By Phillip Brents

Posted Oct. 20, 2005

After reaching the penthouse in South County boys water polo in 2002 by defeating arch rival Bonita Vista and advancing to the San Diego Section Division I playoffs, the Eastlake Titans have been in a rebuilding mode. The foundation laid sown the past two seasons, however, appears ready to support a new superstructure. The Titans may not yet be ready to challenge outright for a league championship but that day is closer than many think, according to new head coach Chris Barrick.

"There’s an upper echelon of teams and a lower echelon of teams in San Diego County. I think we’re moving out of that lower echelon into that upper echelon," Barrick said. "Our underclassmen are really coming along. Give us two or three years and we’ll be better. Right now, we don’t have that much depth. The kids are learning the press defense — that’s keeping the scores tight. We’re not big but we’re scrappy and don’t quit. They’re getting better. They’re learning the game."

Eastlake’s varsity team evened its 2005 record at 9-9 by defeating Chula Vista 16-2 in a Mesa League game Oct. 19 at the Parkway pool. Bryan Figueroa scored five goals while Christian Figueroa contributed three goals, Nick Job and Gavin Fluhart scored twice each, and Jason Bowman, Beto Lopez, Chris Schmuckal and Benny Garduno each tallied once. Austin Legg was credited with 10 saves for Eastlake, which moved out to leads of 4-0 after the first period and 9-1 at halftime in upping its league record to 2-1.

The goals were Job’s first and second of his varsity career.

Eastlake went 10-15 last year. The Titans have at least a half dozen games remaining on their regular season schedule this season as they attempt to better that. If the team performs well at this year’s San Diego Open Varsity Tournament that concludes with finals Oct. 29, it could find itself qualifying for the playoffs.

A maximum of 16 teams in the Division I and Division II enrollment levels advance to postseason play that starts Nov. 9 for Division I teams and Nov. 10 for Division II teams. The divisional championship games are scheduled Nov. 19 (Division I at 5 p.m., followed by Division II at 7:30 p.m.).

To be sure, the Titans are making steady progress under the new system implemented by Barrick. Eastlake finished in sixth place at this year’s El Cajon Valley Invitational. The Titans opened the tourney with a 12-7 loss to Westview before engineering back-to-back wins against Mt. Miguel (20-4) and El Cajon Valley (15-5). Eastlake lost 14-5 to Patrick Henry in the fifth-place game.

"Patrick Henry is a lot bigger and a lot more physical team than us. Last year, we were down there near the bottom but our guys are rising up," Barrick said.

Valenzuela led Eastlake with three goals in the loss to Westview, which opened up a 5-1 first quarter margin. The Wolverines entered the game ranked fourth among the section’s Division II schools. "Our boys came back and battled. Our guys played them tough for the last three quarters," Barrick said.

Anthony Gackstetter led the Titans with five goals in the win against Mt. Miguel while Figueroa scored four goals and Valenzuela had three goals. Schmuckal scored twice.

In the win against El Cajon Valley, Valenzuela led the Eastlake scoring attack with four goals, followed by Figueroa and Fluhart with three goals each and Lopez with two goals.

Patrick Henry entered the game ranked seventh among Division I teams.

Flurhart, a junior, earned selection to the all-tournament team, primarily on the basis on his defensive play. He said this season has definitely been fun.

"I’ve played pretty much all the different positions, mainly defensive-hole (two-meter guard), strong wing and flat. Last year, I mostly played flat. I didn’t move around a lot. We’ve come a long way. I’m hoping next year will be even better than this year," said Fluhart, who was sporting a pair of puffy eyes as prizes after the team’s 25-4 loss against Bonita Vista, which is ranked third among Division I teams this season.

The Titans’ success this season has not been limited to the varsity level. Eastlake paired up against Bonita Vista for 11th place in this year’s San Diego Open Junior Varsity Tournament, dropping an 8-2 decision.

The Titans JV squad finished the tournament 2-3 with victories against Steele Canyon (12-4) and Mt. Carmel (10-9 in overtime) and losses against Scripps Ranch (9-2) and Vista (11-9) besides the placing game against the Barons. Scott Kruse and J.K. Williams led Eastlake in the tournament. The Titans, who hiked their record to 10-3 with the 12th-place showing, also received a strong performance from goalie Chad Ornsbee.

Eastlake and Bonita Vista rematched a few days later in a league game, with the Barons pulling out a hard-fought 6-4 victory. Prior to the tournament, the Titans defeated Santa Fe Christian 12-6 in JV action.

Barrick said that only good things can happen with continued commitment and dedication.

In that department, the Titans appear to already have scored a winning season.