League titles come down to final week

By Ramon Scott
Updated: October 27, 2026

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS WATER POLO

EastCountySports.com staff report

LA MESA — More than two weeks of tournament and league competition have carried the East County boys water polo season toward two potentially decisive championship games.

Santana and Helix meet Wednesday night in La Mesa with control of the Grossmont Hills League at stake, while El Capitan visits Granite Hills on Thursday in a Grossmont Valley League rematch.

The games bring together four of the area’s most successful teams.

Helix enters the final week 18-5 and rated fourth in the San Diego Section, while Santana stands 19-7 and is rated sixth. The Scotties remain the section’s highest-rated Division II team, while the Sultans are fifth among the section’s Division I teams.

Santana gained the advantage in the Hills race by defeating Helix, 9-6, on Oct. 8 and continued its run by beating Valhalla, 17-7, and Steele Canyon, 18-6.

The Sultans also defeated San Marcos, 8-7, and Poway, 11-9, during tournament competition. Their only two reported losses during the stretch came against Riverside Poly and Sage Hill.

Helix responded to the Santana loss with six consecutive victories.

The Scotties defeated Steele Canyon, 18-6, Bainbridge of Washington, 14-4, Point Loma, 19-5, Valhalla, 16-8, Canyon Crest Academy, 8-7, and Grossmont, 13-5.

The one-goal victory over Canyon Crest was especially significant. Canyon Crest entered the final week rated fifth in the county, one place behind Helix and one position ahead of Santana.

That run has set up a much-anticipated rematch between the Scotties and Sultans. Helix defeated Santana, 10-9, during tournament play on Sept. 12 before Santana answered with its three-goal league victory.

Valhalla has remained securely in the county’s upper half, improving to 16-13 while holding the No. 17 position in the computer rankings.

The Norsemen defeated Grossmont, 11-10, San Marcos, 23-5, Mercer Island, 18-1, and Steele Canyon, 18-12 during the stretch. Their losses came against Santana, Helix and Westview.

Steele Canyon produced one of the area’s busiest closing stretches. The Cougars defeated Hilltop twice, Mercer Island, University City and Mater Dei Catholic while dropping a one-goal decision to Mission Bay.

Steele’s 9-8 loss to Mission Bay was among its strongest showings of the season. Mission Bay entered the week with a 22-3 record and the No. 10 position in the county.

Grossmont collected consecutive tournament victories over La Cañada, 14-10, and Clovis North, 11-9. The Foothillers also continued to challenge Valhalla, dropping their second consecutive one-goal game against the Norsemen.

The Grossmont Valley race has developed into a two-team contest.

Granite Hills took the inside position by defeating El Capitan, 13-10, on Oct. 13. The Eagles followed with victories over Mount Miguel, Hilltop, Segerstrom, Del Norte and Monte Vista.

Their only losses during the stretch came against Patrick Henry, 9-8, and Eastlake, 11-4.

The run carried Granite Hills to 16-6 overall and No. 23 in the county computer rankings, giving the Grossmont Conference five teams in the county’s top 25.

El Capitan answered its loss to Granite Hills by winning eight of its next nine reported games.

The Vaqueros defeated Monte Vista, Mount Miguel, West Hills, Mater Dei Catholic, Scripps Ranch and Hilltop. Their only loss during the run was a 12-4 tournament decision against Mission Bay.

El Capitan’s 17-10 victory over West Hills was its 20th reported win of the season, giving the Vaqueros the largest victory total among Grossmont Conference teams entering the final week.

Granite Hills can take command of the Valley race by completing a season sweep Thursday. An El Capitan victory would split the series and leave the league championship dependent on the final reconstructed league records and tiebreaking procedure.

West Hills also produced an encouraging finish. The Wolf Pack defeated Mount Miguel, Monte Vista twice, High Tech San Diego and Bonita Vista before facing Granite Hills on Tuesday.

Patrick Henry supplied one of the most notable results of the period by edging Granite Hills, 9-8, during the San Diego Open. The Patriots also defeated University City, 20-7, and San Marcos, 19-7.

The Patriots are rated 19th in the county and stand 11-10 entering their final three scheduled games.

Poway maintained a top-10 county position despite playing another difficult stretch. The Titans defeated St. Mark’s of Texas, Torrey Pines and Vista while losing close games against Westview and Santana.

Poway’s 22-12 victory over Torrey Pines was its most decisive result of the period. The Titans entered the final week 13-12 against one of the county’s more demanding schedules and were rated ninth.

Ramona rebounded from losses to Rancho Bernardo and Mission Bay by defeating Pacific Ridge, Mira Mesa, West Hills and Fallbrook. The Bulldogs carried a four-game winning streak into Tuesday’s scheduled game against San Pasqual.

Canyon Hills remained competitive in narrow losses to Santa Fe Christian and High Tech San Diego but was unable to break through during the stretch.

The final regular-season games will determine league championships and establish the last set of results before the San Diego Section playoff brackets are announced.

For East County, the most important answers begin with Santana-Helix on Wednesday and El Capitan-Granite Hills on Thursday.

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