Bonita Water Polo Gets the Win, Just No Nachos!

October 13, 2011

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Alec Snow played well in traffic. All photos by Suzana and Paul Munson.

Playing up to its No. 1 ranking, Bonita dunked Rowland High School, 19-2, at Las Flores Park on Wednesday.

Utterly dominant, Bonita led 11-0 at the half and didn’t surrender a goal until midway through the third period.

The Bearcats brought a balanced attack, with nine different players scoring, led by Nick Wallman’s four goals and Lorenzo Lizardi’s three goals. Eddie Dominguez, Matt Zachary, Matt Hatch and Alex Snow each had a pair.

Caleb Guarino does what he does best -- play defense.

Bonita’s outstanding goalie, Caleb Guarino, even got to play a little offense, but failed to score, which actually induced a smile from Bonita coach John Ashby. “Now he’ll stop bugging me,” Ashby said. “He’s always asking me, ‘I want to go play (offense), I want to go play.’”

Ashby’s goal for the game was to go deep into his lineup. “What we’re focused on is making sure everybody gets involved now,” Ashby said. “Our second group knows they’re the key to us doing well this year.”

Ashby said Bonita’s No. 1 ranking in Div. 5 is the school’s first in three years. Bonita was catapulted into the top spot after whipping La Serna, 9-3 last week, led by Bonita’s player of the week, Matt Zachary, who had seven steals in the match.

Ashby said he welcomes the pressure of playing up to the school’s No. 1 ranking and courting and competing against storied Southern California water polo programs. “The fact that we’re able to hang with them or beat them is good,” Ashby said.

Bonita’s next big test will come next Friday at Las Flores against No. 6 Glendale, a team known for its strong, physical play.

At this point, Ashby and his team are pointing toward the playoffs. “We’re trying to get stronger,” Ashby said. “We haven’t won a championship since ’05, so I’ve been thinking about it.”

There was no slacking off toward that goal after Wednesday’s match. Ashby ordered the team back into the pool for laps and “bottles” (treading water while holding Sparklett’s bottles over their heads – I don’t believe the bottles were full).

“It’s good for them,” Ashby said. “Otherwise, they’d be eating nachos the whole time.”