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LOS ALAMITOS — Huntington Beach’s boys water polo team navigated a spirited course to the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals last season after dropping an overtime thriller to Los Alamitos in the Sunset League.
On Wednesday, the Oilers rallied to beat the host Griffins 15-14 in overtime in another exciting league match that could serve as a guide for the upcoming playoffs.
“This was a big win,” second-year Huntington Beach coach Nick Graffis said. “We really stay cool, stay collected. (It’s) easier said than done … in the middle of a battle.”
Huntington Beach (14-13, 4-1), ranked seventh in Orange County, took a big step toward clinching at least third place in league by overcoming two, three-goal deficits in the first half and a late surge in regulation from Los Alamitos (8-14, 3-2).
Sophomore defender Devin Riley capped a strong finish by scoring the eventual winning goal on a rebound on a Huntington Beach power play with 37 seconds left in the second, three-minute overtime.
Riley’s season-high fourth goal gave the Oilers a 15-13 lead.
Los Alamitos’ Noah Garrison answered with a perimeter strike 10 seconds later but the Oilers ran out the clock to seal a sixth consecutive victory.
Riley netted three of his four goals in overtime.
Jackson Holmes, another sophomore, tallied five goals and Jacob Duong added three to pace the Oilers’ attack.
The contributions of the sharp-shooting Holmes and Duong help the Oilers weather a one-goal effort from Isaac Squires. The senior scored eight goals in a victory against San Marcos on Saturday.
“Can we adjust?” Graffis said of the playoffs. “It’s pretty nice to know that we can, and at least give confidence to everybody else.”
“Every game (in Division 1) will be hard for sure,” the coach added. “D1 will be more exciting, to me, than Open.”
Last season, Huntington Beach edged No. 2 Long Beach Wilson 11-10 in the quarterfinals.
The Oilers made the run after a 15-14 loss against Los Alamitos in overtime in league.
Los Alamitos sophomore Parker Day scored a season-high eight goals, including one from center with 29 seconds left in regulation to tie the score 11-11.
The Griffins led 6-3 and 7-4 in the first half despite playing without All-County senior SebastianMok, who suffered a shoulder injury early in the season.
Los Alamitos goalie Rory Newman blocked two penalty shots in duel with Huntington Beach goalie Landon Hobson. Los Alamitos junior Legend Cornell impressed Graffis with his driving.
The Griffins can automatically qualify for the playoffs with a fourth-place finish in the Sunset League.
“We’ll still make a run probably for (CIF) Division 2,” second-year Los Alamitos coach Robert Grayeli said. “We’ll fit pretty good in Division 2.”