On Nov. 20, the boys’ varsity water polo team defeated St. Francis High School 13-9 in the semifinal of the Northern California (NorCal) championship.
St. Francis scored the first point of the game, but Redwood responded with eight straight goals. Sophomore captain Storm Jackson scored five of Redwood’s 13 points.
“When we were able to go up 8-1, it felt like the game definitely wasn’t over,” Jackson said. “We had to keep pushing it, but we knew if we kept just playing our game, there was nothing really stopping us from winning.”
Sophomore Jackson Monty credited the team’s success to its chemistry and momentum. In addition, he looks forward to the team’s future in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) and North Coast Section (NCS).
“The team feels very tight and we are all great friends with each other,” Monty said. “We have a lot of momentum lately, and we feel we are the first Redwood team to win MCALs, NCS and NorCal.”
A crucial part to the team’s camaraderie has been their unselfish relationships with each other’s games. “We’ve played with a lot of energy. We’re making sure everyone is getting involved. No one was selfish, and we were all just uplifting each other,” Jackson said.
In the final minutes, Redwood substituted in all their seniors, and starting goalie Owen Malone entered the game unusually as a field player.
“This is our last home game of the season, so we were able to put all the seniors in at the end of the game,” Jackson said. “It’s super cool to be able to see them go out there, hold their own, still just cooking, and it was an awesome game.”
Redwood will face Clovis High School on Saturday, Nov. 22, in the finals of the NorCal championships. The team lost to Clovis in the semifinals of the NorCal tournament last year, leaving their historic winning streak at 28-4.
The team is looking to avenge last year’s loss. “It’s definitely kind of a revenge game,” Jackson said. “We want to win this for all the seniors that couldn’t win it last year and make sure we’re finishing off the season on a high note,” Jackson said.
If the Giants pull off a win this Saturday, they’ll close out the season with a 27-6 record, giving the seniors a triumphant close to their high school water polo careers.
