Warrior water polo sixth in Poway Invitational

Fallbrook High School’s boys water polo team finished sixth in the Poway Invitational tournament September 14-16, winning three of their five games.

The sixth-place finish in the season-opening tournament was Fallbrook’s best finish for the Poway Invitational in the past three years. “We start off with a winning record this year, which is good,” said Fallbrook head coach Bob Lamont. “I was real pleased with the way it went.”

Fallbrook opened the tournament with a 12-1 win over Otay Ranch. “A good solid start,” Lamont said.

Nick Fast led the scoring with five goals while goalie Gerson Esteban made eight saves.

Fallbrook then faced Rancho Buena Vista. The Longhorns gave Fallbrook a scare when the Warriors’ 7-1 halftime lead was narrowed to 9-7 after three periods.

“They had a very solid third period and they caught up to us,” Lamont said.

Although Lamont was disappointed with the Warriors’ third-period showing, he was pleased that the Warriors outscored the Longhorns in the fourth period with the game on the line. Fallbrook prevailed with a 12-9 victory. “They came back in the fourth,” Lamont said of the Warriors.

Trent Kirby led the team with five goals and freshman Jacob Pril added four scores. Steve Reichel led the Warriors with five steals in that game.

Fallbrook’s first loss was to Poway, which would finish second in tournament. “It was not a bad effort,” Lamont said of the 8-6 defeat.

“The impressive thing was that Poway got ahead 5-1 at the end of the first period and then we came back,” Lamont said. “We just kept fighting away.”

Fast led the team with two assists. “I’d sure like to have that first period back in that game,” Lamont said.

Fallbrook resumed its winning ways with a 14-6 victory over Scripps Ranch. “That was a very good effort,” Lamont said. “I had very balanced offensive input.”

Four different players — Kirby, Reichel, Stott Bushnell, and Kevin Wu — each scored three goals apiece. Kirby also added three assists.

In addition to winning the game, the Warriors outscored Scripps Ranch in each period. “We kind of controlled that game from start to finish, but it was a pretty hard-fought contest,” Lamont said.

The Warriors concluded the tournament with an 11-8 loss to Westview, which at one time had built a 5-1 lead over the Warriors. “They outplayed us the old-fashioned way,” Lamont said.

Pril led the Warriors with three goals against Westview.

The overall performance pleased Lamont. “No team really blew us out of the game,” he said. “We never got down and surrendered.”