Sailors, Sea Kings meet for title shot

cdm-nh-polo-advanceThe two Back Bay schools took vastly different routes, but both ended up in today’s CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals.After an explosive start to the season, this is where Newport Harbor High expected to be all along. After a slow beginning, few projected Corona del Mar to be here.

Still, the Back Bay rivals meet for the first time this season in a game that counts today at 5:30 p.m. at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center at Irvine High in the first of two CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals -- No. 1-seed Long Beach Wilson meets No. 4-seed Foothill in the nightcap.

Today’s game marks the first time CdM and Newport have faced each other in the playoffs since the 1987 Division I championship game.

The Sailors have been eliminated in the CIF quarterfinals the last three years. The Sea Kings were eliminated in the semifinals last year.

When Newport Harbor’s Clay Jorth found out the Sailors’ opponent would be Back Bay rival Corona del Mar, a smile came to his face.

“I like that,” he said.

The Sea Kings, on the other hand, hope to continue their CIF run.

“Don’t get me wrong, Newport Harbor is a great team and we won’t take them lightly,” Sea Kings standout Jacob Murphy said. “But I don’t see them going [to the final].”

Newport Harbor opened its season by beating defending Division I champion Wilson, then went on to reach the two tournament finals and win the Sea View League. Corona del Mar’s early-season woes included a pounding at the hands of Wilson and a 4-6 record after 10 games under first-year coach Barry O’Dea -- the program’s fourth head coach in four years.

“We’ve gone through ups and downs. How you go through the down times is what defines you -- and we never let up,” O’Dea said.

Corona del Mar (17-13) recovered in time to capture the Pacific Coast League title.

“It’s been a rough year,” Murphy said. “We were down in the middle of the season. I think we were trying to do too much. But we just kept working. I mean, no one likes to lose.”

With seniors like Murphy, Tom Money, Kyle Hersh, Tyler Kent, Scott Sanford and Phillip DiGiacomo leading the way, CdM slowly improved as the season progressed. Murphy and Money have been a formidable one-two punch on offense for the Sea Kings.

“I think we are playing our best water polo right now,” O’Dea said. “The players know each other well in the water right now, and that turns into scoring opportunities and better communication.”

Newport (24-5), led by seniors Clay Jorth, Brett Auer, Telford Cottam, Carson Hill, Parker Gregory and Kyle Sherman, came fast out of the gate and have been solid all season, entering the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in Division I.

A season-ending injury to Clinton Jorth on Oct. 25 has been Newport’s biggest obstacle.

“It never helps when you lose one of your top players,” Newport Harbor Coach Jason Lynch said.