Boys water polo: Redwood survives test to earn NCS title shot
The Giants have rarely been tested this season, but they showed their timber during Wednesday’s playoffs as Redwood High secured its third consecutive North Coast Section finals appearance.
The top-seeded Giants, the two-time defending NCS Division I champions, were taken out of their power game early on, but still chipped away for a 14-11 semifinal victory over No. 5 seed Monte Vista in Larkspur.
Redwood will host Saturday’s finals against either No. 2 Northgate or No. 3 Alameda. The winner earns a berth in the NorCal playoffs.
“I’d rather have the guys be tested in a game like this before the finals than later on,” Redwood head coach Rudy Kardos said. “This was a game where they had to fight back, where they find out what they are capable of.”
The MCAL champion Giants (23-6, 11-0 league), on a five-game playoff streak, hadn’t been in such a tight matchup since just before the postseason on Oct. 25 when they lost against Menlo, 12-10.
The Mustangs (19-8, 7-2 EBVAL) beat Tam High, 15-10, in Saturday’s quarterfinals to earn the rematch with the Giants. Redwood beat Monte Vista, 16-7, in tournament play on Oct. 10. Maddox McClellan and Isaac Nikfar each scored three goals, while Storm Jackson had two goals and five assists for Redwood in that encounter.
The same core stepped up for the Giants Wednesday, as Jackson led Redwood with five goals and four steals, and McClellan and Nikfar both had three goals.
Nikfar helped turn the tide in the third quarter, after the Mustangs scored three unanswered goals to take an 8-7 lead. Nikfar collected a rebound and forced the ball into the cage for the tying goal as the shot clock expired to start a four-goal run to close out the quarter.
Charlie Poser followed with a goal from the eye of the storm to take the lead, and a power play goal from Tyler Mahabir and a goal from McClellan put the Giants ahead 11-8.
Goals by McClellan and Jackson preserved Redwood’s lead down the stretch.
Similar to their previous head-to-head matchup, neither team was able to gain an early advantage on Wednesday. The Giants’ usual shock-and-awe strategy to take opponents out of the game early was neutralized by the Mustangs.
“In that first quarter, we left seven or eight scoring opportunities on the table,” Kardos said. “We let it be a close game for a long time.”
Monte Vista’s Drew Veila scored first, but Nikfar and Jackson gave Redwood a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. From there, it was a chess match, with both teams struggling with early foul trouble. Jackson scored a pair of goals just before halftime for a 6-4 Giants lead, with a perfect cross from McClellan and a strategic shot to the low corner.
Redwood held its lead until midway through the third quarter when Preston Bouch scored back-to-back goals en route to a three-score evening to tie the game, 7-7.
“We had to be smart with the fouls, but some of our other guys stepped up toward the end,” Kardos said.