Facing the (Blue) Devil
DHS men’s Water Polo coach Tracy Stapleton watched his boys dive into enemy waters and barely lose a 13-12 game against their long time rivals: the Jesuit Marauders.
“[Davis and Jesuit] have always had a great rival…they [are] just very closely matched” said one of the night’s referees, Darren Spiritosanto. Spiritosanto said the games between the two “power houses” have always been driven by their unique rivalry.
Going into the game Stapleton said, “[I’m looking at this game] as an exam, [I’m] not worried about a grade, just to see what we have learned.”
Both the Marauders and Blue Devils swam side by side during their allotted warm up period but the players went from calm to heated at the blow of the first whistle. Jesuit won the sprint but the ball was swiftly stolen by DHS junior Connor Stapleton who took the first shot on goal. But no dice.
A Jesuit player grabbed the rebound and made the first score against Davis in a counter attack.
At the end of the third quarter, Blue Devils found themselves in a 13-9 disadvantage. Going into the fourth, and nothing but six minutes left, the game was called….or was it?
DHS made a come-back starting with a fantastic field block by Stapleton, and quick goals made by freshman Conrad McCarthy and sophomore Garrett Fisk
Senior David Lester also blasted in a few exceptionally hard shots in a struggle to bring his team to a victory.
Particularly impressive was freshman Jeff Stark, starting goalie for DHS. In between the ejections and missed shots, Stark made over 10 direct blocks against senior and junior muscle masses of the opposing team. One spectator even remarked, “He [Jeff] was the goalie that could.”
“Jesuit came out 3-nothing strong but Davis recovered and made it a close game…I wasn’t surprised.” Spiritosanto said.
The crowd went wild. The sea in the stands was parted down the middle with red and blue fans standing and cheering on their teams. The DHS women’s varsity chanted “Let’s go Davis” and the boys played harder and harder.
With seconds left in the game, Stapleton finished hard and with a bang by making an epic last second goal leaving the match with a one point loss and Blue Devil pride in tact.
