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Tag: Roan Kelly

  • Boys Water Polo Preview: Bulldogs, Bears Are Strong, Talented, Focused

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    Burroughs is hoping to be even better than last season. (Photo by Morgan Wright)

    By Rick Assad

    Burbank High and Burroughs each placed a boys’ water polo team in the CIF Southern Section playoffs a season ago.

    The Bulldogs went 18-13 in all matches and finished 5-2 in second place the Pacific League for and lost in the Division II opening round.

    This squad wants to do even better and under David Arakelyan, the one-time Burroughs water polo standout and Bulldog coach, there is a good chance the team will be stronger.

    The team includes three goalies and they are Mikael Melkonyan, Erik Asiran and Dion Keshishyan.

    The seniors on the team include Arthur Khachatryan, Anthony Gemdzhyan, Monteh Shamiryan, Daniel Babelyan, Jack Babelyan and Michael Bakrgyan.

    The juniors on the squad are AvVo Ilangesyan and Tigran Hovsepyan.

    There are three sophomores and include Armen Mkrtumyan, Narek Sahakyan and Daniel Gemdzhyan. The lone freshman is Michael Andinyan.

    Burbank’s squad is primed for a solid campaign. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    “AvVo and Jack are our key returning players who we will look for them to make a quick impact in and out of the water,” Arakelyan said. “Michael Bakrgyan and Daniel Babelyan will have elevated roles on the squad this year.”

    Arakelyan then added: “We’re looking for some of our younger guys to step up and make an impact right away,” he said. “A lot of these boys play year-round water polo. We want to try and gel quickly. Our goal is always to win the league and make a run at CIF, and we will try to do that.”

    Arakelyan has been successful as the Bulldogs’ coach and reached the title match a few seasons ago but ultimately lost.

    “I’m very excited to start off the season with this group. I expect us to be competitive with the teams in the league and progress as the season goes along,” he said.

    Martin Ortega Jennison is the Burroughs coach and expects the team to be more than solid after going 19-8 and 4-3 for fourth place in the league.

    The Bears defeated host Beckman 8-5 in the Division IV opening round of the playoffs but lost to visiting Murrieta Valley 12-6 in the second round. 

    “I think our strength this season is that we have some experienced players stepping up and we need to,” he said. “I think we can always find ways to be competitive in every game and team we play.”

    The league is always a tough grind but one that Ortega Jennison welcomes.

    “As for the league we think we have found ourselves in a position to compete with the top four teams but it will be difficult because I believe Crescenta Valley will be very talented this year,” he stated. 

    The Bears’ players include Lincoln Morrow, Nicolas Oporta, Serob Berberyan, Evan Keller, Roan Kelly, Daniel Menchaca, Nicola Nasev, Matthew Rodriguez, Landon Quiiambao, Rocco Quiroga, Aaron Soltolongo, Jack St. Pierre and Liam Wamester.

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    Rick Assad

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  • Burroughs Boys Water Polo Knocks Off South Pasadena 10-6

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    Burroughs boys’ water polo defeated visiting South Pasadena 10-6 in a nonleague match. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    By Rick Assad

    No team wants to lose by an 11-goal margin, but that’s exactly what happened to the Burroughs High boys’ water polo team in its opening match of the season.

    So it was imperative that in their next match, the Bears play well and with purpose and intensity and that’s exactly what they did on Tuesday afternoon in a nonleague match versus visiting South Pasadena.

    Burroughs, despite being outshot 23-17, and also failing to score in the fourth quarter, knocked off South Pasadena 10-6.

    Behind Lincoln Morrow’s match-best four goals, including three in the second frame, the Bears have evened their record at 1-1.

    This match can lead to other bigger and better things for Burroughs, but only time will tell.

    Martin Ortega Jennison was pleased what he witnessed against the Tigers.

    “I liked that we pushed the pace when we needed to on the counterattack but didn’t force things,” he explained. “We remained patient and attacked where our advantages were.”

    Ortega Jennison also spoke glowingly about the Bears defense.

    “Defensively we did a great job with our press to force bad passes and allow us to drop back and steal possession away from them,” he said. “We still have a lot to work on, but our progression is on the up.”

    In the opener, Burroughs was defeated by host Polytechnic 15-4, but in time this could be long forgotten as long as the Bears continue to rely on solid defense and balanced scoring.

    Nicolas Oporta added three goals for the home team and three players each scored solo goals.

    The Bears led at halftime 7-4 and cruised to a convincing victory over the Tigers. (Photo by Xavier Dubon)

    For the most part, the match was cleanly played and saw the score deadlocked 3-3 after the first quarter.

    The match swung in favor of the Bears in the second period as they scored four goals while limiting the Tigers to a single tally.

    The scoring began with 6:12 left in the first quarter as Oporta nailed a point-blank shot for a 1-0 lead.

    With 4:41 remaining, Roan Kelly found the target on a 12-footer, and it became 2-1 in favor of Burroughs. Liam Wamester’s 10-foot throw and 4:01 left made it 3-2.

    The Tigers were led offensively by senior Sven Leu and junior Ethan Cheng with two goals each.

    South Pasadena (0-1) tied it at 1-1 on a 16-footer by Leu with 5:47 left and 2-2 by Cheng with 4:20 remaining on a 12-footer.

    Leu’s nine-footer with 3:39 on the clock in the first frame leveled it at 3-3.

    Morrow’s first goal in the second period came with 5:33 left on a 10-footer that evened it at 4-4.

    Morrow’s second tally occurred with 3:13 remaining on a 12-footer that made it 6-4 and his third goal was a 14-footer with one minute left for a 7-4 lead at halftime.

    Oporta added a point-blank tally with 5:01 left on the clock as the Bears pulled ahead 5-4.

    Oporta’s 15-footer and 6:38 left in the third stanza made it 8-4. Morrow contributed an eight-footer with 4:23 showing for a 9-5 edge and Rocco Quiroga launched a 25-footer with one second left that increased the cushion to 10-5.

    Cheng’s 10-foot toss and 5:33 left on the scoreboard cut the Bears’ advantage to 8-5. 

    South Pasadena sophomore Mateo Salas capped the scoring from nine feet out with thirty-six seconds remaining that sliced the Burroughs advantage to 10-6.

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    Rick Assad

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