Merced survives scare against Downey in boys water polo playoffs
It was a little too exciting for Kit Grattan’s liking.
The Merced High boys water polo coach had to sweat out an 11-10 win over Downey at Golden Valley in the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs on Friday.
The Bears trailed for most of the game before outscoring the Knights 3-1 in the fourth quarter.
“I had confidence we could continue to play; we’ve come from behind a few times this year,” Grattan said. “I thought our defense was the difference in the second half. It’s not a position that we’ve been in a lot. We didn’t come out of it until inside of two minutes left in the game.”
The third-seeded Bears (24-4) will face No. 2 St. Mary’s in the semifinals on Wednesday at Tokay High in Lodi at 1:30 p.m.
The Knights frustrated Merced through the first three quarters, taking a lead into each period.
Cody Wickman (four goals) scored three times in the first quarter to give Downey a 3-2 lead.
Brett Dixon and Matt Ciccarelli scored goals to close out the first half and give the Knights a 7-5 lead at intermission, and Downey took a 9-8 lead into the fourth.
“The first three quarters, they would (pass) the ball down the line and using a backdoor pass to get the ball into two meters,” said Merced’s Abraham Santana. “I thought we played a little scared because a lot of our guys aren’t used to playing in the playoffs.
“We didn’t know what to expect from Downey, but after three quarters we finally adapted.”
Santana did his best to keep the Bears in the game early, scoring six of Merced’s eight goals and assisting on its other two through the first three quarters.
Santana did it despite Downey keying on him.
“He’s tough,” Knights coach Tim Vesey said. “We played him last year, and he killed us. We weren’t even in the game. This was a big improvement for us. I think the big change for us after three quarters was we got tired at that point. Some of the Merced guys took over.”
Sam Kuykendall scored as Merced took advantage of a man-up situation to cut the lead to 10-9 with 5:49 left in the game.
The Bears drew eight ejections and converted on three man-up situations and two of three penalty shots.
He’s tough. We played him last year, and he killed us. We weren’t even in the game. This was a big improvement for us. I think the big change for us after three quarters was we got tired at that point. Some of the Merced guys took over.
Downey coach Tim Vesey on Merced’s Abraham Santana
“Those ejections came from movement,” Grattan said. “With them playing the drop-off defense like they do, if you move you can draw ejections because they’re going to try to hold you.”
Alec Propes finally pulled Merced even at 10-10 with 4:48 remaining off a pass from Santana.
Ethan Eagleton gave the Bears an 11-10 lead on another man-up situation with 1:29 left.
The Knights had one final possession to try to tie with 17 seconds left, but Santana stole the ball and swam to the corner to help run out the clock. Santana and Eagleton both finished with eight steals.
Merced held Downey scoreless in the final 6:48.
“I expected this to be a good game,” Grattan said. “I’m not sure the team did. It made it more exciting than I wanted it to be, but we got the win.”
Shawn Jansen: 209-385-2462, @MSSsports
This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Merced survives scare against Downey in boys water polo playoffs."