|
|
Glendale High School Water Polo
The 80's
Foothill and Pacific League Action
The 1980 team challenged for the Foothill
League title but lost to Hoover. Mike
Walton led the way. GHS lost to CV in
the first round of CIF playoffs.
In 1981 Brent Bickett was the top player. The team lost its first six games
but rebounded as the season went on. The Nitros upset 10th-ranked Crescenta Valley,
8-5, but lost to Hoover, 11-7. The team lost to Royal in the first round of CIF.
Foothill League scores were: loss to Blair, 13-10, win over Burbank, 15-10, win over
Burroughs, 13-2, win over Monrovia, 28-3. Hoover and Blair were co-champions of the
league.
Glendale and Hoover joined CV, Muir, Pasadena and Arcadia as they moved to the Pacific
League in 1982. Led by Pat
Black, GHS struggled and finished last
in league play. Goalie Butch Mulcahey and junior James Venable were standouts.
Venable earned first team all-Pacific League honors in 1983
and took the Nitros to a tie for third place with CV. GHS started the year off with
an 11-4 record but stumbled at the end of the season, losing six of their last seven
games. GHS had beaten Hoover in the South Bay Tournament, but dropped a heartbreaker
to the Tornadoes, 12-10 in the league match up. GHS had beaten CV in the early going
but lost in the league tournament to the Falcons to miss the CIF playoffs.
Mike Weiss was co-captain and high scorer on the 1984 team that finished
in fifth place in league.
Pete Loporchio (Class of 1979) became the head coach in 1985
and led GHS to a fourth place finish. The team lost to eventual champion Muir twice,
by two goals and one goal, and lost the third place game to Pasadena in double overtime.
Mike Hounsell was the top Nitro.
The 1986 team had a one-two punch of Todd Byer and Lawrence Ocon. Byer, the Pacific League co-MVP made the All-CIF third team. GHS beat
Muir to snap the Mustangs' 32-game league game win streak, then dropped a 6-5 shocker
to Pasadena. The winner-take-all match up was set for the league title game. Muir
won 11-10 in sudden death overtime in one of the greatest Pacific League championship
games ever played. Jim Damron was a first team all-league driver.
Ocon returned for his senior year in 1987 earning co-Pacific League
MVP as well as All-CIF third team honors. Ocon led GHS to a runner-up finish to Muir,
losing 10-8 and then 13-12 in the league title game. The Nitros blasted CV twice,
19-9 and 14-4 and beat Arcadia, 20-3 and Hoover 11-4.
First team all-league players lefty James Paisley and Nick Kaufman teamed up to drive GHS to second place in league action in 1988.
They lost to league champ Muir by two goals.
Danny Kim lifted the 1989 team to a third place finish in league. Both
Kim and Bruce Wright were named to the first team all-league and Chris Petrossian was a first team all-area pick. GHS beat CV, 14-10,
but lost to unbeaten Hoover, 15-12.
Yearbook article from the 80s
 Venable-1983 |
 Mike Hounsell- 1985 |
 Lawrence Ocon- 87 |
 J. Paisley-1988 |
 T. Byer- 86 |
Meet the Players
Meet the Coach
Our Schedule
CIF Rankings
Press
The Gary Nelson
Award
Team History:
the 60's
the 70's
the 80's
the 90's
