Royal Is Victorious in Playoff Tuneup

There’s a chill in the air, it’s starting to get dark early and Royal High played Crescenta Valley in water polo.

The Southern Section water polo playoffs must be approaching.

In their fifth annual nonleague game, Royal defeated Crescenta Valley, 8-6, Thursday at Rancho Simi Community Pool.

David Radka scored on an alley-oop pass from Ryan Apperson with 35 seconds remaining to break a 6-6 tie and Apperson added a four-meter penalty shot with seven seconds to play to seal the victory.

It gives Royal (20-3) three consecutive victories over the Falcons (17-3) in the friendly rivalry established five years ago as a launching pad into the playoffs for two of the region’s powers.

The Highlanders, ranked No. 3 in Division IV, have landed in the final after each of the previous two victories. The Falcons, ranked fourth in Division III, are always among the favorites for the Southern Section title.

“I think this shows we’re in position to make a real good run,” Royal Coach Steve Snyder said. “We talked about it and we’d like to go undefeated the rest of the way.”

It was the 15th consecutive victory for Royal, which started the season 5-3--fueling speculation that the Highlanders were not the same team they had been.

“A lot of people said [Crescenta Valley] would beat us,” Apperson said. “But we’re starting to come alive like we always do.”

In a game that featured stellar defensive play by both teams, the biggest play of the game came on defense.

With the score tied 6-6 and 4 minutes 32 seconds remaining, Royal’s Tony Johnston committed an ejection foul, giving the Falcons a 6-on-5 opportunity.

After a Falcon timeout, Apperson reached high into the air to steal a pass.

Crescenta Valley Coach Pete Loporchio, whose team defeated Glendale, 6-5, on Wednesday, said that his team has been struggling on offense lately.

“We’re playing very good defense, we’re just not getting the counterattack goals and the six-on-five goals,” he said. “That takes away a good chunk of our offense.”

Credit Royal goalie Garrett Herzer for the Falcon struggles Thursday. Herzer, whose intensity was evident throughout, had 14 saves.

Radka had five goals for Royal, three on acrobatic alley-oop plays.

“You can always depend on Dave,” Apperson said. “He makes everyone look good.”

Jason Perry added two goals for the Highlanders. Justin Payne and Andrew Kang had two goals each for the Falcons.