Naperville Central earns third straight trip to state

Naperville Central was not looking past Waubonsie Valley on Saturday, nor are the Redhawks boys looking past their state quarterfinal opponent, Homewood-Flossmoor.

But the water polo squad would like nothing more than to have a another shot at defending champion Fenwick in next Saturday's state finals.

The Redhawks, who lost to Fenwick in last year's state semis and lost to the Friars by a single goal earlier this season, punched their third straight state ticket by dominating Waubonsie Valley 26-8 in Saturday's title match of the Neuqua Valley Sectional. Naperville Central (28-4) controlled the match from the start, leading 9-2 after one quarter and 15-4 at the half on its way to a date Thursday night against H-F at Stevenson High School.

"We knew we had to come out strong and put them in a hole early," said Naperville Central's Ryan Stanley, who had 2 goals and an assist in the first four minutes as the Redhawks grabbed a quick 4-1 lead. "It was all about the teamwork. We played good team offense and defense."

With Stanley and Mark Menis each tallying 5 goals for the potent Redhawks attack, the Warriors and first-year coach Luke Payette couldn't slow an opponent determined to improve on last year's third-place trophy finish.

"We always want to progress," said Stanley, who notched 3 goals in last year's third-place victory over Lyons Twp. at state. "The goal is always to win. We've never beaten Fenwick, and we only lost by one the last time we played. We'd like to have another shot."

With the Redhawks and Friars on different ends of the bracket, the two powers could indeed meet in the finals. Fenwick first will have to get past Brother Rice and then a semifinal opponent, while Naperville Central also needs two more wins to reach the finals.

"This is the only time of year I like to go into the pool with my clothes on," Redhawks coach Bill Salentine said after he was tossed into the water along with the sectional championship plaque. "We came out strong and attacked well. I don't know if Waubonsie was tired after the double-overtime match (Friday) and then prom, but we looked faster and we moved the ball well."

Eight different players scored goals for Naperville Central including 4 by Kyle Rickert and 3 by Pat May. For the Warriors, Blake Hollis led the way with 3 goals and Tyler Hunt added a pair of scores.

Payette said a lot of positives can be taken away from his team's 20-win campaign, and he's hoping to build the program to the point where it can compete with the state's best.

"It'll take a little while to turn this program into a powerhouse like Central," the Waubonsie Valley coach said. "Getting to this game they're happy with that, but we've got to get to where we want to win this. But getting beat by one the best in the state is a good measuring stick and they know that."