Warren High's magical CIF run ends in championship game
Warren shows their Finalist trophy after playing in the CIF Division 5 water polo finals at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut on Saturday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
The Warren High School boys water polo team made history this season with its first appearance in a CIF Championship game Saturday, Nov.16, at Mt. San Antonio College.
The Bears (14-14) lost 10-4 to Palm Desert but had an exciting run through the D5 playoffs with close victories up to the title game.
It was a magical run to the D5 championship game for Warren.
After receiving a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Bears won the first two games by a goal and the semifinal game by a pair of goals.
They opened their run to the title game with an 11-10 win over Rowland in the second round, another one-goal win in the quarterfinal, 12-11, over Temescal Canyon and finally a two-goal victory over Webb, 13-11, in the semifinals.
“I think the journey here was so fun,” said Warren coach Celeste Moreira, of the playoff run. “We were really fortunate to have every playoff game at home. The second round and semifinal games were really close, dramatic games for us. Fortunately, we were able to win those games.
“Although we came up short, I’m really proud of our season. This is the first time ever in Warren High School Boys Water Polo history that we’ve ever made it I believe past the quarterfinals. I think the fact that we made it to the championship game is something to be proud of and something that our younger boys can use as fuel moving forward.”
Warren opened with the first score of the game in the first couple of minutes (5:27) on a goal by senior attacker Sonny Lopez. Lopez led the team with three goals in the game.
The Bears, who had three exclusions in the opening period, gave the Aztecs a man advantage at the 4:06 mark, which followed with a tying goal at 3:48.
Thirty seconds later, Palm Desert took its first lead of the game, 2-1.
Warren answered with a 5-meter penalty shot by Lopez at 1:53 to tie the game, 2-2.
“(Palm Desert) was a lot more aggressive than the way we play, and we had trouble adjusting to that,” Moreira said.
The Aztecs took a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish on the second extra man advantage goal of the period with 1:21 left.
A fourth goal was added with just 22 seconds left by Palm Deserts’ William Walz, who had a team-high three goals.
“The first quarter we came out strong and showed them who we were,” Warren senior utility player Matthew Casalegno said. “Me personally, I didn’t perform to my full ability as I got two exclusions and had to sit out the remainder of the first and the second quarters.”
Warren senior utility player Owen Padilla opened the second period with an early goal at 6:08, to trail, 4-3.
Just 13 seconds later, the Aztecs took another two-goal advantage, 5-3.
The first and only Palm Desert exclusion (5:48) that became an extra-man goal for the Bears, turned into a goal 17 seconds later at 4:31 to trail, 5-4.
Unfortunately, that would be the final goal by Warren in the championship, as they were shutout in the third and fourth periods.
Palm Desert scored once more with less than a minute in the second to lead, 6-4, three more in the third period for the 9-4 advantage and one in the fourth to close out the scoring.
“I have a great group of boys,” Moreira added. “I am proud to be their coach and proud to coach them. They have a great work ethic, very respectful and great in the classroom.”
One of the team leaders, senior utility player Matthew Casalegno, said of how proud he was of the team, “Going from CIF second round last year and just coming to the CIF finals is huge,” he said. “It means a lot to me to be able to get my boys up here. I’m not happy with the outcome, but I’m happy with our overall performance over the season. I’m so proud of everyone and they’ve done what they had to do. We got here and showed up and showed them why we deserved to be here.
“Although we didn’t win, we proved that we were champs.”
What they said:
Celeste Moreira, Warren coach: “I always feel I won’t be satisfied until I have a ring. I know my sophomores are already for next season. Just kind of sit in the sadness of a loss, just so you kind of know how it feels so you can use that to help you move forward., so you can come out on top next time.”
Matthew Casalegno, Sr. Utility Player: “I know coming into next year, the juniors, sophomores and freshmen will all work hard and focus on things that they messed up and hopefully come back here and win it all.”
Boys Water Polo
Downey, which won a CIF title in 2022, won the Gateway League this past season and finished 19-6 overall, but lost in the D1 playoffs in the first round to Mira Costa, 14-5.
Girls Volleyball
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy, which finished with a 17-19 overall record, advanced that farthest of any Downey-area team this season with a Division V, Round II appearance in the CIF So Cal State Regionals. They lost to Reseda, 3-0. The Warriors, which advanced to the CIF-SS D9 Championship match (3-0 loss to Rialto) defeated Garden Grove, 3-0, in the CIF State Round I.
Calvary Chapel Downey, which finished 12-13 overall, advanced to the CIF-SS D9 quarterfinals and lost in a marathon five-set match, losing to Nogales, 3-2.
Warren (17-8), which finished second in the Gateway League (6-2), lost to Agoura, 3-0, in the first round of the D3 playoffs.
Downey (17-6), which won the Gateway League (8-0), lost in the first round of the D3 playoffs to Torrance, 3-1 (18-25, 20-25, 21-25).
Football
St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy, which is 3-9 overall, has advanced to the CIF-SS D8 Semifinals against Salesian (9-3) Friday night (Nov. 22). The Warriors defeated Cypress, 21-14, in the first round and Segerstrom, 23-22, in the quarterfinals.
Warren, which is 5-7 overall, has advanced to the CIF D7 Semifinals against Yucaipa (8-4) Friday (Nov. 22). The Bears defeated Palm Desert, 35-7, in the opening round and Golden Valley, 40-14, in the quarterfinals.
Downey, which won the Gateway League (5-0), lost in the first round of the CIF D2 playoffs to Serra, 28-7.
Nico & Aidan Watch
Nico Iamaleava and the No. 7 Tennessee Vols (8-2, 5-2) suffered their second loss of the season against No. 12 Georgia, 31-17. Iamaleava was 20 for 33 for 167 yards.
The red shirt freshman returned after sitting out the second half of the Mississippi State game, Nov. 9.
Tennessee is still hoping for a playoff berth, but the remaining two games will decide its fate, along with other teams’ results.
Tennessee returns home to Neyland Stadium this Saturday to take on UTEP on Senior Day. The game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. ET.
Michigan State (4-6) overall and (2-5) in the Big 10, lost its third consecutive game and sixth in the last seventh game to Illinois, 38-16.
Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles went 23 for 40, 256 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw a 52-yard and 5-yard touchdown pass.