Sea Kings Top Tritons, Win Title : Water polo: Third-ranked Corona del Mar answers every San Clemente rally to post an 8-5 victory in the North Orange County tournament.

It came as no shock to see Corona del Mar and San Clemente in the championship game of the North Orange County water polo tournament, but the result was a mild surprise.

The Sea Kings, ranked third in Orange County and coming off a 10-5 loss a week earlier to top-ranked El Toro, upended second-ranked San Clemente, 8-5, Saturday night at Independence Park in Fullerton.

Corona del Mar had advanced to the final game by beating Coronado, 12-7, in the semifinals and the Tritons were coming off a 5-2 semifinal victory over Capistrano Valley, last year’s tournament champion.

After San Clemente took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Jim Farley, James Palda scored three consecutive goals and Corona del Mar took a 3-1 lead.

Phinney Gardner added a goal with 39 seconds left in the first quarter to draw the Tritons to within one, but Neil Hueston scored from the right side to give the Sea Kings a 4-2 lead.

Gardner added another goal before halftime to cut the lead to 4-3, but again the Sea Kings opened a two goal margin when Thad Buzolich scored.

Palda added his fourth goal midway through the third quarter to give his team a 6-4 lead and the Sea Kings never looked back.

In the third-place game:

Coronado 12, Capistrano Valley 6--Jake Yokota scored four goals for Capistrano Valley (11-9). Craig Gabert had 16 saves. Coronado is the defending San Diego Section champion.

In the finals of the Moreno Valley Canyon Springs tournament:

Santa Margarita 15, Los Amigos 12--Drew Douglas had five goals to lead Los Amigos (9-9). Douglas had 14 goals in the finals and semifinals, and was named MVP of the tournament.