OC Varsity » Katella boys water polo

Masters polo: Katella will be without standout

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 01:08:44 +0000

Katella left-hander David Montanez, who scored three goals in the Division VII final, will not play Masters because of illness, Katella co-coach Dave Mikesell said moments ago. Tough break for Katella. I'm sure the Knights want to show as well as possible and definitely need their top 2-meter man.

Boys water polo finals: K-Town becomes Title Town

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:16:50 +0000

Division VII boys water polo champion Katella

Boys water polo: Crescenta Valley wins Division VI

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:05:44 +0000

Crescenta Valley just edged top-seeded Rio Mesa, 10-9, to claim the Division VI title. The draw for next week's Masters will be released Monday.

Boys water polo finals preview: Valencia vs. Katella

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:43:00 +0000

BOYS WATER POLO

Saturday

DIVISION VII FINAL

VALENCIA (18-11) VS. KATELLA (21-9)

Site, time: William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center (adjacent to Irvine High), 9:30 a.m.

Outlook: First-time finalists Valencia and Katella are vying for the title in the Southern Section’s newest division. Top-seeded Katella features one senior but captured the Empire League crown with a 9-1 record.

Katella’s senior is defender Garrett Weiss, son of Knights’ veteran coach Grafton Weiss. Katella split their two league matches against runner-up Valencia (7-3 in league). The road team won each match.

The Tigers won the first meeting, 10-8, but the Knights took the second, 6-5. Katella has a balanced attack.

The Knights have three left handers, which can make defending them difficult.

Katella showed its scoring depth in defeating Perris, 8-3, in the semifinals. The Knights advanced despite getting only one goal from 100-goal scorer Dillon Avila, a junior.

Sophomore goalie Dylan Peterson is averaging 13.5 saves in the playoffs.

Valencia center Joe Wieland has 19 goals in the playoffs and leads an offense that has averaged 15 goals in three matches. The Tigers are capable of playing a strong press defense.

Albano's polo predictions: Katella vs. Perris

DAN ALBANO, ocvarsity.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:22:45 +0000

Wednesday's match

PERRIS (23-7) VS. KATELLA (20-9)

SITE, TIME: Kennedy High, 6:30 p.m.

PREDICTION: Foreign exchange student Mikael Nielsen (Denmark) would have made Katella clearly the class of this division, but he was ruled ineligible by the CIF-SS. Now, the Knights are in a nearly-even matchup with Perris and arguably the best goalie, Jessie Gunther, left in Division VII. Katella has the depth and balance in the pool to get to Gunther. The bigger challenge for will be on defense. The Knights will respond and will win a one-goal match to reach its first final.