Foothill boys water polo coach Jim Brumm prefers the spotlight to focus on his players instead of him. And he definitely isn’t a fan of stories about school buses catching fire on the way back from matches.
Few would pick the latter angle but the water polo universe keeps spinning. The Foothill athletic department has begun a countdown to Brumm’s 500th career victory and the Knights’ bus indeed caught fire last week. There were no injuries.
“I like to fly under the radar,” Brumm said with a sly grin Tuesday.
Foothill’s stellar play Tuesday didn’t lower its profile but produced the type of attention that Brumm gladly accepted.
Attacker Chas Hornecker scored six goals and four players added two apiece as the third-ranked Knights handled No. 7 Newport Harbor, 15-5, in a nonleague match at Foothill.
The Knights (3-0) strengthened their résumé as the defending CIF Division 2 champion by posting a double-digit victory against the traditional Division 1 powerhouse Sailors (3-5).
“Every time we play a Division 1 team, we always come out and play really hard,” Hornecker, a senior tri-captain, said. “It’s a challenge. … We just came out super strong and we ended up winning by a lot, so it was good.”
Brumm said he didn’t expect the large margin but acknowledged that Foothill played sharp. The Knights scored the first three goals to force a first-period timeout from the Sailors.
Foothill pushed its counterattack throughout, scoring six goals on quick breaks. The Knights also connected a few well-placed assists to drivers for a few more goals.
Foothill looked in midseason form in the opening period. Mike Miller and Hornecker came off picks in the front-court offense to score. Hornecker’s brother, J.J. Hornecker, sprinted from the penalty corner after Newport Harbor misfired on a power-play and scored on a counterattack.
“The kids did a nice job,” said Brumm, who collected his 488th victory. “The whole key right now is to continue to get better. That was a good step.”
Miller, J.J. Hornecker, Zane Scott and center Griffin Gaughran each finished with two goals for Foothill and goalie Arash Izadmanesh added nine saves. Scott added four assists and three steals. Bobby Lee anchored a defense that silenced Newport Harbor about 12 1/2 minutes during one stretch.
Newport Harbor didn’t start a senior and again played without two potential starters whom Coach Ross Sinclair said are out indefinitely. But senior goalie Joe Ferraro made 10 saves, including two at point-blank range, and left-handed junior Cole Brosnan scored twice for the Sailors.
“For this season, we’re young and behind,” Sinclair said. “For the future, we’re doing just fine. It’s a big learning curve for a lot of these guys.”
In other nonleague games:
Beckman 10, Edison 8: Ian Holder scored with 2:08 left to snap an 8-8 tie and Evan Kim scored with 35 seconds left to lift the host Patriots (6-1).
Servite 11, Montebello 10: Cody Ela scored to break a 10-10 tie for the host Friars (4-3).
Costa Mesa 12, Brea Olinda 8: Jorge Miranda scored four goals and freshman Caedmon Fisher added three to lead the Mustangs (1-2). Goalie Ivan Shikhelman added 16 saves.
No. 2 Huntington Beach 15, No. 9 Santa Margarita 8: Chasen Petersen scored three goals and Noah Hodge made eight saves in three periods but it wasn’t enough for the host Eagles.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
