South Pasadena scores in final second to win CIF-SS Division 4 boys water polo title
WALNUT — After a 30-year championship drought, the South Pasadena boys water polo team has reached the top of the mountain again, and the Tigers did it in the most dramatic way.
South Pasadena's star attacker Kenta Fernandes scored six goals, with the biggest goal his game-winner with one second left in regulation for a 10-9 victory over Cate in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship game at Mt. SAC.
"I was pretty proud of that," Fernandes said of his winning goal. "It was really an amazing feeling, I was just so locked in the whole game that I just turned out to score six goals. I was just so focused on winning, I didn't care about anything else and it just turned out well for me and my team got the win."
South Pasadena was a boys water polo juggernaut in the 1980s and '90s, collecting five championships, with the last title coming in 1994. The program was able to add its sixth title Saturday.
Coach Joe Cox said the championship was a culmination of all of the team's effort throughout the season.
"I think this is the culmination of what I've seen from them and the work they put in everyday," he said. "It brings me so much joy as a coach to know that I can help them realize their potential."
South Pasadena led for a majority of the match, and its lead grew to 9-6 with 4:40 left in the fourth period. However, Cate then scored three goals to tie the score with less than a minute to go.
"Even though they started coming back, we still kept our same mindset of working hard to score goals and it turned out that we scored the game-winning goal," Fernandes noted.
South Pasadena goalie Caleb Dephouse had seven saves, including a couple of timely saves that prevented Cate from taking the lead.
"Caleb's been a wall for us this year. As the old adage goes, defense wins championships," Cox said. "Caleb came out with a lot of big stops for us...moments where a big goal for Cate would've brought them a little bit closer. Caleb slammed the door on them."
South Pasadena had five goal scorers, including Fernandes, and Cox said that was a team strength throughout the season.
"Today, Kenta was our guy who stepped up and had six goals," Cox said, "but on any given day this year it's been any one of our guys who've been able to step up."
Although he ended the season as the Tigers' leading scorer with 54 goals, Fernandes said the offense was a team effort.
"We're all just trying to set each other up, it just turned out that I was scoring the goals," Fernandes added.
The Tigers battled through a midseason coaching change, but didn't let it phase them. Cox took the helm in October and guided them to the title.
"I think that's what makes it that much sweeter," Cox admitted. "They started to play better and they really stuck together as a team. You don't always see that."
