HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Agoura Junior Goodwin Makes Quite a Splash in Water Polo

Christina Goodwin scored four goals for the Agoura High boys’ water polo team in a 6-5 victory over Calabasas last week.

Goodwin, a junior, is one of four girls playing in Agoura’s water polo program and will play in about half of the varsity matches, according to Coach Mike Mulligan.

The other three girls--Tenaya Rodewald, Karen Nugent and Franca Gentile--are full-time junior varsity players.

“They do the same workouts and are treated just like any other players,” Mulligan said.

Goodwin, 16, who has been swimming since she was 8, started playing on the junior varsity last season.

“Sometimes it gets tough in there when you’re only about half their size,” said Goodwin, who is 5-foot-2. “Sometimes I get scared, but you have to go with the flow. I don’t have as much strength as the guys so I have to use more strategy and think mentally about what I am going to do.”

Goodwin’s teammates have been supportive.

“I think it’s neat to have girls playing,” Agoura driver Jason Stelle said. “It adds a new aspect to the game. Christina is just as physical as any other player. She has a real good passing arm and a pretty good shot.”

Making waves: In the Harvard water polo team’s 11-0 win over Loyola last week, goalkeeper Antonio Gomez had 12 saves in recording the Saracens’ first shutout since Larry Bercutt provided one in 1988.

Bercutt, now a freshman playing at Stanford, was the 1988 Southern Section 2-A player of the year and was selected an All-American three times by the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches of America. The shutout in 1988 was the only one of his high school career.

Gomez, a senior in his first year starting at the varsity level, outdid Bercutt in Harvard’s 15-0 win over El Modena. Gomez had 11 saves.

“Tony has worked real hard over the past four years and is really coming into his own,” Harvard Coach Rich Corso said. “He played real well (in the two matches) and even better than Bercutt at times.”

Rebounding: Antelope Valley football Coach Brent Newcomb, who coached two Southern Section championship squads in the 1980s, ranked his team’s 17-16 win over highly regarded Redlands among the most memorable Antelope victories.

After a dismal 3-7 season last year, the Antelopes started 0-2 this season before the upset at Redlands, which was ranked 10th in Division I.

“We definitely shocked those people,” Newcomb said. “It’s one of the biggest wins we’ve had.”

Antelope Valley will have a chance to one-up itself this weekend when it faces unbeaten Loyola. The Antelopes have never defeated the Cubs.

Vargas out: Oxnard senior receiver Peter Vargas suffered a broken left leg during the Yellowjackets’ 36-14 win over Channel Islands last Friday and might miss the remainder of the season. Oxnard Coach Jack Davis said that although the extent of the injury has not been fully determined, “We know it isn’t a bad break.”

Add injuries: Monroe starting linebacker Kewon May (5-9, 160) suffered a dislocated left shoulder 10 minutes before the end of practice last Wednesday and will be out for the next six weeks, according to Coach David Lertzman.

Harbour nearing decision: Camarillo basketball guard David Harbour, the Valley area’s leading scorer last season with nearly 30 points a game, visited Fresno State last weekend and will leave today for a visit at Stanford.

Harbour, a 6-foot-3 senior, will visit the University of San Diego next weekend. Harbour has also expressed interest in attending either UC Santa Barbara or Pepperdine, but no visits have been scheduled.

He expects to sign during the early period, which runs from Nov. 14-20.

Sorry, pal: In his second game back from a leg stress fracture, Canyon linebacker Craig Reiter was seriously injured in the Cowboys’ 27-13 win over Thousand Oaks.

Reiter suffered a torn medial collateral ligament, a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn meniscus and will undergo surgery next week. He likely will miss the rest of the season.

But Reiter, undaunted, suited up for Canyon’s practice Monday. With a huge leg brace on his knee, and barely able to move, he donned shoulder pads, a helmet and cleats and headed out to the practice field. Wiser heads prevailed, however, and Reiter was sent to the sidelines.

Add injuries: Fillmore’s defense, statistically one of the best in the area, will have to do without its best lineman, Raul Mercado, who might be out for the year pending a medical examination this week.

Mercado, an offensive guard-defensive tackle, twisted his knee in Fillmore’s win over Pater Noster and has shown little improvement since.

Missing in action: Quartz Hill certainly was hampered in its 13-12 loss to Hesperia by the absence of Selves Smith, one of the area’s best linebackers and one of the Rebels’ top three running backs.

Smith, however, was attending a family funeral out of state. He will be back in uniform for Quartz Hill’s game against San Gorgonio this week.

Too tall: Hoover punter David Bronner averaged 51 yards on two punts Friday night in the Tornadoes’ 14-10 loss to Monrovia, but he never got a chance to attempt a third.

With less than a minute remaining and Hoover leading, 10-7, the snap from center flew over Bronner’s head. Monrovia recovered at the Hoover eight-yard line and scored the winning touchdown three plays later.

“It’s tough to lose when you beat yourself,” Hoover Coach Dennis Hughes said after his team fell to 2-1. “It’s just part of the game.”

Back on target: After being sidelined because of a contusion on his right (throwing) elbow during a 14-3 loss to Crespi two weeks ago, Hart quarterback Ryan Connors did not throw in practice for a week as the Indians prepared to play Palmdale.

“I didn’t know if I would be able to play until (a week ago) Thursday,” Connors said. “All the therapy started working and it felt better.”

Connors misfired on his first attempt against Palmdale, but completed the first of four touchdown passes on his second attempt in the Indians’ 38-6 win.

“I kind of got down after that first incomplete, but after that everything started clicking,” said Connors, a junior, who finished with a career-high 251 yards after completing only one pass for nine yards against Crespi.

Bitten by the bug: Many of Hart’s second-string players got a chance to show their stuff in practice this week in preparation for tonight’s game against Saugus.

Eleven players, including five starters, missed practice time because of the flu.

“I don’t think they’re making it up,” Coach Mike Herrington said. “They really do sound sick. I’m not worried now, but let me tell you about it when the game rolls around.”

Staff writers Kirby Lee, Brian Murphy and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.