For the second year in a row, boys’ varsity water polo’s quest for the program’s first CIF championship was cut short in the second round by a familiar foe: the Dos Pueblos Chargers of Goleta.  

Last year, the Wildcats fell to Dos Pueblos, 9-8, and on Nov. 2, the Channel League’s third place team once again prevailed, this time 13-10. 

“Overall, we should’ve gone into the game with more energy and we made careless mistakes that cost us the game,” Noah Wilkinson, junior, said.

The 144-mile bus ride to Goleta had an effect on the the team’s readiness.

“Even though it was a charter bus, the hours of sitting down left us unalert,” Derek Maddox, junior, said.

The Wildcats — who averaged 15 goals per game on the season — struggled to put up points in the first half, and entered halftime down 5-1.

“Dos Pueblos had strong defensive coverage which shut down our offense,” Gavin Templeton, junior, said. Templeton, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, had the attention of the Chargers’ defense, who limited his access to the ball. 

By the end of the third quarter, the Wildcats were down 10-3. 

“We kept getting countered and that resulted in a lot of missed opportunities to score,” Kyle Franks, sophomore, said.

Despite the seven goal deficit, the Wildcats entered the fourth quarter rejuvenated. Franks broke the team out of their scoring slump when he scored a goal with multiple defenders attempting to drag him down. 

“That goal woke us up and we had a sudden burst of energy,” Wilkinson said.

The Wildcats were also energized on the defensive end and held the Chargers to three goals in the fourth quarter. 

An adjustment to tactics on offense led to seven fourth quarter goals by the Wildcats.

The scoring barrage wasn’t enough, however, and the Wildcats fell to Dos Pueblos, 13-10. (The Chargers, 25-9 on the season, won their third round game on Nov. 4.)   

Two days earlier, the Wildcats opened CIF-Southern Section Division 2 play with a convincing 17-9 victory against visiting Rancho Cucamonga on Oct. 31. 

In the opening seconds of that contest, the Wildcats swiftly advanced across the pool, leading to a quick Templeton goal.. 

“The instant goal really set the tone for the rest of the game,” Maddox,  said.

Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats led 7-2. However, their defense was unable to prevent the Cougars from scoring four goals at the end of the second quarter, and BOHS went into halftime with a slim 11-8 lead. 

“Our energy was drained, but Coach [Damian] Madrigal gave a motivational speech which reminded us how badly we wanted this win. We went back out ready to score,” Franks said.

The Wildcats returned in the third quarter with renewed energy. Russ DiCesaris, junior, and Templeton scored three goals combined in the third quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats gained momentum and scored six goals, including a lob shot by Franks.  

Although the Wildcats fell short of their goal of advancing to the third round, the season, overall, was a success, with a 15-8 record, a 2-1 record in the Crestview League, a two-game run in CIF, and victories over local powers El Dorado and 25-win Canyon. 

With Tyler Torres, senior, the only Wildcat graduating from the team, the rest of the team will be returning next season.

“I know we have the talent potential to go farther and we will showcase that next season,” Franks said.