Villa Park, Foothill Recharge Their Rivalry

One of the most heated and longest running water polo rivalries in the county resumes Friday when Villa Park and Foothill meet for the Century League title.

A standing-room-only crowd is expected for the game, which has decided the league title in almost every meeting since 1973. Thirteen of the games, including the last three, have been won by one goal.

Last year’s game was basically decided when Foothill’s Mike Schulz was ejected for major infraction, leaving the Knights a man down for 2 1/2 quarters. They led 5-2 before the ejection. Villa Park rallied and the Spartans’ Shane Joffe scored the winning goal with 13 seconds remaining.

Most of the 1990s belonged to Foothill, which won the series and league title from 1992-1997. The Knights hold the edge in the series at 20-16. However, Villa Park has won the last two and is favored to win its third straight.

The game is also crucial because the Southern Section playoffs begin next week and seedings are on the line. A loss by the Spartans (22-4, 4-0), ranked No. 2 in the Division I poll, lose, would probably cost them a top-four seeding. Foothill (15-11, 4-0) needs the victory to move up from its No. 7 ranking.

Looking at lineups, the Spartans appear to have the edge.

For the first time in school history, they have two players with more than 100 goals. Charlie Fisher, who has 105 goals, and T.J. Matijevich, who has 103, rotate at the two-meter and driver positions. Matijevich closed in on Fisher last weekend at the Tru-West Memorial Cup, when Fisher was ejected in the Spartans’ victory over Corona del Mar. Matijevich scored 10 goals to pick up the slack. It was Villa Park’s first victory over the Sea Kings in a 12-game series.

In the goal for Villa Park is senior Jared Jones, one of the county’s top keepers. Jones became the Spartans’ all-time career leader in saves with 453, surpassing Matt Doerr, who accumulated 418 in three seasons from 1996-98. Jones needs only 20 saves to break the single-season record of 236 set by Jon Pharris in 1995. Jones is also the team’s assist leader with 32.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tustin High, however the time could change due to scheduling conflicts with football.

TOURNAMENT RECAP

The topsy-turvy county water polo season continued true to form last weekend at the Tru-West Memorial Cup in San Jose. Despite a 12-8 loss to Coronado in the championship game, Newport Harbor was able to hold onto its No. 1 ranking in Division I and moved ahead of Corona del Mar to the top of the county poll. The Sailors picked up their second-consecutive victory over Villa Park in the semifinals and a quarterfinal victory over San Clemente.

Villa Park rebounded to upset Corona del Mar in the third-place game, while El Toro’s showing moved the Chargers to No. 4 in Division I.

SUNSET BATTLE

The Sunset League will converge on the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center Wednesday to decide who walks away with the title. Los Alamitos is trying to defend its championship and has control of the race. With a victory over Esperanza (3-1), the Griffins (4-0) will win the title. If the Aztecs win and Edison (3-1) defeats Fountain Valley the league will produce a three-way tie.

The games begin at 5 p.m.

SOUTHERN SECTION POLLS

Division I--1. Newport Harbor, 2. Villa Park, 3. Long Beach Wilson, 4. El Toro, 5. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, 6. San Clemente, 7. Foothill, 8. Los Angeles Loyola, 9. Canyon, 10. Dana Hills.

Division II--1. Corona del Mar, 2. Los Alamitos, 3. University, 4. Santa Margarita, 5. Laguna Beach, 6. Servite, 7. La Habra, 8. Edison, 9. Buena Park, 10. Esperanza.

Division VI--1. La Verne Bonita, 2. Rowland Heights Rowland, 3. La Verne Damien, 4. Brea Olinda, 5. Palos Verdes Chadwick, 6. Los Altos, 7. Valencia, 8. Pasadena Poly, 9. Cerritos Gahr, 10. Western.

If you have an item or idea for the water polo report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us at melanie.neff@latimes.com

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BOYS’ WATER POLO TOP 10

Orange County Coaches’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec. 1. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 21-5 2. Villa Park (Century) 22-4 3. Corona del Mar (Pacific Coast) 17-4 4. El Toro (South Coast) 15-10 5. San Clemente (South Coast) 16-7 6. Foothill (Century) 15-11 7. Los Alamitos (Sunset) 13-12 8. Santa Margarita (Serra) 18-7 9. Servite (Serra) 16-6 10. University (Pacific Coast) 15-7

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