With the playoffs quickly approaching, the Chargers reached a major milestone but are still searching for their final form.
The Dos Pueblos boys’ water polo team clinched the outright Channel League championship Thursday afternoon with a 17-12 road victory over rival San Marcos.
“Coming into the season, we were hoping to get some really good senior leadership out of Grant (Nelson), Adam (Gelman) and Lucas (Neushul), and they’ve been doing a pretty good job,” said Dos Pueblos coach Chris Parrish. “It remains to be seen how cohesive the team is going to be when we get into the playoffs. We don’t know what our draw is going to be, and we don’t know if we’re going to be in the Open Division.”
With the win, the Chargers improved to 20-6 overall and 5-0 in league play, securing the title with one league game remaining against Ventura next week. Dos Pueblos is currently ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section.
Grant Nelson led the Chargers offensively with eight goals, including four in a dominant second quarter in which Dos Pueblos took control. Channing Wigo added three goals, while Ty Abel and Lucas Neushul chipped in two goals apiece.
Dos Pueblos established a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended its advantage to 10-5 by halftime.
San Marcos mounted a third-quarter comeback, cutting its deficit to 10-7 at the 4:45 mark after consecutive goals by Brandon Lee. However, the Chargers responded in the fourth quarter to regain control and secure the win.
“We had a couple of their players in foul trouble, so we used that to our advantage for sure,” said San Marcos coach Peera Sukavivatanachai of his team’s third-quarter surge. “They had to cycle out to stay fresh in the fourth quarter. I think my guys did an excellent job just staying composed.”
Lee led San Marcos with four goals, while Milo Kostechko added three as the Royals put forth a gritty effort to keep the game competitive. San Marcos is a young team with only one senior on the roster in goalkeeper Titus Fernandez.
The Royals fell to 11-11 overall and 2-3 in league play. They will face Buena next week in their final league game, with a victory potentially forcing a CIF Southern Section playoff play-in game against the Bulldogs.
“They are only taking the top two out of our league into CIF, and then the third-place team would hopefully get an at-large bid into CIF,” Sukavivatanachai said. “It’s between us and Buena at this point.”
Dos Pueblos will look to complete an undefeated league season when it faces Ventura on Tuesday, October 20.
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