La Cañada water polo big brothered by Montebello
LA CAÑADA — Big brother 2, little brother 0.
For the second consecutive year, coach Luis Flores’ Montebello High boys’ water polo team defeated his younger brother coach Chris Flores’ La Cañada squad, this time by an 18-9 margin on Tuesday in a nonleague game at La Cañada High.
“I had my wins when I was younger, when I was playing. As a coach, it’s tough,” Chris Flores said.
Chris Flores, 28, then mentioned the respect he has for his older brother Luis, 31, and the third and last brother of the family, Miguel, 21, who served as an assistant coach for Montebello.
The Oilers, the third-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division III, jumped out to an 8-0 lead after the first quarter and scored another goal to start the second quarter before the Spartans tallied a goal 10 minutes into the match.
“[Coaching against him] is the best,” said Chris Flores, whose team is the sixth-ranked squad in Division III. “I love it, especially the respect. They went 8-0 in the first quarter and he used it as a practice. I told my guys in the second half, what is eight times four? He can easily score more than 30 goals on us if he wanted to. But he has respect for the sport.”
All-CIF returner Mario Moran (eight goals and three assists), Carlos Heredia (six goals and three assists) and Diego Diaz (three goals and four steals) did most of the damage for a Montebello team that lost to Laguna Beach, 12-8, in last year’s division championship game.
“We have a bit more experience on the club side that La Cañada does,” Luis Flores said.
Most of the Oilers’ goals in the first quarter came on counter-attacks after the Spartans made one mistake after another. La Cañada had nine first-quarter turnovers and 24 for the match.
“The best defense is a good offense,” Chris Flores said. “We didn’t have that good offense. When we failed at our offense, they capitalized every single time. It wasn’t too hard for them to capitalize. They were just pressuring us, waiting, waiting for us to make a mistake. It’s tough because four of [their] six players in the pool, I grew up coaching those kids in club. It’s kind of like, I know what they’re going to do. It’s nice to see my players again, but this is my team now, I want to win.”
The Spartans played well in the third quarter, registering more shots (seven) in the seven-minute frame than they had in the entire first half (six). La Cañada (1-2) outscored Montebello, 5-3, in the quarter, as it headed into the fourth quarter with a 13-7 deficit. La Cañada’s Wyatt Lowe had three goals, including two in the third quarter, and Luke Stefan and Tyler Chung each had two scores.
But the Oilers (7-1) inserted their starters in the fourth quarter and scored five of the first six goals in the quarter to put the match away.
“Our defense fell apart in the first quarter,” Chris Flores said. “After that, we had more urgency to get the ball, we pressed harder, we were hustling more and, at the same time, he adjusted. We can’t lie to ourselves and say we were playing the starters in the second, third and fourth. But at the same time, it gives us a confidence boost.”