The following article is from The San Diego Union Tribune, “Composed Cathedral Catholic hangs on, accomplishes water polo first.”
by GLAE THIEN | PUBLISHED: November 20, 2025 at 8:03 PM PST | UPDATED: November 21, 2025 at 8:58 AM PST

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After a dramatic final in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs that saw La Jolla High School end Cathedral Catholic High’s two-year title reign in boys water polo, a rematch in the Southern California Regional Division 1 semifinals brought a worthy encore.

When the host Vikings came back from a five-goal deficit to close within one midway through Thursday night’s fourth quarter, the loudest cheers sounded.

Then, another roar after Dons coach Tommy Corcoran was ejected for protesting a foul that was called ahead of the goal.

Cathedral senior Max Arnold responded by scoring his second goal of the game on the next possession with 3:27 to go, and the third-seeded Dons then proceeded to close out a 10-9 victory.

“The key for us at the end was composure,” said Arnold. “Up by one, we got that goal. Just composure secured the win.”

Sophomore Diego Dantas added his fourth goal with 1:49 left for a three-goal edge and enough cushion to withstand two last-minute goals by the No. 2 Vikings.

The victory enabled the Dons (26-5) to become the first local team to reach the SoCal Division 1 final in the eight-year history of the event.

Cathedral will face No. 1 Newport Harbor (30-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut. The Dons handed Newport Harbor (30-1) its only loss this season on Oct. 11.

Dantas finished with four goals, including two in the opening 4:25 that helped Cathedral open with a 3-0 lead.

Dexter Black scored four goals to lead the Vikings (25-5), who trailed 6-1 midway through the second period but rebounded to cut the Cathedral advantage to 8-7.

The Dons rallied in the absence of their coach.

“You can’t get comfortable,” Dantas said. “You have to stay tight. We reminded ourselves of that, and we put them away.”

Braylen Axline and Grayson Taylor added two goals each for Cathedral. The Dons also won both regular-season meetings with their City Western League rival.

“We felt that we were the better team, and we wanted to come out and prove that the game in the (section) final was a fluke,” Arnold said. “We did a good job of that. Obviously, they’re a really good team, so props to them, coming in with all their intensity.”