News
2023 state Tournament- 5th place
Water Polo Rewind: Pioneer, Huron Had Strong Showings At MWPA Tournament
by Terry Jacoby
Huron
This year’s state finals were highly competitive with a number of evenly matched teams. During the two-day tournament, 12 games were played and seven were decided by three goals or less.
Huron opened with one of those close games, falling to Hudsonville 13-10 in Friday’s opening-round match.
“We played hard against a very strong Hudsonville team but came up just short,” said Huron Coach Paul Barnett. “We were led by captains Graham Baker and Kal Bunnell. We also had a very strong game from senior goaltender Dean Molnar as well as young players Luke Bunnell and Ayaan Patel.”
The River Rats dropped to the 5-8 bracket and knocked off District 4 rival Dexter 17-3 in one of the few lopsided games.
“Against the Dreads, we played probably our most complete game of the year,” said Barnett. “We had goals from multiple players including a nice penalty shot goal by Ethan Yung and a pretty catch and shoot goal by Aiden Dooley. Our goaltending was again very strong by Molnar as well as by Max Grieneder and Rohan Patel who all saw action.”
Huron defeated a very strong and highly-rated East Kentwood team 12-10 to finish fifth overall.
“We fell behind early by a couple but clawed our way back behind solid defensive play from Kal Bunnell and goaltending from Molnar,” said Barnett. “East Kentwood played an aggressive zone defense, putting three and four players on center Graham Baker to try to take him out of the offense.”
Patel, Bunnell and Caleb Beach rose to the challenge, each scoring multiple goals to pull ahead. Huron also had goals from seniors Alex Harris, Jack Humphries and Omar Abdulhak. Remarkably, Dean Molnar, the goalie also scored.
“With a complete team effort we pulled ahead and held onto a two-goal victory, placing fifth in the state tournament,” Barnett said.
All-Tournament Team
Huron’s Baker was voted First Team All Tournament and the tournament MVP.
Pioneer’s Calvin Anderson and Sawyer Thompson also were named to the First Team. Pioneer’s Jensen Wood was named to the Second Team.
Huron’s Bunnell and Patel, a freshman, were voted All-Tournament Honorable Mention. Pioneer’s Mark Flautner and Luke Silva along with Dexter’s Liam MacNeil also were Honorable Mention.
Water Polo Rewind: Pioneer, Huron Had Strong Showings At MWPA Tournament
by Terry Jacoby
Huron
This year’s state finals were highly competitive with a number of evenly matched teams. During the two-day tournament, 12 games were played and seven were decided by three goals or less.
Huron opened with one of those close games, falling to Hudsonville 13-10 in Friday’s opening-round match.
“We played hard against a very strong Hudsonville team but came up just short,” said Huron Coach Paul Barnett. “We were led by captains Graham Baker and Kal Bunnell. We also had a very strong game from senior goaltender Dean Molnar as well as young players Luke Bunnell and Ayaan Patel.”
The River Rats dropped to the 5-8 bracket and knocked off District 4 rival Dexter 17-3 in one of the few lopsided games.
“Against the Dreads, we played probably our most complete game of the year,” said Barnett. “We had goals from multiple players including a nice penalty shot goal by Ethan Yung and a pretty catch and shoot goal by Aiden Dooley. Our goaltending was again very strong by Molnar as well as by Max Grieneder and Rohan Patel who all saw action.”
Huron defeated a very strong and highly-rated East Kentwood team 12-10 to finish fifth overall.
“We fell behind early by a couple but clawed our way back behind solid defensive play from Kal Bunnell and goaltending from Molnar,” said Barnett. “East Kentwood played an aggressive zone defense, putting three and four players on center Graham Baker to try to take him out of the offense.”
Patel, Bunnell and Caleb Beach rose to the challenge, each scoring multiple goals to pull ahead. Huron also had goals from seniors Alex Harris, Jack Humphries and Omar Abdulhak. Remarkably, Dean Molnar, the goalie also scored.
“With a complete team effort we pulled ahead and held onto a two-goal victory, placing fifth in the state tournament,” Barnett said.
All-Tournament Team
Huron’s Baker was voted First Team All Tournament and the tournament MVP.
Pioneer’s Calvin Anderson and Sawyer Thompson also were named to the First Team. Pioneer’s Jensen Wood was named to the Second Team.
Huron’s Bunnell and Patel, a freshman, were voted All-Tournament Honorable Mention. Pioneer’s Mark Flautner and Luke Silva along with Dexter’s Liam MacNeil also were Honorable Mention.