On Thursday Sept. 13, the Ventura High School boys’ water polo team played a match against rival, Buena High School. The Ventura Cougars defeated the Buena Bulldogs 15-4.

The Cougars came close to tying in the first quarter with senior Christian Guillaume (number 10) scoring the first point of the game. The Cougars and Bulldogs fought neck and neck, finishing 4-3 with Ventura in the lead.

In the second quarter, the Cougars stepped up their game when senior goalie Jackson Ellis (number one) went up against a Bulldog, blocking the ball one on nobody. The second quarter ended 9-3, with Ventura still in the lead.

Senior Makoa Gutierrez (number four) started out the third quarter with the first goal. From there, the Cougars drove a hard defense against the Buena Bulldogs, pushing four points and ending the third quarter 13-4.

In the last quarter, the Cougars rallied two points, defeating the Bulldogs 15-4 with some clutch shots by Guillaume. Guillaume led the team as the MVP scoring five points throughout the whole game.

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When asked about the game, VHS’s Head Coach Spencer McGrath stated, “I thought we did really well especially after we got going, we had a little bit of a slow start and it was just kinda close in the first quarter but once we started really moving the ball and getting open we started scoring some points.” Senior Harry Behrens (number six) agreed, “I think we did kind of poorly in the beginning, we kept making small mistakes but then we really came back in the end.”

In an interview with Ellis and junior Brandon Plasch (number 12), the two boys spoke fondly of their team. Ellis said, “Our coach knows what he’s talking about and our team is strong but we couldn’t have won without the pregame hype of Andre Nickatina and the new album I Want to Die in New Orleans” while Plasch jokes, “Aw, my team sacks. We’re loaded. Our coach is a baller”
The Cougars next game is at home on Thursday Sept. 20 at 3:15 p.m. against Channel Islands High School.