For Keepers, El Toro's and Laguna Beach's Water Polo Teams Boast Best

Mater Dei High School's boys water polo team won the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship last fall with a thrilling 11-9 victory over El Toro; however, the Santa Ana school is not one of the 22 high schools covered by Orange County Patch sites, which primarily service cities along the county’s coast and in South Orange County.

That’s why you will not find Bret Bonnani’s name among the following list of top returning players for the 2011 season.

Bonnani, Division 1's player of the year and the Orange County Register’s co-player of the year, is only one of the reasons the mighty Monarchs are ranked No. 1 in the Division 1 coaches’ preseason poll and No. 1 in the county by the Register.

That being said for the record, here is a look at the top returning players from those schools that are covered by Orange County Patch sites:

• Garrett Danner, goalie, Sr., El Toro -- Arguably the county’s top returning goalkeeper, Danner has been a CIF Southern Section Division 1 first-team pick each of the last two seasons. The MVP of the Villa Park Classic in 2010, he had 64 blocks in five matches to help the Chargers win their fourth consecutive tournament title. The South Coast League’s co-MVP had 369 saves, 53 assists (second on his team) and 58 steals (fourth on team) to lead the Chargers to a 28-4 record and a return to the Division 1 championship game. Returning from a broken finger that kept him out of the state high school championships and the Junior Olympics this summer, Danner and his teammates are No. 2 behind the Monarchs in the Register’s preseason county rankings and No. 3 in the Division 1 coaches' preseason poll. 

• Nolan McConnell, utility, Sr., Laguna Beach -- Led the Breakers to a 26-7 record and their first Southern Section championship -- it came in Division 3 -- with 143 goals (third-most in county), 57 assists and 85 steals. The left-hander scored a team-high four goals and added four steals in an 11-9 victory over Laverne Damien in the championship game. McConnell, who is beginning his fourth year with the varsity, was selected Division 3’s player of the year and was co-MVP of the Orange Coast League last season. Laguna Beach is No. 1 in the Division 3 coaches' preseason poll and No. 6 in the county.

• Farrel South, attacker, Sr., Newport Harbor -- Possessing one of the hardest shots in the county, South is just as productive from the perimeter as he is as a post-up player. A Division 1 and Sunset League first-team selection last season, he scored 113 goals and had 53 steals to lead the Sailors to the league title. Newport Harbor is No. 2 in the Division 1 coaches' preseason poll and No. 3 in the county.

• Joey Fuentes, attacker, Sr., El Toro -- The Chargers have reached the Division 1 finals each of the past three seasons, and Fuentes has played on all three El Toro teams. A coincidence? Hardly. Perhaps biggest shot of his high school career came when the lefty scored on a lob from about six meters with 2.2 seconds left to lift El Toro to a 10-9 victory over previously undefeated and top-seeded Loyola of Los Angeles in the Division 1 semifinals in 2009, the same year the Chargers won their sixth section title. Fuentes was a first-team Division 1 and South Coast League selection last season, when he was also an all-county second-team pick.

• Chandler Jarrels, utility, Jr., Los Alamitos -- A top goal-scorer, he led the Griffins to the Division 1 quarterfinals with 68 goals last season. A Sunset League first-team selection, Jarrels was named to the U.S. men’s youth team that played in Italy last month. A strong freestyler, he helped the Griffins win the boys 200 free relay at the CIF Southern Section High School Masters Championships in May. Los Alamitos is No. 5 in the Division 1 coaches' preseason poll and No. 4 in the county.

• Erik Henrikson, goalkeeper, Sr., Laguna Beach -- Beginning his fourth season as a member of the Breakers’ varsity, he is one of six returning players from last year’s Division 3 championship squad. In addition to his 10 saves in the title game, the first-team All-Orange Coast Leaguer scored a momentum-changing goal as the buzzer sounded to end of the third quarter of Laguna Beach’s 11-9 victory over Damien. Henrikson was a first-team Division 3 selection last year.

• Joey Colton, attacker, Jr., El Toro -- The “other” Joey at El Toro, Colton was an All-South Coast League first-team pick, a second-team Division 1 selection and a third-team all-county pick in 2010. Considered one of his team’s better defenders, Colton is also a strong backstroker for El Toro’s swim team.

• Nick Brunner, attacker, Sr., Laguna Beach -- The first-team All-Orange Coast League player will be looked to fill in the gap created by the graduation of attackers Spencer Dodson and Jack Clark and center Tyler Mancusso. A second-team Division 3 selection, Brunner hopes to help the Breakers keep the No. 1 ranking they earned in the Division 3 coaches’ preseason poll.

Others to Watch -- Samer Alkateb, Sr., Laguna Beach; Brett Argersinger, Jr., Aliso Niguel; Steven Bitter, Sr., Tesoro; Pablo Carballo, Sr., Santa Margarita; Caleb Castellaw, Sr., Trabuco Hills; Logan Chappell, Sr., El Toro; Brendan Clark, Sr., Santa Margarita; Derek Cousineau, Sr., San Clemente; Drake Dunn, Sr., Dana Hills; Ryan Fowler, Sr., Newport Harbor; Jon Frank, Sr., Aliso Niguel; Brian Heiser, Sr., Capistrano Valley; Charlie Howarth, Sr., Corona del Mar; Hunter Johnson, Jr., Tesoro; Preston Lee, Jr., Newport Harbor; Christian Macias, Jr., Mission Viejo; Ari Marks, Sr., Corona del Mar; Max Merrill, Jr., Los Alamitos; Garrett Nelson, Sr., Capistrano Valley; Randy Nguyen, Sr., Los Amigos; Andrew Pappillion, So., JSerra; Phillip Penrose, Sr., Capistrano Valley; Cris Perez, Sr., Los Amigos; Sam Pfeil, Jr., Dana Hills; Andrew Reynolds, Jr., Los Alamitos; Stephen Riggins, Jr., Santa Margarita; James Rude, Sr., El Toro; Andy Santala, Sr., Aliso Niguel; Scott Schneringer, Sr., San Clemente; Andrew Silvers, Jr., Newport Harbor; Alex Simmons, Sr., Santa Margarita; Brendan Smith, Sr., Tesoro; Dan Stevens, Jr., Newport Harbor; Tyler Testman, Sr., Capistrano Valley; Riley Thomas, Jr., Laguna Beach; Luke Weiser, Jr., Los Alamitos; Koby Yokota, Sr., Newport Harbor; Ben Zepfel, Sr., Corona del Mar.