Southern Section

Tuesday, Nov. 25

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
At Belmont Plaza, Long Beach

DIVISION I

Long Beach Wilson 9, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake 8
That Long Beach Wilson boys’ water polo team sure knows how to rebuild.

After losing its entire team to graduation last season, the Bruins picked up where they left off with a new lineup Tuesday night. Wilson won its third consecutive Southern Section Division I title and eighth in the last 10 years with a 9-8 victory over top-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

The second-seeded Bruins (26-4) didn’t take their first lead until late in the third quarter, when Ryan Piercy, the only senior starter, scored to give Wilson a 7-6 lead.

Harvard-Westlake’s Justin Rappel tied the score with 34 seconds remaining in the quarter, but Piercy put the Bruins back ahead with 4:43 remaining in the game, stole a pass on Harvard-Westlake’s next possession and scored second later to put Wilson ahead, 9-7, with 3:53 remaining. Piercy’s three goals led the Bruins.

The Wolverines (27-3), who were looking for their first Division I title in four trips to the finals, pulled within one on a four-meter penalty shot by Brian Flacks with 23 seconds remaining, but Wilson regained possession with the 35-second shot clock off and Harvard-Westlake never regained possession.

Harvard-Westlake, which also started only one senior, took its biggest lead, 3-1, midway through the first quarter on a goal by Will Hindle-Katel, who combined with Flacks to lead the Wolverined with three goals. Wilson came back to tie the score four times before Piercy gave the Bruins their first lead.
--Dan Arritt

DIVISION V

Chino Hills Ayala 14, La Verne Damien 10
Trent Calder and Lee Strosnider scored five goals each to lead the second-seeded Bulldogs in the Division V upset.

Ayala (26-7) had lost to the Spartans all three times in Sierra League play this season, including losses on consecutive days earlier this month to end the regular season. But the Bulldogs took control of the game late in the first half, scoring twice in the final 1:27 to take a 9-6 halftime lead.

The Spartans (30-3) stayed within three to start the fourth quarter, but Strosnider scored two goals in the first 1:50 to give them a five-goal lead.

Grant Miller had seven goals and two assists for Damien, the defending champion and top-ranked team in the division the entire season.
--Dan Arritt

DIVISION VI

La Verne Bonita 18, Hacienda Heights Los Altos 15
Los Altos went nearly seven minutes without scoring in the Division VI final and Bonita’s leading scorer, Nick Corjon, did not score until the fourth quarter, but both teams still combined to tie the record for the most points scored in Southern Section history.

Los Altos (22-6) took a 3-0 lead after four minutes, but Bonita scored on three goals a minute apart to tie the score, 3-3, The Conquerors stayed close until midway in the second quarter, when Bonita began another three-goal run that put it ahead, 9-5, at the half.

The Bearcats (26-5) added another goal at the start of the fourth quarter and kept Los Altos scoreless until Danny Gonzalez scored a man-advantage goal with 4:09 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 10-6.

Los Altos cut the lead to three several times during the second half, and Lee Hanacek’s goal with 21 seconds remaining cut the deficit to two, but Corjon left no doubt when he scored the final goal with four seconds left. Ryan Allred led Bonita with five goals.
--Dan Arritt

Monday, Nov. 24

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
At Belmont Plaza, Long Beach

DIVISION II

Esperanza 10, Los Alamitos 9
Vinny Bauerlein was the Aztecs’ hero for the second consecutive game, coming off the bench to score the tying goal with 1:27 left to play at Belmont Plaza.

Eighteen seconds later, Bauerlein stole the ball and followed with the game-winning goal on a deflected shot with 46 seconds left.

Bauerlein, who scored from mid-pool in sudden death to lift fourth-seeded Esperanza (23-10) over Huntington Beach Marina in the semifinals, bounced his winning shot off the arm of Los Alamitos defender Byron Bailey and the ball was redirected over the head of goalkeeper Sam Draznin.

Second-seeded Los Alamitos (22-10), which won the Sunset League title over Esperanza, had two opportunities to tie the score, but Scott Davison’s shot was deflected over the goal by Esperanza goalkeeper Chris Runge with 32 seconds remaining and David Mills’ shot hit the crossbar with two seconds left.

Davidson scored five goals to lead Los Alamitos.
--Dan Arritt

DIVISION III

Montebello 11, Peninsula 8
Jose Ruiz scored five goals to lead Montebello to a victory over Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

It was Montebello’s first section title in any sports since the boys’ cross-country team won in 1982.

“It’s like we made history,” said Ruiz, a senior.

The second-seeded Oilers (30-2) were 6-16 in the playoffs before this season and had never reached a championship game.

But Montebello Coach Sergio Macias, in his third season at the school, has implemented a stiff, energetic defense and an offense that emphasizes crisp, continuous ball movement in an effort to help his team overcomes its size disadvantage.

“They play a much different style,” said Peninsula’s 6-foot-2 senior Zach Beckmann, who had five goals to lead the Panthers.

“They outplayed us. We tried to throw everything we had at them.”

Peninsula (18-10) put the Oilers on their heels at the start of the game, scoring on its first two possessions to take a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.

“I didn’t think we were going to be down, 2-0, in the beginning,” Macias said. “But I was not really concerned. I knew we would fight back.”

Ruiz scored two of his team’s next three goals in the quarter and Louie Espinoza scored from the perimeter early in the second quarter to give Montebello a 4-2 lead.

Montebello led, 7-4, when Beckmann collected a rebound off the crossbar and scored at the halftime buzzer to keep Peninsula’s deficit at two goals.

However, Marcus Moncibaez and Ruiz scored consecutive goals in the third quarter to move the Oilers out to a 9-5 lead.

“We’re all about the second half,” said Montebello junior Christian Flores, who had two goals. “That’s when our conditioning takes over.”

The Panthers trimmed the Oilers’ lead to 10-8 on Beckmann’s goal with 2:44 left to play, but Ruiz stole the ball with 1:56 left and scored off a rebound of Arturo Felix’s shot off the crossbar 18 seconds later.
--Dan Arritt