HS Water Polo: District Play Finally Arrives for the Teams of District 13-6A

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Excited teams and energetic players entered the pool for the beginning of district water polo action on Wednesday.

The outdoor heat would not be cooled as the choppy waters brought about competitive mstches from the participating teams. Here are the games from Wednesday’s slate.

Match One: The Woodlands Lady Highlanders 22 vs. The Oak Ridge Lady War Eagles 7

The Woodlands took to the pool and immediately made their presence known with a 7-0 shutout in the first quarter created by a relentless attack that harrassed Oak Ridge’s goalkeeping.

Oak Ridge would eventually get on the boardin the second quarter, but the Lady Highlanders’ offense was too much to handle. The Woodlands would tack on an additional 15 goals in comparison to Oak Ridge’s six.

The Lady Highlanders would easily claim their victory to bring in the boy’s match.

Match Two: The Woodlands Highlanders 13 vs. The Oak Ridge War Eagles 10

Having taken the time during the girl’s match to warm up, the boys engaged in a hard-fought battle for scoring.

The deadlock was broken in the first quarter by a Highlander goal with four minutes expired. With the first goal scored both teams would open the tap which would result in a halftime score of 5-2 in favor of the Woodlands.

Another scoring flurry from both squads would keep the intensity high. The War Eagles never rolled over and maintained their scoring through the second half. However, it would be in vain as the Highlanders managed to stay a step ahead of their opponents. Any Oak Ridge goal would be met with one or two from the Woodlands which kept the lead in tact and secured the victory in the end.

Match Three: The Grand Oaks Lady Grizzlies 17 vs. The College Park Lady Cavaliers 12

It took less than 10 seconds for College Park to get on the board which would ignite an explosive first quarter of scoring. A total of eight goals would be scored in just the first quarter with the Lady Cavaliers maintaining a 5-3 lead.

A down second quarter from College Park would allow Grand Oaks to inch within one goal of tying twice before finally drawing even with just under two minutes remaining in the half. With the momentum firmly on their side, the Lady Grizzlies would creep ahead and snag a 9-8 lead as the half expired.

A tense third quarter saw plays made on the defensive end as both units awoke. Huge saves would define the period with Grand Oaks only being able to build on their lead by a single point with the pressure on the Lady Cavs to climb in front.

The fourth quarter would see the Lady Grizzlies build some seperation with their lead reaching as high as six before the final whistle.

Match Four: The Grand Oaks Grizzlies 4 vs. The College Park Cavaliers 23

The final match began with an opening onslaught from the Cavaliers who quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead due to multiple breakaway opportunities.

Grand Oaks would finally get on the scoreboard in the second quarter but only after the Cavaliers had scored two of their own. The use of breakaways and ball movement to disorientate the defense allowed the Cavaliers to work their way close to the goal before finding the back of the net.

College Park would continually twist the knife into their opponent as their 12-point lead at the half did not satisfy them.

They would push their lead as high as 13 before the deficit forced Grand Oaks to let shots fly from any looks they got. The shots favored power over accuracy and saw many come off the woodwork or sail past goal.

Substitutes would be brought in during the third quarter for College Park but the lead would never evaporate with College Park easing their way to victory.