Clairemont hosted the inaugural Polopalooza event over the weekend featuring multiple teams ranked inside of the MaxPreps top 20 for San Diego County.  Outside of some technical delays on day 2, the event as a whole was a massive success!  Clairemont, University City, and Mission Bay each faced off with Grossmont, Oceanside, and Mt. Carmel over a 2 day, 9 game event.  The Chieftains battled hard and came away with a 1-2 record and some valuable game experience to build off of going forward.

#3 GROSSMONT 15 – #5 CLAIREMONT 9

Clairemont’s first game was a Friday night showdown with the Division 2 favorites and CIF-SDS #3 ranked Grossmont Foothillers.  The Chieftains had defeated Grossmont in each of the last 2 seasons, but the Foothillers were far more formidable this time around as they controlled most of the match from start to finish.  The Chiefs kept it competitive every quarter, but lost each of the first three quarters 4-2 before playing a 3-3 4th quarter.  It was Grossmont’s closest match of the Polopalooza event (whom defeated UC 16-5 and Mission Bay 19-6 on day 2) as well as their closest match against a division 2 opponent this season.

#13 OCEANSIDE 15 – #5 CLAIREMONT 7

A senior heavy Pirates team proved to be too tough a task Saturday morning for the young Clairemont team.  The Chiefs struggled to generate good looks on offense against a very physical Oceanside press.  The depth and experience of their senior heavy squad piled on a massive lead in the first half that Clairemont never recovered from.  But, Clairemont once again gave an opponent their best game of Polopalooza, as Oceanside defeated Mission Bay and UC by 9 each.

#5 CLAIREMONT 10 – #18 MT. CARMEL 7

In the final game of Polopalooza, Clairemont finally got back to the win column with a hard fought win over their ever present rivals from the north in Mt. Carmel.  A defensive 1-1 battle in the first quarter exploded into a barn burner of a second quarter that ended with a last second goal from junior Brixton Morey to give Clairemont their first lead of the game at 5-4.  The Chieftains locked in for most of the 3rd quarter to help build a 9-4 lead, but just as it seemed like Clairemont would run away the Sundevils responded with 3 straight goals to pull back to 9-7 in the 4th quarter.  A power play goal from sophomore Ryan Fegan with 3 minutes to go iced the game for good though as Clairemont was able to sit back on defense and play possession ball on offense until the final buzzer sounded.

UP NEXT

The Clairemont Boys’ Water Polo team improves to 9-5 on the season.  Up next, the boys play University City on Tuesday at 6pm at Standley.  COME OUT AND SUPPORT YOUR CHIEFTAINS!!!!