SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Water Polo

Bonita Vista Barons -- 2003 Metro Conference playoff tournament champions

Barons' youth is served in 10-3 finals win

Bonita Vista downs Hilltop for automatic CIF playoff berth

By Phillip Brents

CHULA VISTA, Nov. 8, 2003 -- Youth continues to be served on this year's Bonita Vista High School boys water polo team. When it fully matures, it could be frightening. As it is, the Barons are a pretty fearsome team to match up against in Metro Conference play.

At right: sophomore Chris Sanchez lines up a shot on net.

Hilltop discovered that in Saturday's conference playoff tournament championship game at the Loma Verde pool. The Lancers managed to hang close for most of the first period before Bonita Vista eventually got rolling, taking a 5-2 halftime lead and putting the game away with a four-goal run to open the third quarter to lead 9-2.

Final score: Barons 10, Lancers 3.

Bonita Vista earns the conference's automatic CIF playoff berth for the upcoming Division I tournament.

For the Barons, the game served as a launch pad for a new playoff run after the team fell to Eastlake in last year's tournament finals to miss the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.

Junior Andrew Hibbard scored five goals, including the first three for Bonita Vista, and freshman Gabriel Gonzalez added three more, including three in the pivotal third period, to pace the Barons' offense. Sophomore goalie Chris Hakes helped slam the door shut in the cage with 13 saves.

The game was tied 1-1 before Bonita Vista reeled off three consecutive goals to build an early 4-1 lead. The Barons (15-9) never seemed to lose the momentum afterward, holding Hilltop (15-12) to just one goal in the second half of play.

"It was close early as I expected. I knew Hilltop would come out fired up. Everyone is always excited to play us," Bonita Vista coach Dan Way said. "They came in with nothing to lose and played with high energy the first couple quarters. I told my guys it was going to be a four quarter knockdown and drag out game. It would be decided in the fourth quarter. I thought our defense was excellent. Defense wins championships and we proved that today. Any time you give up three goals in a game, you've got a chance to win."

For Hilltop, Corey Fix briefly tied the game at 1-1 before Hibbard scored a power play goal and added another score to put the 17-time league champions up 3-1 after the first period. Nick Davidson halved the Lancers’ deficit to 4-2 but Hibbard came back with a clutch goal with just 10 seconds left in the first half to give the Barons a 5-3 advantage.

Davidson scored Hilltop’s final goal after Bonita Vista had amassed a 9-2 scoring edge. “I thought Hilltop did a good job of guarding the best player in the Metro league, Andrew Hibbard. That gave an opportunity for our younger players, like freshman Gabriel Gonzalez, to step up,” Way said.

In the third-place game, sixth-seeded Montgomery defeated third-seeded Mar Vista, 12-9, behind four goals each by Manlio Elezab and Bobby Garcia in a game marred by double brutality ejections with one minute to play in the first period.

“I totally thought that would kill our momentum. It’s sad to see something so negative in a game. But my guys pulled it together,” said Aztec coach Alberto Barron.

Hilltop defeated Mar Vista, 7-6, in overtime to advance to the final as sophomore Matt Chism caught Mariner sophomore goalie Dane Bolding off guard with a half-tank shot 14 seconds into the second overtime session. MV’s Julian Czerwiec had sent the game into extra time by scoring a dramatic goal with just 23 seconds left in regulation.