Hoover High boys’ water polo cruises past Burbank in league opener

BURBANK—For the first quarter of its Pacific League boys’ water polo opener Tuesday, Hoover High couldn’t create much separation in the contest with host Burbank.

The Tornadoes outshot the Bulldogs in the first quarter and dictated play, but they went into the first break with just a three-goal lead.

Things changed in the second quarter, however. Hoover came out and dominated, scoring goals on a string of attempts and outscored Burbank by six in the stanza. That second-quarter push helped the Tornadoes take complete control and cruise to a 23-12 league win on the road.

PHOTO: Hoover boys’ water polo wins league opener over Burbank, 23-12

“I think their press disrupted us at the beginning and we had some problems with that,” Hoover Coach Kevin Witt said of the Bulldogs. “And we didn’t run our defense to our full potential in that first quarter. We needed to do better.

“But the guys were excited about starting league and they get amped up against all league opponents. They have done a very good job so far preparing themselves for the league.”

Missing the playoffs last season after a fifth-place league finish, Witt said the league is rife with solid teams this season. Glendale, which won the CIF Southern Section Division V championship last season, is currently ranked No. 3 in Division IV, while Crescenta Valley is No. 5 and Pasadena is No. 10.

“When you talk about tough opponents in league, I think other people should be talking about us, not vice versa,” said Witt, whose team is 11-3.

Burbank (0-1 in league), which made the postseason last year after finishing fourth in league, struggled to find its way against the Tornadoes. Hoover played tight defense and scored its share of goals on its transition game.

“I think we weren’t sticking to our game plan and that’s what hurt us,” first-year Burbank Coach Gilbert Raposa said. “We stressed that game plan in our practices and at times it was working, but when we went off that plan that’s when we kind of fell apart.

“We realize this is all a learning process. My coaches and I have seen improvement in them this season, but I don’t think they have yet seen that improvement in their selves.”

Hoover received big efforts from Harout Ashkharian and Hakop Kaplanyan, who scored six goals each. Teammates Levon Gevorkian and Thomas Bazikyan tallied three goals apiece.

Hoover began the game with two straight goals and increased its advantage to 4-1 with 1:40 left in the first quarter. Five Tornadoes scored goals in the stanza and Hoover went into the first break with a 5-2 lead.

The Tornadoes came out in the second quarter and connected for goals on six of their first eight shots and enjoyed an 11-2 lead with 3:02 remaining following a goal by Kaplanyan.

Burbank didn’t help its cause in the second quarter, missing its first six shots.

“The second is when we really started playing our defense,” Ashkharian said. “And our offense was really driving and that helped us out a lot. We started playing better and that pumped us up.”

The Bulldogs scored two late goals in the second quarter, but were still outscored, 8-2, as the Tornadoes went into the half with a 13-4 cushion.

The teams played evenly in the third and Hoover went into the fourth quarter leading, 17-8.

Artyr Mheryan paced Burbank with five goals.