Devil girls de(com)press Tokay in water polo win
LODI — A picture-perfect first period sent Tokay High to the bottom of the pool and, before the Tigers finally decompressed, the Davis High girls had claimed another water polo playoff victim on Wednesday.
Rolling into the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals (Friday against Tri-City League winner Lodi at 11 a.m.), the Blue Devils won 14-5 thanks to a 7-0 outburst in the first seven minutes.
“We played well,” DHS coach Doug Wright said on a chilly Wednesday morning at THS. “We had that really good first quarter … (and) played good defense. It’s good for us to play a game in this pool because we’ll have an 11 a.m. Friday game here (against Lodi).”
At 8 in the morning (with temperatures dipping t0 43), the steam was rising so thick off the water’s surface that players complained about not being to spot their connections or follow the ball.
“We couldn’t see anything,” Wright said.
For Tokay (24-8), there was nothing to see early on.
The two-time defending section champion Devils (27-4) rocketed into the lead as Rachel Johnson scored off a Zoe Malot assist 25 seconds in. When Lauren Owens swiped a pass and enabled Colby Stapleton, it was 2-0 at 6:08.
Less than a minute later, Johnson stole a Tiger entry pass and found Hailey Wright alone. The senior converted and Tokay coach Nathan Varosh quickly called time out.
But there was nothing he — or his squad — could do to stem the tide.
Heather Johnson set up her sister Rachel for a 4-0 lead and then assisted Wright after the sophomore Johnson stole another pass.
Heather Johnson scored — thanks to Rachel’s generosity — before Mara Dominguez took an Owens pass, confronted Tokay keeper Lindsey Kieffer and got her bobbing. When Kieffer touched bottom, Dominguez netted a softie to make it 7-0.
Goals from Taitum Herrington and Allison Naasz put the Tigers on the scoreboard in the second period, but goals by Wright and Rachel Johnson maintained the locals’ big lead.
The Blue Devils kept the pressure on and pulled away in the second half.
In an everybody-plays outing, DHS was led by the senior Johnson with four goals, three assists and two steals. Wright and the younger Johnson each scored three times, with Johnson adding three assists and two takeaways.
Malot had two tallies and Stapleton and Dominguez had one apiece.
The Devils outshot Tokay, 20-15, and Davis goalie Haley Cameron had seven saves.
“I thought we executed well,” coach Wright added.
So now what?
“We’re saving some stuff for later. We have a couple of things up our sleeves,” Wright continued, adding that as well as his girls are playing, there could always be room for improvement.
“You want to get as far as you can. You always want to be better. But even last year (31-1), and in 2002 and 2006, I wanted us to be better at the end.
“We’ve created something pretty awesome here and I think every game we are getting a little better.”
Notes: The Blue Devils were coming off of an 18-3 drubbing of Bear Creek on Friday, while the Tigers hammered Turlock, 19-6. The Tigers finished second to Tokay in conference. … Lodi mentor Varosh was hopeful, before Wednesday’s game quickly got out of hand. Varosh told the Lodi News-Sentintel last week: “(Davis) is your consistent championship-game team — just a great program. But in all the years I’ve been coaching … this is the year that they’re gettable. Somebody like Lodi or Tokay can beat them.” Make that just Lodi — and don’t bet on it. … Lodi spanked Johansen, 16-5, Wednesday. St. Mary’s and St. Francis also advanced and will play in the other semifinal on Friday.
— Reach Bruce Gallaudet@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8047.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=103010
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Posted by Bruce Gallaudet
on Nov 9 2011.
Last Login: Tue 22 May 2012 11:46:20 PM PDT
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