The Giants have been avid collectors this season, winning league and section gold during the boys water polo season. Now Redwood High has a chance to add one more piece to its collection. The top-seeded Giants pounded the ball into the back of the net twice within a minute late in the opening quarter Thursday then stepped on the gas en route to a dominating 13-9 victory over No. 4 St. Francis of Mountain View in the CIF NorCal Division II semifinals. Redwood (26-6) will face No. 3 Clovis (24-9) on Saturday for the NorCal crown at the University of the Pacific in Stockton in a rematch of last year’s NorCal semifinals. In 2024, No. 5 Clovis edged No. 1 Redwood, 10-9. Shivering in the cold night Thursday, senior Hudson Quirk took a look at the pool where he’s spent the past four years with his teammates and realized he had just played his last home game in Larkspur with the water polo team. But any melancholy feelings were outweighed by the chance to write a new chapter in school history. “Winning Saturday would be the cherry on top,” Quirk said. “We’ve never made it to the finals before, so regardless, this is like a wave of emotions. We’ve worked so hard to get here.” The Giants have made it a goal to win the MCAL, North Coast Section and NorCal titles in the same season, a first for the program. “The guys were focused tonight and if they stay focused they can win the title,” Redwood head coach Rudy Kardos said. Sophomore captain Storm Jackson led the Giants with five goals, while Jackson Monty, Maddox McClellan and Jakob Engberg each finished with two. Tyler Mahabir and Isaac Nikfar also scored. Both teams rushed the attack Thursday night, trying to get the upper hand. The Lancers struck first on Luke Sharp’s touch-and-shoot late in the first quarter, but McClellan quickly scored the equalizer with an assist from Jackson. Engberg scored less than a minute later off a pass from Monty to give the Giants the lead, which they never surrendered. “I was expecting a hard game,” said Mahabir, who returned to Marin County after spending the past three seasons in San Diego. “I know some of the St. Francis players from club, so that was intimidating. I know they’re good. But after we got that first goal, we had all the confidence.” The Giants spread the ball around in the first half, as four players had two goals each to give Redwood a 8-2 lead. Monty scored twice during a 5-0 run in the second quarter that virtually sealed the win for the Giants. St. Francis struggled to get shots past Redwood’s shutdown defense, with Engberg, McClellan and Mahabir shutting down the shooting lanes. The Giants outshot the Lancers 33-16 in the game. Sharp, Cooper Ebbit and Darius Sayar each scored two goals for St. Francis (20-12). The Lancers kept pace with the Giants in the third quarter. Jackson buried a pair of goals from outside the arc, while Nikfar scored on a touch-and-shoot after a pass from Eddie Poser. The Lancers finally started to chip away at the Giants’ commanding lead with less than 4 minutes left to play, when Redwood started to rotate out some of its starters. St. Francis netted a pair of goals before Mahabir scored on a sleight-of-hand play with a 360-degree spin in front of the cage, then softly lobbed the ball over the goalie. Kardos tried to give his seniors a night to remember, even pulling starting goalkeeper Owen Malone out of the net midway through the fourth quarter to let him join the attack. Malone took one shot near the end of the game. “This is the last home game for the seniors, this is a special moment for them,” Kardos said.
https://www.marinij.com/2025/11/20/boys-water-polo-redwood-takes-aim-at-norcal-crown/
Boys water polo: Redwood takes aim at NorCal crown
