Boys water polo: Klein-Collins steps in, helps Naperville Central to sectional crown
When Kent Emden, the goalie on the Naperville Central boys water polo team, was called up to the USA youth camp in California, backup goalie Jonah Klein-Collins didn't stress.
It wasn't uncharted waters for the junior.
"When I was younger, I played goalie," Klein-Collins said.
So leading up to Saturday's Metea Valley sectional championship against Lockport, Emden and the Redhawks did everything they could to make sure Klein-Collins was prepared.
"It's unbelievable because he's a world-class goalie," Klein-Collins said of Emden. "He's on the youth national team so the training is amazing. He knows what he's doing."
The extra preparation paid off. Klein-Collins and the Redhawks held the Porters scoreless in the first half en route to a 13-4 victory. It's the Redhawks' fourth straight trip to the state tournament.
"Jonah is the man," junior Bender Russo said. "He's really good. We get his reps in practice and he's way better than anyone gives him credit. I'm confident in his skill."
A strong offense in the first quarter helped Naperville Central (31-1).
Luke Klein-Collins passed the ball in front of the goal to Cam Dougherty, who tipped it in to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead with 5 minutes, 6 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Luke Klein-Collins connected with Isaac Noren for a goal 2:37 later and then Luke Klein-Collins passed the ball to Dominic May, who scored into an empty net.
In the second quarter Naperville Central continued its offensive onslaught. Dougherty added a goal 24 seconds into the quarter, Russo scored a pair and Luke Klein-Collins added his second of the day to make it 7-0 at halftime.
"We just told the guys in front of (Jonah Klein-Collins), protect your goalie," Naperville Central coach Bill Salentine said. "You got to have the best possible defense in front of him. Make the goalie's job easier. They really stepped up and did good things."
Lockport (27-5) didn't go away easily.
The Porters scored 2 goals in a 16-second span early in the third quarter that made it 7-2.
"We were trying to feel some momentum going through," Lockport coach Joe Lewandowski said.
Naperville Central dashed away any momentum Lockport thought it had built.
Christian Fleming scored a pair of goals 35 seconds apart to make it 9-2 with 3:22 left in the third quarter. Brad Sanford added another with 1:37 left.
"They're a good team," Russo said. "But it's OK, because we had a lead at that point. We were just relying on everyone and staying calm. We had it under control."
Dougherty, Sanford and Sean Jackson closed out the scoring for Naperville Central in the fourth quarter.
And Jonah Klein-Collins did his job, collecting 8 saves.
"All week, Kent and I have been working and our defense has been unbelievable," Jonah Klein-Collins said. "Guys like Bender Russo and my brother Luke, they've just been doing awesome things and we've been playing awesome team defense."