Southern Section Water Polo : Corona del Mar’s Likens Saves His Best for Last

Corona del Mar High School’s Jason Likens has a flair for the dramatic.

Friday night, during the CIF Southern Section 4-A final, Likens scored just one goal against Sunny Hills.

However, the goal came with two seconds left in overtime to give the Sea Kings a 7-6 win over the Lancers at Belont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

Likens is the same player who, in the Sea Kings’ semifinal match against Long Beach Wilson, scored with just seven seconds remaining in regulation to tie the match at 7-7 and send it into overtime. Corona del Mar eventually triumphed in that one, 9-8.

Sunny Hills entered the game 29-0, seeded first and highly favored.

“We really weren’t afraid on them,” said Sea King Coach John Vargas, who won his first Southern Section title since coming to the school three seasons ago. “We figured we had nothing to lose. Everyone expected them to win.”

However, the Lancers never led. They trailed 2-1, after the first period, then 5-4 after the third.

Corona del Mar goalie James Wagner, a sophomore, blocked numerous shot attempts including four in the fourth period to help the Sea Kings to the win.

He blocked Erik Blum’s shot with 14 seconds in the fourth quarter and the scored tied at 6-6. A few seconds later, Jeff Harvey, who scored three goals, blocked David Cash’s shot attempt to send the game to overtime.

Cash led Sunny Hills in scoring with three goals. Blum, the Freeway League Most Valuable Player this season did not score.

Mike Story added three goals for Corona del Mar.