Sacred Heart Prep Gators close era with CIF Nor Cal Division I boys’ water polo crown

Four Gators scored hat tricks — Luke Bachler, Luke Johnston, Will Swart and Gavin West — while Jake Tsotadze added two goals, and Bear Weigle, Jack Vort and Tyler Hogan scored one apiece.

“Everybody was kind of clicking today,” Johnston said. “And that’s kind of what we are as a team. It doesn’t matter who’s scoring. We’re going to win the game.”

Spreading the ball around is very much by design, according to SHP head coach Brian Kreutzkamp — referred to as Coach K by his players — who, incidentally, was soaking wet following the game after jumping into the pool with his team in the postgame celebration.

“We agreed that this would be our end goal and that I would go in (the pool) for this game,” Kreutzkamp said. “Even though I’m freezing right now, it feels pretty good. Especially after last year, not having this game — that we won our 10th in a row this year (at) CCS, and this is our first ever Nor Cal. So, it feels great.”

SHP had all the makings of a team of destiny. Rewind two years, the Gators were licking their chops at the thought of realizing the team’s amazing potential in the 2020 season. Then came COVID, and that was that for the Nor Cal water polo tournaments, which were canceled last year.

That left one chance for the team’s six seniors to realize the dream that started brewing when they were boys with the Stanford Water Polo Club.

“A lot of those guys, I’ve been playing with forever … and we’ve been dreaming of this a long time,” said Johnston, who grew up playing with Swart, Tsotadze, Vort, Weigle and goalkeeper Griff Price.

From an early point of the championship match, the outcome was never in doubt. SHP jumped out to a 4-0 lead by two minutes into the second quarter, and later went on an 8-0 run.

And as the Gators relaxed, they took several opportunities to score some style points, including a Johnston goal on an assist pass from Vort to make it 13-2. With Vort out on the wing on a power play, the lob pass went into the hole set for Johnston, who timed an explosive leap out of the water to reach the pass alley-oop style and direct it in.

“We worked on that a lot in practice,” Johnston said. “We’ve actually been playing together since we were like 7. So, that kind of history has carried over the years. It’s awesome.”

SHP’s other hole set, Weigle, got his team on the board one minute into the match. The senior bruised his way through a double-team off the right post and pounded in a cross shot. Swart and Tsotadze followed with first-quarter goals, and West scored a penalty shot to open the second quarter to make it 4-0.

After SHP and Miramonte traded two goals apiece, with Donovan Davidson and Oliver Sherwood scoring for the Matadors, Johnston started the Gators on a run of eight straight goals with a dazzling rebound.

Weigle took aim from close range only to have the shot slapped away by Miramonte’s goalkeeper Owen Van Strailen. But the ball flew right to Johnston off the right post, and he promptly flipped it in for his first score of the evening.

“It was just quick instincts, I guess,” Johnston said. “Just pick it up and throw it in the goal. That’s really all there is to it.”

Price put on a clinic in the cage, totaling seven saves and three steals. And with the Gators continuing to build the lead into the second half, there was no way to catch them.

This is the third season the Nor Cal water polo playoffs have been held. The California Interscholastic Federation held its first regional tournament in 2017, with SHP finishing as runner-up in the Division I bracket. In 2018 the Nor Cal boys’ tournaments were canceled due to poor air quality, and in 2020 they were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This year marks the first time the Gators have returned to the championship stage since 2017.

“I’m pumped,” Price said. “The first Sacred Heart team to ever win this tournament, it’s really something special. It’s a great way to close out these four years. It’s been phenomenal playing with these guys. It’s been an honor to play with this program.”