Tars own fourth period, CdM

CORONA DEL MAR — Before playing a boys’ water polo rivalry game against Corona del Mar High on Saturday night, Newport Harbor Coach Jason Lynch had an idea.

He took the Sailors to a rivalry game of a higher level — the UCLA-USC men’s water polo game on Saturday afternoon at USC.

The Trojans needed overtime to win, but the Sailors didn’t, scoring three times in the final quarter of a 7-4 victory over the Sea Kings at CdM.

Juniors Colin McKibbin and Collin Sherman each scored three goals in the Back Bay battle for Newport Harbor, which never trailed.

Brandon Parole scored perhaps the most crucial goal for the Sailors, a shot that caromed off a CdM defender’s head and in for a 6-4 lead with 2:48 left in the game.

Parole, celebrating his 17th birthday on Saturday, said watching the college water polo game definitely got the team pumped up.

“It was just a great game to watch before a game like this,” he said. “I knew this game was coming ever since I saw the schedule this summer, and it was on my birthday. That’s definitely pretty sweet.”

McKibbin scored two quick first-quarter goals for the Tars (14-4). The first came on a six-on-five just 22 seconds into the game, and the latter was a long goal with 5:02 remaining in the quarter.

“He’s been not scoring at all, and not even taking the shots,” Lynch said. “I told him before the game ‘You’re the strongest shooter on our team, and you’re capable of so much more.’ He played great tonight.”

But the Sea Kings (13-7) weren’t about to be blown out in their home pool.

Greg Sanford’s shot hit the bar later in the first quarter, and Mike Berry was there to punch in the rebound with 1:38 left to cut the deficit in half.

Less than a minute later, Berry stole a pass near mid-pool, countered quickly and scored to tie the game at two-all.

CdM Coach Barry O’Dea said Berry was battling a fever and didn’t practice Friday, yet he scored all four goals against Newport Harbor.

“He still went out there and made a difference,” O’Dea said. “We were just lacking some offensive contributions from other people. That’s the story of our season — sometimes we’re really hot, and sometimes we’re not.”

Newport Harbor’s Clinton Jorth stole the ball midway through the second quarter and passed to Parole, who connected with an open Sherman for a goal 4:18 before halftime.

Jorth had five steals in the game, many of them in the two-meter area. But overall, the Sailors utilized an effective strategy of dropping off the Corona del Mar two-meter player.

“We knew their two-meter men were a threat, so we dropped off and let their outside shooters try to shoot,” Jorth said. “We were just trying to neutralize their main focus on offense.”

But, on a man-advantage with 3:35 before halftime, Berry scored again on an assist from Ryan Kent.

Newport Harbor again came out strong in the second half, as McKibbin scored on a six-on-five from the top of the circle for a 4-3 lead with 4:30 left in the third quarter.

After a timeout, Berry again answered, making the score four-all headed into the final quarter.

That’s usually when Newport Harbor believes its endurance and fitness pay off.

“At the end of every game, we’re always countering other teams,” Jorth said. “We always still have energy at the end of the game to finish it off.”

Midway through the quarter, Tars goalie Myles Christian found Sherman swimming unguarded down the left side.

Sherman fired the ball in to once again give Newport a one-goal lead.

Then came Parole’s shot, which hit off the Sea Kings player and in with 2:48 to go.

“That’s when you know the breaks aren’t going your way,” O’Dea said.

Newport added its final goal when Sherman scored in the closing seconds of a six-on-five opportunity.

Nonleague

Newport Harbor 7, Corona del Mar 4

Score by Quarters

Newport 2 1 1 3 — 7 CdM 2 1 1 0 — 4

Newport -- McKibbin 3, Sherman 3, Parole 1. Saves -- Christian 10.

CdM -- Berry 4. Saves -- Peotter 10.