Girls, boys water polo split against visiting Grant

“Our girls came out really hard against Grant last night and really pushed their counterattacks hard in the first half to gain a sizeable lead,” coach Kellie Dunn said. “Grant struggled to keep up with our speed and our team’s pressure defense overpowered them.”

The girls faced reigning 6A champions Barlow on Thursday (too late for press time.) “It’s going to be a physical battle, but I have a team that plays with heart, and is eager to prove themselves,” Dunn said.

Boys’ coach Dave Robinson said that despite the loss, “the season is going well.

“This game dealt us some adversity as we have lost three top starters, Ethan Yoakum to an exchange opportunity in Spain, Saylor Sunby and Pen Paphanchith to concussions and our starting goalie Jed Little to the flu.” (Little played in the second half.)

Top scorer Connor McElwee was rolled from the game with three major fouls early and seniors Corbett Blackman and Clayton Lee were left to carry the burden.

“The bright side is that freshmen Ben Marsden and Lucas Elliott saw some significant playing time as well as sophomores Tucker Diffin and Tristan Smith against a largely senior crew from Grant,” Robinson said. “A loss is a loss, but they never gave up and the outcome was up for grabs until the final minute.”

The boys are away to a tournament in Newberg Friday and Saturday.  This is predominately a 6A tournament and they will be tested against the 2018 6A state champion Newberg in their seeding bracket Friday.

Check hoodrivernews.com for updates.