GROSSMONT COLLEGE- With a record of 21-4, the Griffins have earned their way into the second round of the single game-elimination playoffs. A showdown comes Friday morning at 9 a.m. when they play against L.A. Valley.
Brian Harvey, coach, said he expects his team to win the contest to be held in Riverside . “If we play to our potential, we can beat them by five goals.” Should the Griffins lose their game their season will come to a sudden stop.
Harvey said he expects a win because his team “is due” to finally beat Valley after losing two times earlier this season. “It’s hard to beat a good team three times in a row,” he said. “I think the odds are in our favor.”
The Griffins have lost four times this year to three different teams. L.A. Valley has beaten them twice, and both Long Beach and Golden West have beaten them once. The Griffins have won all ten games in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, each by margins of ten goals or more – except against San Diego Mesa.
Team captain Tyler Ormsby, who plays driver for the Griffins, said that the team has to practice more in preparing for Friday’s big game. “We run a lot of drills such as six on five and our disadvantage five on six,” he said.
Goalie Bryan Cook has a much more simple approach for the L.A. Valley game: staying mentally focused.
On Monday evening, Nov. 7, Ormsby and Harvey were named PCAC player and coach of the year respectively. Named to the first PCAC team were Grossmont players Trey Davis, Julian Myers, Steve Perdew and Bryant Davies. In the second team were Jackson Ross and Daniel Straub. Cook received an honorable mention.
Even though the Griffins have the best league record, Harvey said they train in “the worst pool in the state, I kid you not.” In comparison to other facilities , Grossmont doesn’t have a good pool or environment for a water polo team, according to the coach. That’s not likely to change. “When the state passed Prop R for $270 million into our district and we didn’t see any of it, then it’s never going to be better,” Harvey said.
Harvey said that at one point water polo was in danger of being dropped by Grossmont College yet now the Griffins have a chance to be the best in the state. He credited Athletic Director Jim Spillers as the team’s savior
*
Burke is sports editor of the GC Summit. He can be contacted at [email protected]
