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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

Parity continued to rattle Division 1 boys water polo Wednesday night as Loyola defeated Harvard-Westlake, 6-4, to claim the Mission League title and unseat the No. 1-ranked team in the Southern Section’s top division.

Huntington Beach and Orange Lutheran, ranked second and third this week, could climb to first and second in the playoff pairings, which will be announced Saturday at 10 a.m.

If the Oilers and Lancers rise to 1-2, they would only play in the Division 1 finals, and not the semifinals as some anticipated.

Loyola also owns a recent victory against Mater Dei, so the Cubs could take the No. 3 seed.

Defending Division 1 champion Mater Dei and rival Harvard could land in the 4-5 seeds and clash in an epic Division 1 quarterfinal. Of course, Mater Dei and Corona del Mar play on Friday and if the Sea Kings win, perhaps the Monarchs slide and CdM rises.

But either way, Mater Dei and Harvard could be on the same side of the playoff bracket.

On the other side, Orange Lutheran could be paired in a bracket-quarter with Newport while Foothill might share a bracket-quarter with Loyola.

This is all intriguing speculation. What is certain: the quarterfinals will be amazing, and seeing Mater Dei and Harvard as second-place teams could be interesting for the first round.

Please send water polo news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter