Redhawks can't halt Fenwick's mid-May tradition

They can be a menacing sight for opponents.

The black-hooded robes with the school name monogrammed in white. The T-shirts with 'Black Reign' printed on the back. The unmistakable championship glare.

As one school official on deck referred to them, the Fenwick Friars were "men among boys" as they blew past Schaumburg (22-7) and Sandburg (22-10) into Saturday night's water polo state championship against Naperville Central.

But the Redhawks weren't in awe of the four-time defending state champions or the sight of 'Fenwick' written on their opponent's white caps.

"We played them earlier in the season and we lost 9-5 -- you can't be intimidated," said Naperville Central junior Ben Reasons, holding ice over a blackened left eye. "If you're not confident you don't have a chance to win."

Naperville Central didn't win -- it lost 10-5 as Fenwick secured its fifth consecutive state title -- but the Redhawks (28-5) went toe-to-toe with the team that slugged past 33 of 34 opponents this season. And Naperville Central kept fighting until the final horn blared and the Friars catapulted into the pool for what has become a mid-May tradition.

"Our other game against Fenwick (on April 25) we lost 9-5, so holding them to 10, that's great for us," said Naperville Central coach Bill Salentine, whose squad lost 8-7 to Fenwick in the 2005 title match.

A major reason was junior goalie Tyler Kelley, who made 7 saves against a barrage of shots. After junior Brian Barron (4 goals) scored to push the Friars' lead to 6-1 with 3:41 left before halftime, the Redhawks held Fenwick scoreless for the next 8:30 as they inched within 6-3 after back-to-back goals from junior Max Saltzman (4 goals in the tournament).

"We expected a dogfight and we just came out and played really well," said Fenwick coach David Perry.

Fenwick junior Chris Wendt capped off an amazing tournament with 4 goals and 2 assists. He finished with 17 goals -- second most in the 7-year history of the state tournament (Brian McShane, Brother Rice had 21 in 2003).

For Naperville Central, Reasons scored 2 goals in the 12-4 semifinal victory against Glenbrook South and a hat trick in the final. He tied sophomore Mark Menis with a team-high 6 goals in the tournament. Menis recorded 3 assists against Fenwick to go with the 5-goal effort against the Titans in the semifinal.

"I'm very proud of my boys. I've got a lot of sophomores, a lot of juniors, only losing four seniors," Salentine said. "It shows us good things for the future."

One that could include the program's sixth state appearance in 2009.

Girls water polo

Redhawks finish fourth:ŒAs Glenbrook South and Sandburg collected their hardware from the boys' third-place game, the members of the Naperville Central girls water polo team sat in a row along the edge of the warm-up pool and applauded as they sat just moments away from their final match of the tournament.

After losing to defending state champion Mother McAuley 14-10 in the early-Saturday semifinal, the Redhawks had 28 minutes against host Stevenson to decide which trophy it would bring home.

Third place or fourth?

Despite building a 2-0 second-quarter lead -- a far improvement from the 7-2 first-quarter hole it dug itself against the Mighty Macs -- Naperville Central (23-13) couldn't hold off the Patriots as it fell 11-7.

"It's great to be able to get fourth place…but it's just weird that that was the last game I'll ever play water polo," senior Kara Wilson said as she fought back tears.

After Emily Wooton put the Redhawks up 1-0 with a 9-meter shot that deflected off goalie Janelle Bartman (8 saves), Wilson gave Naperville Central a 2-goal cushion as she redirected a pass from Claire Fleming into the back of the net 5:18 before halftime.

"I think they were a little down from that first game (against Fenwick)," said Stevenson coach Jeff Wimer, whose squad lost 11-8 to the Friars in the semifinals. "They're character showed through though in the end."

Did it ever. Senior Rachel Cliburn (4 goals) tossed a 5-meter floater over sophomore goalie Sam Virella (10 saves) and Becca Shopiro (match-high 5 goals) repeated that effort 43 seconds later, sparking Stevenson (29-7) to 5 unanswered goals in less than 4 minutes.

"I don't know if the girls lost track of where they were, but you know what, why talk about what went wrong? Let's talk about what went right," said Naperville Central coach Jeff Plackett. "Seventy-one other teams in the state were sitting at home."

Fleming, who notched a team-high 4 goals in the semifinal, fired wide on a penalty shot 13 seconds into the fourth quarter, but redeemed herself with 2 goals in the next 4:41.

Naperville Central junior Haley Nelson added a goal with 5 seconds left in the first half -- her fourth of the day and sixth of the tournament.

"You can't complain, this is the first time Central has gone this far, so we're just happy to be here," said senior Samantha Shamburek, who scored twice in each of the three tournament games. "Beating Neuqua Valley (8-5) at sectionals was the first step.

"It's just been a really exciting weekend."

One that concluded with Plackett walking off the deck, clutching the Redhawks' first state trophy with both arms. State quarterfinal losses to Fenwick in 2006 and Homewood-Flossmoor the year before were the furthest thing from his mind.

"An awfully high bar for next year's team," he said. "We're a young group of girls so there are a lot of girls who got a lot of valuable experience."

Enough to possibly make a return visit next year.

-- Matt Beardmore