Boys water polo: Naperville Central reclaims state crown

Tylenol is usually the best remedy for those aches and pains.

But in the case of the Naperville Central boys water polo team, it will most likely wake up feeling no pain by the time the players and coaches read this Sunday morning.

The Redhawks put an exclamation point on a 13-5 victory over Fenwick in the state title game in Lincolnshire on Saturday evening, claiming the program's second state title in three years.

"It was definitely getting chippy out there, but we took advantage of the opportunities," said junior utility Brad Sanford, who scored 4 goals. "We knew it was going to be tough against them, but we jumped out early and kept the momentum throughout."

In what was an overly physical contest, Naperville Central got off to a fast start, jumping to a 4-0 lead after the first. Sanford popped in 2 goals while Cam Dougherty and Bender Russo scored once apiece.

Fenwick (27-9) got on the scoreboard early in the second period when Payton Comstock back-flipped a shot past Redhawks keeper Jonah Klein-Collins.

But the Redhawks had capitalized on a couple of man-up situations, including two in the second period, and Comstock was ejected for a foul, which took away plenty of the Friars' firepower.

"We practice on those man-up situations after practice when we're tired," said coach Bill Salentine, whose guys finished 34-1. "We caught them a couple of times early and took advantage."

Sanford then fed senior utility Dominic May for the Redhawks' lone goal in the second quarter. Attacker Ivan Soto scored the lone goal for Fenwick, which trailed 5-2 at halftime.

Naperville Central created even more breathing room, outscoring Fenwick 4-1 in the third and a 9-3 advantage heading to the final period.

Sanford scored his third and fourth goals of the game, while Russo and junior utility Luke Klein-Collins added single goals. Alex Figus scored the goal for the Friars.

Bender, Russo, and Klein-Collins then all added single goals in the fourth for the champs, while Fenwick received goals from attacker Nate Fisher and utility Ramses Flores.

Jonah Klein-Collins, who was in goal with Kent Emden out west for national tryouts, stopped 12 shots for the game.

"We were fired up the entire game," Sanford said. "This is great, to win another title. The program and coaches are awesome. We're just trying keep it up and going."