Youth Scene: NHWPF 14U boys win qualifier

Goalie Nick Wood blocked two shots during the penalty shootout after a 10-10 tie against SoCal. Charlie Padden tossed in the winning goal for the Newport Harbor Water Polo Foundation.

SoCal was ahead, 10-9, near the end of the fourth period when Peter Seidner forced a submerged ball turnover, passing to Clay Davison, who threw in an outside shot to tie the game just as the clock ran out. In penalty shots, Wood blocked the second and fourth shots. Nick Silvers was the high scorer of the tournament with exceptional performances by Jack Mooers, Seidner, Clay Davison, Padden, Nick Schroeder and John Edson.

Losing their first game, 7-5, to SoCal on Friday night, the prospects looked grim for the Newport boys, but they came back and beat United, the Anteaters, and Laguna handily in three games on Saturday. When they beat Huntington Beach, 11-5, on Sunday, they had to meet SoCal again in the final.

This win earned the team one of 40 spots in the Speedo Cup in Houston, Texas in November where the best 14U team in the country will be determined. This is the first time that Newport has qualified for the Speedo Cup and the 14U girls from Newport will be there too.

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Axton takes ninth

Willy Axton, a Costa Mesa resident, finished ninth in the Pan American International Challenge at California Speedway in Fontana.

Axton, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at Kaiser Elementary, was the second best U.S. finisher racing for the Sodi Kart Team. He was competing in the junior class division against drivers from around the world.

He was recruited by a top international karting team after earning excellent marks during a test.

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Seahawks dominate

The Newport Mesa Seahawks Pee Wee White football team continued to be undefeated in a great offensive showing.

Quarterback Chase Garbers had nine completions with three going for touchdowns. He found Adam Freeman for two of the touchdowns. Freeman had five receptions. The third passing TD came on an 80-yard play, where tight end Nick Bauer made a catch and outran the Huntington Beach defenders to the end zone.

Tailback Anthony Battista scored twice on touchdown runs of 50 yards and 20. Fullback Jack Genova scored his first touchdown of the year on a five-yard run, where he ran over several Oiler tacklers to get to the end zone. Running back Sutton Barbato had a big 20-yard run, where despite his diminutive size, he would not go down after being hit repeatedly by Huntington defenders.

Kicker Carson Poivre added eight points, by making four two-point conversions after the TDs.

The offensive linemen Mitch Haley, Jake Jones, Connor Brazzel, Berkley Bingham, Will Gehl and Will Karambelas helped produce the scoring.

On defense, the big contributors to the shutout came from cornerback Poivre with two interceptions and linebacker Freeman with one. Rich Vanis had several big tackles from his safety position and Kobe Benter crashed from his defensive end spot to take down ball carriers in the back field. Blake Kormos dished out many punishing tackles from his linebacker position.

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AYSO Region 97

Boys’ Under 7

Golden Fireballs vs. Green Frogs

In end-to-end action the teams delighted parents and spectators on both sides with their energy, enthusiasm and good spirits.

Ryan Forman and Zachary Zamora played great in goal for the Fireballs, while Sam DiCarlo and Jake Sinatra excelled in providing defensive protection.

Dominic Sanchez-Villavine, Austin Stokes and Mason Perry battled constantly for every ball in midfield, and the speedy forwards Dylan Wells and Jimmy Glidewell came close many times.

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Boys’ Under 12

The Stingers bounced back from its previous weekend’s losses with a shutout against the Red Devils, 4-0.

Sohrob Goodarzy controlled the midfield as he scored one goal and assisted on three others. Speedy forward Niko Kerr was the recipient of two of the assists, he also assisted on another goal by Eric Chavarria.

Stingers defense was led by Jimmy Bizzel, Trenton Bashaw and Jacob Morgan. They stopped many attacking chances by the Red Devils. Billy Shannon and David Zachry shared the goalkeeping repsonsibilities and they were solid keepers and initiated many of the attacks by the Stingers.

Quinn Monahan, Jackson Wind and Anthony Varela worked tirelessly during the game.

— Reader submission