Bishop’s boys water polo to play for CIF title this weekend; La Jolla High falls in semifinal round

After knocking out Vista High School in the CIF Open Division semifinals on Nov. 9, the Bishop’s School Knights boys water polo team is looking for its third CIF title this weekend.

In the semifinal round of the playoffs, the Knights defeated Vista 13-6 at the Coggan Family Aquatic Complex on the La Jolla High School campus, considered the Knights’ home pool.

“We came out and played exactly how we wanted to play,” said Bishop’s coach Doug Peabody. “We focused on what we could control and executed offensively and defensively.”

The Knights were up 7-1 after the first half. Having an early lead “pushed us to where we wanted to be” and allowed the second line of players to get a turn in the pool, Peabody said.

Chase Landa scored five goals and Garrett Johnson scored four for Bishop’s.

In the finals, Bishop’s will play the Cathedral Catholic Dons at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Coggan pool, 800 Nautilus St.

The two teams split their regular-season series. “We won in their house and they won in ours,” Peabody said, with both games going to overtime.

The Knights and Dons also squared off for the CIF title in 2018, with Cathedral Catholic winning 11-7.

Peabody said the match “should be a good game” and that the Knights are “pretty fired up” about it.

La Jolla High

The La Jolla High School Vikings were defeated by Cathedral Catholic 14-9 in their semifinal match Nov. 9.

La Jolla coach Tom Atwell could not be reached for comment. ◆