LJ b water polo 12, El Segundo 6 - So Cal Regionals - 1st round

 

Davis Parr (far right sitting on the pool deck, feet in

the water) balances a ball on Soren Martin's toe

late in La Jolla's 12-6 win over El Segundo Tues.,

Nov. 14. (Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

It was one of those games: The Vikings took their opponents, El Segundo, seriously in their first-round game of the CIF Southern California Regionals, and as a result whipped them, 12-6, Tues., Nov. 14 at the "new" Coggan Aquatic Complex (recently renovated).

Near the end of the game, Davis Parr, who has played a key role with his defense in La Jolla's reaching the semifinals of the CIF San Diego Section, balanced a ball on teammate Soren Martin's toe as they sat poolside with the rest of the squad while younger team members played out the final clock.

They both noticed a photographer (me) focusing his camera on the stunt. They had a chuckle (and Davis came over to take a look at the image on the camera).

Coach Tom Atwell's pressing defense in man coverage has been effective, and he had his Vikings play both press and zone against the Eagles. Meanwhile, the offense, spreading the goal-scoring, swamped goalie Luc Giroux and his teammates in the first quarter, 5-1, and the contest was largely over by then.

West Gartland, who plays the "one" position on offense, opened up the scoring. Then Martin, a burly senior who would rather play than talk, fired in his first goal from center for La Jolla's first lead, 2-1, at the 3:05 mark in the initial period.

Fellow senior Dustin Drobeck then fired in a goal from close in, and then Soren came back to score again for 4-1, before Atwell inserted David Jimenez and he notched a goal with 30 seconds left. Jimenez did the "whisper" index finger to lips gesture as he swam to the other end, as if to say, That silences them.

El Segundo coach Nila Ward changed her strategy at the start of the second quarter, with Eagles swarming the "in-bounds" pass by La Jolla after a missed El Segundo goal. And still, the Southern Section D3 champs couldn't score after a steal, and a second attempt, the latter thudding off the right post. It was a long way to drive from Greater L.A. to lose in this way.

Martin racked up four goals on the afternoon. Drobeck had a pair. Jimenez added two more in the fourth quarter after the game was decided.

The Vikings now travel to Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut (Greater L.A.) Fri., Nov. 17, for a 2:30 p.m. match in the second round of the Regionals.

Patrick Wang (8, far left) of El Segundo is isolated

as he looks for an entry pass in the first minutes

of La Jolla's 12-6 SoCal Regional game.

*  *  *

On the pool deck during the game sat Gregg "Mac" McMullin, who sat in a tiny, portable chair with "Coach" on the back. McMullen took photos and wrote down notes. I was curious, and asked about the "Coach" inscription.

"I was an assistant coach" at El Segundo, he said. "I worked under (baseball coach) John Stevenson. We won over a thousand games."

It actually turns out that McMullin took photos and wrote articles on many sports for the Eagles, and apparently still does. He is quite a legend on campus.

He also added, "I was a (baseball) teammate of George Brett (Hall of  Fame baseball player for the Kansas City Royals)." Brett played at El Segundo during my high school years, 1967-1971.