The Sacred Heart Prep boys' water polo team opened the North vs. South Challenge with a dominating 15-0 victory over Villa Park on Friday morning in Atherton. The Gators (17-3), seeded No. 1 in the North, won its ninth straight while earning a berth in the quarterfinals. The Gators, however, fell to Santa Barbara in the second round, 13-12.

"They are very improved from earlier this season," SHP coach Brian Kreutzkamp said of Santa Barbara. "We did not play our best and that is very disappointing to me."

Santa Barbara, seeded No. 5 in the South, is the No. 4-ranked Division II team in the CIF Southern Section.

The Gators (17-4) trailed Santa Barbara 10-6 entering the fourth period before tallying six goals to make it close. Harrison Enright scored five goals with Michael Holloway, Scott Jollymour and Bret Hinrichs adding two each.

In the first round, Jollymour scored four goals and Hinrichs added three as nine SHP players scored.

The Gators, hoping to become the first NorCal team to reach the finals in the seven-year history of the statewide event, can finish no higher than fifth if they win both their matches Saturday. SHP will play El Toro (No. 6 seed in South) in the third round on Saturday morning. A possible fifth-place match likely would be against Agoura, the No. 1-ranked Division II team in the CIF Southern Section.

Menlo School, seeded No. 7 in the North, dropped an opening-round 16-5 decision to Loyola of Los Angeles, the No. 2 seed from the South. The Knights (10-9) bounced back with a 9-8 win over Davis in the quarterfinals.

Micah Rosales tallied two goals in both games for Menlo with Chris Xi leading the way against Davis with six goals.

Menlo-Atherton, the No. 6 seed from the North, also fell in the first round -- 10-8 to No. 3 South seed Los Alamitos. The Bears (9-10) dropped a 16-8 decision to Vista (San Diego) in the quarterfinals. Morgan Olson-Fabbro had three goals in each match for M-A.

2012 NORTH vs. SOUTH CHALLENGE
FRIDAY
At Sacred Heart Prep
Game 1 -- Sacred Heart Prep 15, Villa Park 0
Game 3 -- Santa Barbara 16, Acalanes 6
Game 5 -- Loyola (LA) 16, Menlo School 5
Game 7 -- El Tori 13, Davis 7
Game 9 -- Acalanes 17, Villa Park 8
Game 11 -- Santa Barbara 13, Sacred Heart Prep 12
Game 13 -- Menlo School 9, Davis 8
Game 15 -- Loyola 14, El Toro 10

At Menlo-Atherton High
Game 2 -- Mater Dei 15, Los Altos 3
Game 4 -- Agoura 8, St. Francis (MV) 5
Game 6 -- Miramonte 12, Vista (San Diego) 9
Game 8 -- Los Alamitos 10, Menlo-Atherton 8
Game 10 -- St. Francis 16, Los Altos 12
Game 12 -- Mater Dei 14, Agoura 7
Game 14 -- Vista 16, Menlo-Atherton 8
Game 16 -- Los Alamitos 11, Miramonte 8

SATURDAY
At Sacred Heart Prep
Game 17 -- Sacred Heart Prep 9, El Toro 6
Game 19 -- Agoura 9, Miramonte 6
Game 21 -- Loyola 10, Santa Barbara 6
Game 23 -- Mater Dei 13, Los Alamitos 9
Game 25 -- El Toro 8, Miratemonte 7 (7th place)
Game 27 -- Sacred Heart Prep 11, Agoura 7 (5th place), 1:50 p.m.
Game 29 -- Los Alamitos 13, Santa Barbara 10 (3rd place), 3 p.m.
Game 31 -- Loyola vs. Mater Dei (1st place)

At Menlo-Atherton High
Game 18 -- Menlo-Atherton 9, Los Altos 6
Game 20 -- Davis 12, Villa Park 6
Game 22 -- Vista 12, St. Francis 3
Game 24 -- Acalanes 7, Menlo School 2
Game 26 -- Los Altos 13, Villa Park 9 (15th place)
Game 28 -- Davis 14, Menlo-Atherton 7 (13th place)
Game 30 -- Menlo School 11, St. Francis 10 (11th place),
Game 32 -- Vista vs. Acalanes (9th place)

— Palo Alto Online Sports

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