Boys water polo: Storm rising as Redwood prepares title defense

The Giants graduated two of the most powerful scorers in Marin County from last year’s section-championship team, but there is a young core of players stepping up for Redwood High.

Sophomore Storm Jackson scored from just about everywhere in the pool Thursday as the Giants cruised past host Marin Academy, 22-4, in the MCAL opener for both teams. Jackson finished with a game-high six goals, while sophomore Jackson Monty and senior Tyler Mahabir added three goals each for the Giants (3-2, 1-0 MCAL).

The season is just starting to ramp up, but the Giants are already preparing their defense of the North Coast Section Division I title. Redwood beat league rival Tam for the NCS title last season, then advanced to the NorCal D-II semifinals before falling 10-9 to Clovis.

“We’re trying to work on getting ready for the challenges this season,” Redwood coach Rudy Kardos said. “Marin Academy looks like they’re reloading. They’ve got some good players.”

Defending MCAL tournament champion Archie Williams (4-3, 1-0), Tam (1-2, 1-0) and Terra Linda (3-2, 1-0) are also looking to contend for gold again at the end of the season.

Marin Academy, the defending NCS D-II champion, is off to a slow start following a season-opening win over Lodi. The Wildcats (1-4, 0-1) will look to snap a four-game skid when they play Tam on Thursday.

“We’re a young team,” said Marin Academy coach Joe Doyle, whose Wildcats, with a first-year goalkeeper, started two freshmen, a sophomore and three juniors against Redwood. “We had a great run last year. It was an incredible moment for the school and the program to win last year. We know this year every game is going to be a challenge.”

The Wildcats got a pair of goals Thursday from All-MCAL honorable mention Justin Tachiki and one each from Jack Buchanan and Ari Hirson.

Junior Maddox McClellan opened the scoring for the Giants and finished with two goals, both in the first period. The Giants spread the ball around, getting goals in the first period from Oliver Rogers, Isaac Nikfar and Jakob Engberg, as well as Jackson and Mahabir for an 8-2 lead. Jackson closed out the first frame with a casual lob from near mid-pool that landed in the net for his second goal of the day.

Hudson Quirk and Nikfar finished with two goals each for the Giants, who also got a late goal from Alex Marron.