Back Bay clash looms in second round

The Corona del Mar High and Newport Harbor boys’ water polo teams are headed for a possible second-round clash in the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs as the pairings were announced Monday.

Sage Hill School (Division II) also qualified for the playoffs which begin Thursday for Division I and Friday for Division II. All games are scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

The Sea Kings (17-9, 4-0 in the Pacific Coast League) and the Sailors (21-5, 5-0 in the Sunset League) won their respective league titles. Last year, the two teams met in the semifinals with the Sailors winning, 13-12.

But before there can be thoughts of revisiting their Back Bay rivalry, there are first-round matchups to take care of.

The No. 3-seeded Sailors open up at home against Long Beach Wilson, the team that defeated Newport Harbor in the section title game last season, 14-11.

But at 4-23, having finished third in the Moore League, Wilson is far removed from last year’s team.

Newport Harbor and Wilson have each won 11 section championships. The Sailors defeated Wilson, the five-time defending Division I champion, 13-5, in the season opener.

Senior goalkeeper Bryce McClain, a second-team All-CIF honoree last season, leads a strong Newport Harbor defense. Clinton Jorth, who leads the Sailors in goals with 50, is the lone returning starter from last year’s team. Senior Blake Hockenbury is second with 44 goals. Junior Collin Sherman has added stout defense and scoring with 24 goals.

The Sea Kings, ranked No. 5 in the final Division II poll, begin the quest for their 13th section crown at home against Foothill, ranked No. 10 in the final poll.

Foothill (12-14) finished third in the Sea View League.

CdM defeated Foothill, which was also a Division I semifinalist last season, 10-7, in its second game of the season.

The Sea Kings, who have reached the semifinals two straight years, are led by senior scoring machine Mike Berry. At 6-foot-6, who leads the team with 76 goals, and senior Brian Peotter has made 231 saves at goalkeeper. Senior Ryan Hultman had 41 goals, as well as team highs in steals (36) and assists (28).

If both the Sea Kings and Sailors are victorious in the first round, it will mark the second time in three weeks that the two teams will have played.

The Tars came away with a 7-4 victory on Oct. 21 in a game that was tied, 4-4, after three periods.

In its first year in Division II, Sage Hill (18-5) earned an automatic playoff berth with its second-place finish in the Orange Coast League after having to earn an at-large spot as a freelance team in Division IV in the program’s first five years.

The Lightning will hit the road to take on Mission Viejo, ranked No. 5 in the final Division II poll.

Sage Hill features junior scoring leader Beau Caillouette, who is in his third varsity season. Junior Danny Harold started at goalkeeper for last season’s CIF playoff team.