High School Notebook : Coronado Water Polo Team Faces Toughest Test of Season in Poway

SAN DIEGO â€”  The Coronado High School water polo team, with 29 consecutive San Diego Section victories, will travel to Poway Tuesday for a showdown against the undefeated Titans.

“We’re such a balanced team that the hardest thing will be determining the most valuable player at the end of the season,� Coronado Coach Randy Burgess said. “The quality of the program is primarily because of the kids--they’ve worked their tails off.�

Coronado defeated Monte Vista, 11-4, on Friday to improve to 19-4. Poway is 18-0.

Coronado is led by sophomore goalkeeper Jack Bowen, who “is playing as good as any goalie I’ve ever had,� Burgess said.

Burgess also credited senior drivers Brian Kissell, Rob Williams and Sepand Zarrabi and defenders Alan Wing and Tim Thiele.

“They’re a tough team,� Poway Coach Mark Miller said. “We’re going to have to have an exceptional day to beat them. There’s no doubt in my mind.�

Kendall Webb, San Diego Section commissioner, arrived in Palm Springs Oct. 21 for a State Federated Council meeting armed with a proposal to have this year’s school enrollment figures help determine placement in the state cross-country and volleyball playoff competition.

How successful was he?

“We made the motion, and nobody even seconded it,� Webb said.

Enrollment figures from the previous year will continue to be used as a reference point for placing the teams in divisions. The council did add a provision allowing each section commissioner to make changes because of significant enrollment shifts.

Webb plans to move 4 San Diego schools into different divisions.

Rancho Buena Vista, a second-year school that added another grade this year, will be moved from Division II to Division I after a 49% increase in enrollment. La Jolla will be moved from Division I to Division II after a 9% decrease. Coronado will be moved from Division II to Division III after a 9% decrease, and Kearny will be moved from Division I to Division II after an 11% decrease.

In other action, the council rescinded the “seat belt rule� for basketball coaches in favor of a 6-foot long by 3-foot wide coaching box.

Although high school basketball season is still a month away, Point Loma has lined up two early season girls’ tournaments that should be very competitive.

The Point Loma tournament Dec. 3-10 will include Fallbrook, Mission Bay, Mira Mesa and Vista. Point Loma will play Vista Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. in a game that could feature the top two teams in the county.

The Ben Fisher tournament, which has attracted teams from Virginia, Bakersfield and Chino, as well as Patrick Henry, Poway and Sweetwater, will be Dec. 27-31. Both tournaments will be played at Point Loma High.

Notes

There will be no rule this year limiting the number of appearances high school pitchers are allowed to make each week. The San Diego Section mistakenly believed the rule would go into effect this spring but later discovered that it goes into effect in the spring of 1990. The State Federated Council tabled discussion of what the pitchers’ limitations will be until its January meeting. . . . As expected, Rancho Buena Vista has taken over the No. 1 state ranking in 3-A in Cal-Hi Sports’ football poll. Rancho Buena Vista replaced former No. 1 Oceanside after beating the Pirates, 35-22, at Oceanside 2 weeks ago.