newport harbor

It’s the third season of girls’ flag football in California, with athletes and teams getting better and better, which raises expectations for the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals on Saturday. Unbeaten JSerra plays at Dos Pueblos and defending champion Orange Lutheran hosts Huntington Beach.

Dos Pueblos (24-2) faces the most difficult task, trying to defeat a 26-0 JSerra team that owns two wins over No. 2-seeded Orange Lutheran. The good news for Dos Pueblos is that it has already proven it can compete against the best, having taken Orange Lutheran to overtime early in the season before losing.

“We definitely get to say we’ve faced the top,” Dos Pueblos coach Doug Caines said. “They have some crazy athletic girls.”

Dos Pueblos will have to avoid turnovers, relying on quarterback Kacey Hurley to stay away from interceptions. She has 4,603 yards passing and 84 touchdowns. Brooklyn Hendricks is the team’s standout receiver.

The other semifinal matchup involving Orange County teams will determine if Orange Lutheran can repeat as champion behind quarterback Makena Cook. Huntington Beach is 25-1. The Oilers’ only loss was to Newport Harbor. Roxie Shaia has made an impact at quarterback and on defense.

The winners advance to next weekend’s final at Fred Kelly Stadium next to El Modena High.

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Watching 6-foot-6, 220-pound Connor Ohl of Newport Harbor High play water polo is similar to a Great White Shark sighting. You’re stunned and in awe.

He’s water polo’s version of a speeding dolphin in the pool, able to accelerate so fast with his long arms and powerful legs that few can stay with him. He won the Southern Section Division 1 50-yard freestyle title last spring and broke 20 seconds in a league meet (19.79), so beware to those who think he’s not as fast as advertised.

Then comes his size and strength. He could be a football player because physicality comes naturally. Being the youngest of three water polo playing brothers, it was sink or swim in the Ohl household growing up in Greenwich, Conn. One brother plays for Stanford, where Connor will soon join him. Another plays at Princeton.

Connor moved to Orange County last year for his junior season so he could be part of what he calls “the water polo hub of America.”

This past summer, he was the youngest player on the USA junior national team that earned a silver medal at the under-20 world championships in Croatia.

“It was such a crazy experience,” he said.

First there was playing the host team in front of screaming fans in an indoor pool. “Oh my God, It was so loud,” he said. “They had drummers. You couldn’t hear yourself think.”

Then there was playing Serbia, known for its physicality. He was a boy going against men. “It’s insane,” he said. “Some are built like refrigerators.”

What Ohl learned from his international experience will help him immensely during a high school season in which Newport Harbor is the defending Southern Section champion and heavily favored to win again. The Sailors are off to a 6-0 start.

Ben Liechty, Peter Castillo, Connor Ohl and Gavin Appeldorn, from left, represented Newport Harbor at the Under-20 World Championships in Croatia.

(Courtesy of Newport Harbor water polo)

“Going from high school water polo to the junior level is like night and day,” he said. “These juniors have been playing basically their whole life — Spain, Hungary, Croatia. They worship water polo. It’s made me a lot more physical. Coming back to high school, it’s made me more confident to defend and control people with my strength and size.”

With the arrival of the Anderson brothers, Tyler and Sean, from JSerra, Newport Harbor starts out as perhaps the best team in the country.

“We could be a football team with as big as we are in water polo,” Ohl said.

Corona del Mar, JSerra, Oaks Christian and Harvard-Westlake hope to offer resistance.

Ohl is the latest Southern California product who can’t wait to represent the USA in the Olympic Games, which happen to be coming to Los Angeles in 2028. The Dodd brothers, Ryder and Chase, from JSerra and Huntington Beach, played in the 2024 Olympic Games.

It will be one of the toughest teams to make because of the experience and depth with so many players back from 2024.

“My chances are as good as anyone else,” Ohl said. “That’s my dream. I just want to represent my country at the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, if you want to see someone who can swim as fast as a fish, check out a Newport Harbor water polo match. That’s Connor Ohl, the speeding bullet.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

THURSDAY’S WEEK ZERO RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Nonleague

Granada Hills 50, North Hollywood 16

SOUTHERN SECTION

Nonleague

Aliso Niguel 38, Beckman 3

Apple Valley 20, Orange Vista 6

Beaumont 58, San Jacinto 14

Big Bear 41, Riverside Prep 7

Bolsa Grande 66, Savanna 0

Chino Hills 40, Glendora 0

Covina 49, La Puente 35

Desert Hot Springs 32, Rubidoux 14

El Cajon Christian 42, Rancho Mirage 14

El Segundo 62, South Pasadena 34

Elsinore 60, Heritage 14

Etiwanda 36, Grand Terrace 13

Fountain Valley 24, Ocean View 7

Fontana 25, San Bernardino 17

Fountain Valley 24, Ocean View 7

Fullerton 40, Anaheim 6

Gabrielino 26, Century 14

Hawthorne vs. Lawndale at SoFi Stadium, 8:30 p.m.

Huntington Beach 35, Orange 18

Laguna Beach 45, Chino 7

Marina 13, Santa Ana Foothill 7

Moreno Valley 14, Eisenhower 0

Mountain View 47, Glenn 21

Murrieta Mesa 33, Newport Harbor 27

Perris 32, Bloomington 30

Public Safety Academy 70, Warner 8

Ramona 13, Riverside North 0

Rosemead 48, Bosco Tech 0

San Gabriel 32, Whittier Christian 27

Summit 28, Ayala 13

Tahquitz 31, Hemet 13

Western 34, Salesian 31

Whittier 26, Temple City 0

Vista Murrieta 47, Great Oak 25

Yorba Linda 41, Mayfair 0

Yucca Valley 48, Arrowhead Christian 7

INTERSECTIONAL

Cottonwood West Valley 54, Sierra Vista 6

Los Osos 42, Narbonne 6

8-MAN

SOUTHERN SECTION

Cornerstone Christian 63, Santa Clarita Christian 12