Serra no match for SHP

In the first round, it was Tong Po elbows. In the second, it was his knees doing the damage.

Van Damme’s character, not surprisingly, rallies to beat the bully in the end.

The Sacred Heart Prep boys’ water polo team took a page from that scene. In a road match in San Mateo against Serra Wednesday, the Gators did the bulk of their damage from the perimeter in the first period and then worked the ball into the set in the second.

Unfortunately for the Padres, there would be no Hollywood ending for them as SHP posted a 14-1 victory.

“We came out ready to go,” said SHP co-captain Andrew Churukian, who, along with teammate Larsen Weigle, have committed to play next year at Stanford.

“We go as hard as we can,” Churukian continued. “”If you continue to go hard in games like this, you’ll be mentally prepared (for the postseason).”

SHP (3-0 WCAL) scored early and often in the opening seven minutes, as the Gators scored eight times on 12 shots. They were virtually unstoppable as the Gators used pinpoint passing and rocket shots to take an 8-0 lead after one period.

The Gators continued to pour it on in the second period as their second string got into the flow of the match, scoring five more times on five shots to lead 13-0 at halftime.

In the second half, SHP attempted only four shots — and none in the fourth period, as the Gators spent the final 14 minutes working on moving the ball around.

They had plenty of opportunities to increase their lead, but passed up multiple shots.

“You have to get something out of games like this,” said SHP head coach Brian Kreutzkamp. “Just trying to get the guys to think (about what they’re doing) and not just go through the motions.”

Weigle led the SHP offense with four goals, all in the first period. Churukian, Kyle Ballack and James Plaschke all scored twice for the Gators, while Walker Seymour, who is committed to play at Harvard, and freshman Luke Johnston each scored once. Another freshman, Donald “Bear” Weigle recorded an assist.

“We had [four] freshmen in the water. Those are valuable minutes for them,” Kreutzkamp said.

The SHP defense was just as dominant as the Gators’ offense, holding Serra (0-3) to a total of 11 shots, six of which were on goal. The Padres’ first shot attempt didn’t come until midway through the opening period, but Matthew Collins’ shot attempt was blocked by a defender. As was his second shot attempt. Collins finally got a shot off through the defense, only to see SHP freshman goaltender Griffin Price deny him.

Serra finally got on the scoreboard midway through the third period when Michael Smoot took a pass in the hole set from Andrew Robertson and his shot slipped through the hands of the SHP backup goaltender.

For Kreutzkamp, getting back into league play was something of a relief considering the Gators finished in second place in the Elite 8 tournament last weekend, which featured the best teams in the country.

“This one came at a good time for us,” Kreutzkamp said. “We got beat up pretty good (last weekend). We’re looking at this week as a chance to get healthy.”

Kreutzkamp is not surprised his team is off to another strong start, but the second-place finish in the Southern California tournament has Kreutzkamp thinking this year’s team might be extra special.

“We’re certainly not as deep as last year,” Kreutzkamp said. “But our top-end guys are as good as we’ve had at SHP.”

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