SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Water Polo

2005 Metro Conference Scoreboard

Barons torpedo Titans, 25-4

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 18, 2005 -- Bonita Vista head coach Dan Way was looking for intensity from his team in this eastside rivalry. Judging by the first-quarter scoreboard -- Bonita Vista 7, Eastlake 0 -- he got it. The Barons (14-3) would go on to pile up five more unanswered goals for a 12-0 lead, leading 13-1 at halftime and 18-2 heading into the final period.

Derrik Clair-Williams and Josh Harris each scored five goals to lead third-ranked Bonita Vista, which was coming off a bitter 10-7 loss to second-ranked Torrey Pines on Oct. 15 at UC-San Diego. Robert Newman and Gabriel Gonzalez each scored four times for the Barons, who got two goals apiece from Beto Vasquez, Dennis Schulz and Landon Loitz in the runaway win.

Goalies Chris Hakes and Zach Bowman combined to make 10 saves. Hakes blocked two four-meter penalty shots in the contest.

The Barons improved to 4-0 in Mesa League play.

Christian Valenzuela, who got Eastlake's first goal, finished the game with two goals -- a figure matched by teammate Jason Bowman.

The Titans dropped to 8-9 overall, 1-1 in league play.

Bonita Vista looked to make it 2-0 against Torrey Pines this season but suffered a setback almost from the get-go in the prime time matchup against the Falcons when Harris -- the Barons' team captain and leading scorer -- was ejected just 1:20 into the game.

"Once our guys realized he was out and wasn't going to be back, they got together and started to play and fight back to get back into the game . We were down 6-2. The final was 10-7. That says a lot for our guys. I'm proud of my team for that," Way said.

Stand or fall:

Barons test Cathedral Catholic,

Torrey Pines and Bishop's in midseason showcase series

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 13, 2005 -- The Bonita Vista Barons are still climbing coach Dan Way's metaphorical mountain but they could be getting very close to the summit over the next week. The Barons, who are unquestionably fielding one of their top teams in the past decade, enter a series of midseason showcase games, meeting in order the Cathedral Catholic Dons, Torrey Pines Falcons and Bishop's Knights in the span of eight days. Bonita Vista will test Torrey Pines at UCSD on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. The Barons will face Bishop's the following Friday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. at The Bishop's School.

Torrey Pines entered the week ranked second among San Diego Section Division I teams, just ahead of third-ranked Bonita Vista. Bishop's is ranked first among Division II schools.

A quirk in the rankings: the Barons have defeated the Falcons in the teams' only head-to-head matchup so far this season.

Photo: Bonita Vista scored 16 goals against Cathedral Catholic but the Barons' defense was equally impressive.

After Thursday's 16-3 non-league victory against Cathedral Catholic at Southwestern College, all one can say at this point is one down, two more to go.

"I'm happy with our depth but I'm not necessarily happy with some of the things we did tonight. But I expect a lot. There's things I constantly find that we can do better," Way said after the win against the Dons, a nemesis in recent years against the Barons in the teams' non-league matchups. "This game was to build for the Torrey Pines game. I was happy with the way we took it to them the first time (in the Poway Invitational). I'm excited to see what we can do against them in a big pool, in thier home pool."

Bonita Vista (13-2) built an early 3-0 lead on Cathedral Catholic (3-8) on goals by Robert Newman, Dennis Schulz and Landon Loitz. The Barons extended that lead to 5-1 at the end of the first period and led 8-1 at halftime.

Schulz scored three times in the third period to help put Bonita Vista up 12-2 entering the final quarter. He finished the game with four goals as did Gabriel Gonzalez. Loitz was credited with three goals while John Tessitore scored twice. Other goals went to Derrik Clair-Williams and Josh Harris (two).

The Dons received two goals from Terry Tinley and a single goal from Casey Dolfmeyre. Goalie Kyle Stiverson played well pitted against a relentlessly attacking BV squad.

Though Way prefers to focus on the team aspect of the game, he did take time to highlight standout performances by both Schulz and Tessitore over the first half of the season. "Dennis Schulz is finally where I always thought he had the potential to be. He has stepped it up and focused more. John Tessitore has shown great heart. If everyone on the team played like him, we'd be unstoppable," said Way, whose team also tests Eastlake in a key Mesa League matchup on Oct. 18 at Southwestern College.

But Way had no shortage of compliments on the team. "This is the most united and most fun team I have the chance to coach," the Baron mentor said. "It's fun to be around them. It's been fun watching them."

Win or lose in the next two high-profile games, one thing that Way can be sure of after the Bishop's game: he should be quite hoarse.

Mesa League:

Barons complete boys water polo sweep of Spartans

Photo: Bonita Vista's Landon Loitz blocks a pass attempt by Chula Vista's Heath McNerney

CHULA VISTA, Oct. 3 -- Bonita Vista completed a Mesa League sweep of Chula Vista with its 21-3 defeat of the Spartans Oct. 3 at Southwestern College. The Barons and Spartans were meeting for the second time in the span of a week after Bonita Vista captured the Mesa League opener for both teams 14-1 at the Parkway Plunge, the Spartans home pool.

Bonita Vista led 10-0 after the first quarter in the rematch as John Tessitore scored three times and teammates Dennis Schulz, Landon Loitz and Derrik Clair-Williams each scored twice.

The Barons led 15-0 with 2:30 remaining in the third period when the team's reserves took over. Bonita Vista scored three more goals before the period ended. Heath McNerney led Chula Vista with two goals while Lupe Corral scored the Spartans' final goal. Among the Baron reserves, Brandon Ballow, Kevin Burman, Andrew Maugeri, Ryan Wheeler and Ross Diaz all picked up a goal. Three goalies saw action for Bonita Vista: Chris Hakes, Zach Bowman and Austin Toogood.

For the game, Schulz paced the Barons with four goals while Tessitore had three goals and Josh Harris joined Loitz and Clair-Williams with two goals. Robert Newman also picked up one goal for Bonita Vista, which hiked its record to 2-0 in league play and 11-2 overall.

In the two games between the teams, the Barons won the scoring duel 35-4.

Army-Navy 12, Chula Vista 5

Heath McNerney led the Spartans with three goals but a 4-1 first-quarter showing by the visiting Pool Sharks proved too much for Chula Vista in Wednesday’s non-league encounter at the Parkway Plunge. Shawn Baker and Joe Cox also scored goals for the Spartans, who fell behind by a score of 7-2 at halftime.

Ross Johnson paced Army-Navy (4-7) with three goals while a trio of players — Andrew Eng, Abu Ghaben and Hunter Orrantia — each scored twice.

Chula Vista’s record dropped to 1-6.

Non-League:

Eastlake tips Hilltop, 12-9

CHULA VISTA, Sept. 28 -- Bryan Figueroa scored five goals and teammate Christian Valenzuela added four goals to lead Eastlake to a 12-9 non-league victory against Hilltop Wednesday at Southwestern College. The win improved the Titans’ record to 6-5.

Hilltop led 2-1 early in the game on successive goals by Garrett Boyle but the Titans rallied with five unanswered goals to take a 6-2 halftime lead. Eastlake extended its lead to 10-5 before Hilltop staged a late rally with four of the game’s final five goals.

Boyle keyed Hilltop with five goals, five steals and four intercepted passes in the entertaining contest between both teams. Beto Lopez had two goals for the Titans while Matt Chism had two goals for Hilltop.

Box scores:

Friday, Sept. 2

Escondido 4, Hilltop 3

Escondido goals: Blaine Hensley (1), Tony Williams (1), Brandon Ness (1), Adam Carvalho (1).

Hilltop goals: Greg Felix (2), Garrett Boyle (1).

Halftime: Hilltop 2, Escondido 0.

Summary: The host Lancers took a 2-0 lead and led 3-2 after the Cougars rallied for a pair of unanswered third-period goals but could not hold off a late Escondido rally. Mitch Seeley had 21 saves for Hilltop in the loss.

Tuesday, Sept. 13

San Pasqual 9, Hilltop 3

San Pasqual goals: Ben Montes 5; Sean Sandy 1; Mitch Brasga 1; Chris Dickey 1; Calvin Smith 1. Goalie saves: Kameron Dobbins 8.

Hilltop goals: Nicko Fix 2; Albert Villalobos 1.

Halftime: San Pasqual 2, Hilltop 1.

San Pasqual record: 3-2.

Hilltop record: 0-2.

Wednesday, Sept. 14

Morse 11, Chula Vista 7

Morse goals: Jose Noyola 4; Jamaal Abegaz 4; Miguel Prieto 2; Marshall Barker 1; Shan Brown 1. Goalie saves: Nathan Young 21.

Chula Vista goal leaders: Heath McNerney 3; Lupe Corral 2.

Thursday, Sept. 22

La Costa Canyon 10, Hilltop 4

La Costa Canyon goal leader: Carson Daniel 4. Assist leader: Cooper Morgan 2. Goalie blocks: Jeff Heard 9.

Hilltop goals: Garrett Boyle 2, Greg Felix 2. Goalie blocks: Mitch Seeley 15.

Tuesday, Sept. 27

Bonita Vista 14, Chula Vista 1 (Mesa League)

Bonita Vista scoring leaders: Landon Loitz, Derrik Clair-Williams 3 goals, 1 assist each.

Chula Vista scoring: Erasmo Ames.