Naperville C. cruises into final
Friday night was just a warmup for Tyler Kelley and top-seeded Naperville Central.
This afternoon the Redhawks will take on Neuqua Valley for the Neuqua Valley boys water polo sectional championship, and Kelley is likely to see plenty of the Wildcats' John Mikuzis, who already has 20 goals in the sectional.
Naperville Central defeated Lockport 20-6 Friday, then Neuqua Valley eliminated Waubonsie Valley 17-11.
While Naperville Central coach Bill Salentine went deep into his bench Friday night, he made sure to leave Kelley, his senior goalie, in the pool the entire game.
"Tyler did a very good job," Salentine said. "I didn't want to sub Tyler out because he needed to be in the water as much as possible."
In a rout like Friday's it can be hard for a goalie to maintain his concentration.
"I just keep talking to the team, keep myself in it," Kelley said. "When the first string is not in you kind of talk to (the second string), let them know what's going on all around them. It's a different game when we're up 20-4, 20-5. We know we've still got to close it out, not let any silly goals in. Still got to work on stuff for the next game."
The Redhawks (28-3) have barely been bothered in the sectional so far, routing St. Charles East before dismissing Lockport. He wanted to make sure Kelley saw a few hard shots before the final.
"I'll never say it's easier than I expected," Salentine said. "We came out with a lot of intensity, which was good. I'm not trying to be unkind to St. Charles East, (Thursday's) game wasn't as good as it could've been, so I wanted to make sure we could knock the rust off and come out with some fire and intensity and we showed that. That was good. I was happy with the way the boys came out fired up, ready to play."
The Redhawks' game plan worked to perfection, taking a 9-1 lead after the first quarter.
"They've got some big guys, they've got some fast swimmers, so counterattack like crazy," Salentine said. "They've got a reputation as a pretty physical team so we just wanted to make sure we took care of that. We just kept moving, kept swimming. If they can't grab us then we're OK."
The Redhawks got plenty of practice shooting Friday. Max Saltzman led the way with 5 goals, and Kyle Rickert and Chris Depew each added 3. Eight Redhawks scored in the game.
The Wildcats showed they have more than just Mikuzis to bother Kelley. Mike Rooney, A.J. Quebbeman and Ryan Jadwin each added 2 goals in Friday's win.
Waubonsie Valley was led by Jim Zuponeck's 3 goals.