a one-man show in the first half, scoring five of his

team’s six goals. With the scored tied, 5-5, Mann unleashed a

fastball from 10 meters that grazed the inside of the left post and

slipped into the cage with 0:18 left in the first half, giving the

Sea Kings their halftime lead.

“John Mann played a really tremendous game,” Salvino said. “He

played his heart out. He left it all out there. I know for a fact he

couldn’t play any harder.”

CdM senior Artie Dorr, an All-CIF Division II selection last year

along with Mann, capped a three-goal first quarter for the Sea Kings

by scoring from set with 1:03 on the clock -- on a pass from Mann --

to give Corona del Mar a 3-1 edge by quarter’s conclusion.

Wilson scored early in the second quarter, then the Sea Kings

built a 5-2 lead in the second quarter after Mann scored a

man-advantage goal from the hole with 5:22 left and tallied a goal

from eight meters on a laser shot with 3:51 remaining.

CIF DIVISION I FINALS

Long Beach Wilson 14, Corona del Mar 11

Score by Quarters

Corona del Mar 3 3 4

1 - 11

LB Wilson 1 4 5 4

-- 14

CdM scoring: Mann 8, Dorr 1, Amendt 1, Moore 1. Saves:

Stockstill 11.

Wilson scoring: Foster 5, Barth 4, Hale 2, Wilson 1,

Swanson 1, Sherrin 1. Saves: La Bounty 7.