Hoover High boys’ water polo handles Warren to win CIF wild-card match
DOWNEY — A trend started in the second quarter of Tuesday morning’s CIF Southern Section Division IV boys’ water polo wild-card match between Hoover High and Warren.
Warren began turning the ball over and missing its shots, and as soon as it did, the Tornadoes sprinted toward the other end of the pool to set up easy scoring opportunities through its transition game.
Hoover had one open look after another in the second and third quarters of its playoff match against Warren, as it used its smothering defense and quick-strike offense to rout the Bears, 22-8, at Downey High.
“We’re an advantageous team,” Hoover Coach Kevin Witt said. “We are very opportunistic in the way that we attack on our counterattacks.
“Toward the end of the year, we’ve been trying to push our tempo to create advantages off our defense, and the guys did a great job today of taking advantage of mistakes.”
The Tornadoes (17-10), the third-place team from the Pacific League, will rest for a day before boarding a bus for a long trip to face title favorite and top-seeded Righetti (27-4) in Thursday’s opening round.
To win Thursday, the Tornadoes will try to execute a similar game plan they used against Warren (12-13), except for Tuesday’s self-described slow start that only resulted in a 4-2 Hoover lead after the first quarter.
Hoover’s defense forced eight second-quarter turnovers that led to seven goals in the period. By halftime, the Tornadoes had an 11-3 lead, with Harout Ashkharian doubling the Bears’ output with six goals on his own.
Ashkharian, just a sophomore on a Hoover squad that has three seniors, finished with a match-high eight goals and teammate Hakop Kaplanyan, a senior captain, had seven goals. Both players rested for the entire fourth quarter, as the Tornadoes took an 18-7 lead into the final stanza.
“Those guys have been leading our offense,” Witt said. “But it’s guys like Nick [Ziccardi], Levon [Gukasyan] and Thomas [Bazikyan] that do a really good job on the defensive end and control the team, and allow them to get those opportunities.
“We have a very deep team. I like to play at least 10, maybe 11 or 12 players. They do a good job at practice and they all deserve to play.”
Aren Sukiasyan added three goals for the Tornadoes and Walter Malkhasyan had a pair of scores. Gukasyan and Ara Sukiasyan each added a goal for the Tornadoes in the fourth quarter, when Ashkharian, Kaplanyan and other starters rested.
“We can trust our bench,” Kaplanyan said. “We can get some rest and not worry about the game.”
Hoover’s next worry is a tough Righetti squad.
Three years ago, the Tornadoes upset second-seeded Palm Desert in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. They’re hoping for another upset this year.
“It’s going to be a great opportunity,” Witt said. “[Three] years ago, we upset the No. 2 seed. Maybe we have the reputation of upsetting higher-ranked teams.”