Water Polo Playoffs Get Personal

The bad blood that has recently marked the rivalry between the boys’ water polo teams of Newport Harbor and Lake Forest El Toro continued during their Southern Section Division I quarterfinal game Tuesday.

But third-seeded Newport Harbor channeled its emotions into a 9-7 victory over host El Toro -- the Sailors (24-5) have won all four matches against the Chargers this season -- to set up a semifinal against Corona del Mar on Friday at William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine.

Three weeks ago, Newport Harbor lost one of its top players, Clinton Jorth, for the season after the sophomore suffered three facial fractures after being kicked by El Toro’s Spencer White during a nonleague game at Newport Harbor. The Jorth family said the kick was intentional, but El Toro officials, after reviewing a tape of the game, said it was an accident.

Jorth was a spectator at Tuesday’s game and watched as tensions grew midway through the third quarter.

After El Toro senior Petar Solomun scored on a breakaway for a 5-3 lead, White had to be separated from Newport Harbor senior Clay Jorth, Clinton’s brother. Both were given 10-second exclusions, but only Jorth immediately returned after serving his penalty.

“He had to simmer down,” El Toro Coach Don Stoll said of White. “He’s a hothead.”

With White out, Newport Harbor tied the score at 5-5.

El Toro (17-12) regained the lead on Derrek Danna’s goal from the perimeter early in the fourth quarter, but the Sailors scored four straight goals over the next three minutes -- two coming after White picked up his second and third exclusions -- to take a 9-6 lead and secure their first semifinal berth since 2000.

“I think we had a lot of energy, but maybe it was negative energy,” Jorth said. “But that’s kind of to be expected.”

-- Dan Arritt

Football

Mojave, the third-place team from the High Desert League, has pulled out of the Southern Section Division XII playoffs after much of its varsity football equipment, including game jerseys, was set ablaze by vandals.

“Nobody’s happy about having your gymnasium broken into and having everything burned,” Principal Jim Walsh said. “But for the safety of the students, I’m not going to have a game if anyone’s in harm’s way.”

It’s the second time this season that Mojave has pulled out of a game. Administrators canceled a Nov. 4 contest against Lebec Frazier Mountain because of the potential for gang activity.

Edwards Air Force Base Desert, the league’s fourth-place team, will replace Mojave and travel to Lucerne Valley on Friday for a first-round game.

-- Martin Henderson