First published in the Sept. 1 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
FLINTRIDGE PREP – PHOTO GALLERY
The Flintridge Prep boys’ water polo team recently swept the two-day Poly Invitational and edged St. Francis in the championship game, 11-10, on Saturday.
It was a competitive match between two fine programs that saw the Wolves face a 5-2 deficit after the first quarter and trailed 8-6 at halftime.
Each team added a goal in the third quarter before Flintridge Prep outscored SFHS 3-1 to claim an 11-10 victory and the tournament title.
“They definitely have some flamethrowers on St. Francis and we just tried to lock down their shooters for the most part. It was hard for us to do that in the first half,” Phillips said. “Trying to disrupt their avenue for success was our goal; how well could we get in the way and make life a little bit less comfortable on their end.”
Senior Noah Corral, who was named tournament MVP and made the all-tournament team, collected three goals, while senior Henry Brookbanks also posted three goals while being named to the all-tournament team.
“Noah has been around the sport for a very long time and he’s probably one of the strongest kids in the pool,” Phillips said. “He has great game IQ, great leadership IQ and he really cares about making the people around him better.”
The Wolves finished pool play by routing La Serna High of Whittier, 13-2, earlier last Saturday. Corral lead the team with five goals, Brookbanks tallied four goals and senior goalie John Bennett registered 18 saves.
Flintridge Prep picked up a pair of wins on the first day of tournament play last Friday, finishing with a 15-12 win over Burroughs High of Burbank. Corral registered a team-high four goals, while senior Ty Young and sophomore Elliot Oakes each scored three goals.
The Wolves opened the tournament with a 13-2 beatdown of South Pasadena earlier last Friday. Corral recorded five goals while senior Michael Gamboa, Young, senior Aidan Grimm and sophomore Ridley Tolleson each recorded a pair of goals. Meanwhile, Bennett notched 10 saves in the cage.
Flintridge Prep previously traveled to San Marino and won a nonleague game, 10-8, on Thursday, Aug. 25. The match was tied at 3-3 after the first quarter before the Wolves held San Marino scoreless in the second while adding four goals in the quarter. San Marino battled back but the effort wasn’t enough to overturn a Flintridge Prep victory.
The Wolves also picked up a season-opening victory over visiting Arcadia, 14-11, on Aug. 24. Noah Corral posted five goals, Gamboa and sophomore Charlie Simonian each had three goals, and Bennett tallied 12 saves.
For the second time in three days, Flintridge Prep defeated St. Francis in a nonleague game on Monday. The Golden Knights sought to even the season series after losing the Poly Invitational title game over the weekend, but the Wolves swam away with a 14-10 victory to remain undefeated this season.
Flintridge Prep sophomore Elliott Oaks opened the scoring with 6:41 remaining in the first quarter before senior Ty Young made it a 2-0 game with just under two minutes remaining.
St. Francis had five shots on goal in the quarter, but great defense by Flintridge Prep goalie John Bennett, who finished with a game-high 11 saves, denied the Golden Knights of any goals.
“John Bennett has always been a crucial part of our defense,” Flintridge Prep head coach Andrew Phillips said. “He came up big against San Marino, he came up big in the tournament and he really turned up today.”
Flintridge Prep sophomore Charlie Simonian and senior Henry Brookbanks each posted four goals, Young and senior Noah Corral each scored a pair of goals, and senior Michael Gamboa had one goal.
SFHS faced a two-goal deficit in the second quarter and after two scoreless minutes, senior Noel Gutierrez, who finished with three goals in the matchup, found the back of the cage to make it a 2-1 game. The Golden Knights and the Wolves briefly battled for the lead before Simonian scored from the yellow to make it a 4-3 game. It was the only lead of the game for St. Francis, which fell behind by two or more goals for the remainder of the match after Simonian added a second goal from the red with 2:15 remaining before halftime.
The second half was dominated by St. Francis senior Jason Alietti, who scored five of his game-high six goals in the third and fourth quarters. However, the Golden Knights suffered a string of ejections in the final quarter that allowed Flintridge Prep to pile up four goals to secure the victory. SFHS sophomore Donovan Esquivel added a goal in the third quarter to round out the Golden Knights’ scoring.
St. Francis head coach Carlos Ponce declined to comment on his team’s performance at the end of the game.
Flintridge Prep (7-0 overall) will visit Temple City for a nonleague matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, St. Francis (3-2 overall, 0-1 in league) will visit Damien High in La Verne for a nonleague matchup on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS – PHOTO GALLERY
The Golden Knights recently finished as runners-up in the Poly Invitational after falling to Flintridge Prep in the championship game, 11-10, on Saturday, Aug. 27.
St. Francis swept its pool play completion, concluding with a dominating 14-8 victory over La Cañada earlier on Saturday. SFHS added a pair of victories on the first day of pool play by narrowly beating Pasadena Polytechnic, 17-15, and Hoover High of Glendale, 15-8, on Friday, Aug. 28.
The Golden Knights opened the season by losing a Mission League matchup at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City, 26-7, last Wednesday. No individual statistics were reported to the Outlook Valley Sun.
LA CAÑADA – PHOTO GALLERY
The Spartans recently opened the season by competing in the two-day Pasadena Poly Invitational last Friday and Saturday.
The Spartans wrapped up pool play with a 14-8 loss to neighboring St. Francis on Saturday. Alexander Abramian posted a pair of goals, while Max Hong, Eric Azari, Tait Landswick, Ian Wipfli, Max Ratcliffe and Jio Kim each scored once.
LCHS lost its second matchup of the tournament, falling to Burroughs High of Burbank to end the first day of pool play with a 15-4 loss. Wipfli collected a pair of goals, while Landswick and Abramian each had one goal.
The Spartans opened the tournament by edging Hoover High of Glendale, 10-9, earlier on Friday, as Wipfli produced a game-high five goals. Meanwhile, Abramian, Azari, Jack Kabassian and Hong each tallied one goal.
Individual statistics and a match result for the final tournament game on Saturday were not reported to the Outlook Valley Sun.
LCHS will visit Birmingham High in Lake Balboa for a nonleague matchup on Friday, Sept. 2, at 3:30 p.m.
