Huntington Beach comes up just short

The Huntington Beach and Edison boys’ water polo teams competed last week at the Villa Park Classic, where the Oilers finished runner-up and the Chargers in 16th place.

Huntington, ranked fifth in CIF Division 1, reached the final of the tournament on Saturday, where the Oilers came up short against fourth-ranked El Toro. The Oilers were down, 9-7, in the fourth quarter but the Chargers were able to pull away to a 13-8 victory. Max Schultz scored three goals, Noah Harrison scored twice and Brandon Lucia had 11 saves for the Oilers.

Huntington defeated Lakeside of Elsinore (20-3), Thousand Oaks (No. 4 CIF Division 4, 17-9), Damien (No. 2 CIF Division 3, 12-5) and Rio Americano of Sacramento (9-3), to reach the championship game.

On Monday, the Oilers scored a 16-5 home win over Montebello, the fifth-ranked team in CIF Division 2. Harrison led the scoring attack with five goals and Lucia had 12 saves and two steals.

Edison started the tournament with a big win, defeating Esperanza, the 10th-ranked team in Division 2, 17-12. The Chargers then played four more ranked teams but came up shy in each game, losing each by a single goal. They fell to Damien (10-9), Thousand Oaks (7-6), Troy (No. 6, Division 4), 8-7 and Cerritos (No. 7, Division 4), 13-12.

“While it was frustrating to lose four games in this manner, other than the Cerritos game we played some darn good defense against some of the top high school teams in Southern California,� Edison Coach Diggy Riley said. “Tony Morelli had a very nice, all-around offensive weekend for us and defenders Kyle Spreeman and Dane Estrella both had excellent weekends guarding the centers. In continued fashion, Nate Sfreddo played exceptional in the cage. He has really stepped up his game and is proving to be a top goalies in the county.�

Edison tuned up for the tournament by overpowering Brea Olinda, 15-2, on Sept. 28. Justin Harrison led all scorers with five goals and Sfreddo had eight saves.

Both Huntington and Edison play Sunset League matches Wednesday at Newport Harbor High. Edison battles Los Alamitos at 5 p.m. and Huntington faces Marina at 7 p.m. Fountain Valley takes on host Newport Harbor at 6:05 p.m.

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CIF Rankings

Boys’ Water Polo: Huntington Beach (No. 5, Division 1); Ocean View (No. 6, Division 7).

Girls’ Cross-Country: Marina (No. 7, Division 1).

Girls’ Volleyball: Edison (No. 3, Division 1-AA); Ocean View (No. 7, Division 4-AA).