PREP WATER POLO ROUNDUP : Newport Harbor Hammered in Opener

For those who have already decided that top-ranked Corona del Mar is the dominant team in Southern Section Division I water polo, Newport Harbor Coach Bill Barnett believes there’s another team just as talented.

Barnett became convinced after Long Beach Wilson, ranked second in Division I, pounded the seventh-ranked Sailors, 16-7, in a nonleague season-opener Wednesday at Newport Harbor High.

“I think they’ll give Corona del Mar a battle for the championship,” Barnett said.

The Bruins got help from the high-scoring tandem of Adam Wright and Pat Cochran, and goalkeeper Nick Hill limited Newport Harbor to one second-half goal.

Wright finished with seven goals, including five in the decisive second half. Cochran scored five goals, all in the first half.

Wilson surged to an early 5-1 lead in the first five minutes by taking advantage of the Sailors’ poor perimeter passes.

After Wilson increased its lead to 7-2 in the second quarter, Newport Harbor put together its only run of the game, outscoring the Bruins, 4-1, to cut the lead to 8-6 with 16 seconds left in the first half.

However, Wilson stole the momentum when Wright scored with 1.9 seconds left in the half. He took control of the game in the second half, scoring five consecutive times.

Newport Harbor was held scoreless for the second half until Gabe Wyatt scored his fifth goal of the match with 13 seconds remaining in the game.