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The boys water polo rivalry between Newport Harbor and Cathedral Catholic in San Diego added another chapter at the Junior Olympics on Sunday.
The SD Dons, featuring several players from Cathedral Catholic, scored twice in the final two minutes to defeat Newport Beach 17-15 in the 18-under-final at Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.
Top-seeded Newport Beach included several products from Newport Harbor, including national team players and Stanford-bound Connor Ohl and Kai Kaneko.
After Newport Beach’s Mason Netzer tied the score 15-15 with 1:55 left in the fourth period, the Dons’ Jett Taylor — also a national team player — netted the winning-goal with 1:36 remaining.
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Kenly Axline added the final goal for the Dons with 24 seconds left.
Kaneko, The Register’s Orange County player of the year in the fall, had five goals and two assists to lead Newport Beach. Ohl and center Tyler Anderson each added three goals.
Diego Dantas paced the Dons with four goals. Eamon Bruhn added two goals and nine assists.
In the fall, Newport Harbor went 5-1 against Cathedral Catholic, including a win in the SoCal regional final. Cathedral Catholic was the only school to defeat Newport Harbor in 2025.
In the semifinals, Newport Beach avenged an earlier loss to Stanford Red with a 14-6 victory.
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Newport Beach earned bronze medals in the 16’s and 14’s.