Two of the behemoths of national high school boys water polo, Cathedral Catholic, ranked number one in the U.S., and La Jolla, ranked fourth, faced off in their second Western League match Wed., Oct. 14, and it didn't quite match the close, fierce encounter two weeks earlier in Carmel Valley, when the Dons escaped with a 16-15 win.
But that doesn't mean the game wasn't intense. The entire space along the wall facing Nautilus Street was filled, and people knew that the outcome was between two giants, and that the result would further dictate the rankings and place in league.
A lot of followers, it would seem, would be looking ahead to the CIF playoffs, when the big three, these two with Bishop's, will vie in the postseason Open Division brackets.
After the Vikings' Dexter Black opened scoring with a penalty shot following three minutes of grueling defense on both sides, the Dons' Diego Dantas rapidly scored a pair of goals in less than a minute for a 3-1 Cathedral lead.
Max Bruhn, another bruiser, scored for the visitors to open up their first two-goal lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Coach Tom Atwell's Vikings hung tough, though, coming back to tie behind Quinn Daniels, wearing a different cap number this day--22--than his trademark "3". Center Henry Glenister's goal made it 3-3, before beefy Grayson Taylor of the Dons scored from the left for a 4-3 Cathedral lead ending the opening period. Taylor dominated the first quarter in the two teams' previous matchup.
The middle of the second quarter saw the Vikings' most productive stretch of the match, with Jude Laifa, then Glenister again scoring to give LJHS the advantage, 5-4. That was the last time La Jolla led, at 5:11.
Coach Tommy Corcoran's red-and-white unit, having made adjustments, then began to edge away. Eamon Bruhn scored to tie, then Dantas came back to score. Dexter hit an impressive one-on-one from the right side, before Dantas asserted authority with a go-ahead 7-6 goal. Cathedral would never trail again.
That finished the half. After the break, Cathedral's Max Bruhn, then Braylen Axline scored. By this time, Jack Davis, defending Black, was being really physical and neutralizing some of Dexter's earlier freedom to move around.
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