It’s rare for a team in any sport to realistically set a goal of winning a Sac-Joaquin Section championship. In a section that includes 198 member schools it doesn’t seem feasible. However, that was the goal for both the Merced High boys and girls water polo teams coming into this season. Now both programs are a win away.

 

The top-seeded Merced girls will look to win back-to-back section championships when they play No. 2 St. Mary’s in the Division II title game at 1 p.m. The Merced boys will follow when they try to win the first section crown since 1994 when the No. 1 seeded Bears square off against No. 3 Ripon at 2:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Roseville Aquatic Center.

 

“It’s awesome,” said Merced senior Eli Hamm. “I was talking with my mom and we said, ‘It’s crazy. If we both win we’ll be able to take a big group photo of the whole program.’ It’s big for Merced High, it’s huge for all of water polo in Merced.”

 

It could be a special afternoon for Merced High, and also families with many siblings playing on both teams. There are brothers Reid and Cord McCall on the boys team and their sister Maren McCall on the girls team. Kade Slocum plays for the boys and Sarah Slocum for the girls and their mother Katie Slocum is an assistant coach for the girls. Elise Metcalf and Mitchell Metcalf are also siblings playing on both teams. The girls team has two sisters in Savanah Barnett and Ally Barnett. There are also the father-son connections with Merced High boys coaches Eric Larson and Bill Gossett with their sons William Hunter Gossett and Nathan Larson.

 

“It’s so special, who would have thought, this is incredible,” Sarah Slocum said. “We get to play back-to-back games. I know I have my sibling on the team, multiple other players have siblings on the team. We get to play and then cheer them on and hopefully both teams take home a section win.”

 

The Bears boys know their opponent well, already defeating Ripon (20-12) twice this season by scores of 19-6 and 16-4 earlier this season. Merced (29-2) rolls into the title game with a 24-game winning streak. The Bears haven’t slowed down in the playoffs, outsourcing their three opponents 56-9 in their three blowout wins. 

 

Eric Larson says his message to his players will be simple. “Just finish what we started,” Larson said. “If we play team defense and team offense, we’ll be fine.” For the Reid brothers, this is an opportunity to win a section title just like their father Scott McCall did in 1994. “I really want this,” Reid McCall said. “That would be huge, even for my sister too. It’s pretty crazy that we’re the only school that has both boys and girls teams going to the section title game.”

 

Merced girls coach says he boosted his schedule with some tougher tournaments because he knew he had eight returning players from last year’s section championship team. The Bears (27-2) will face a formidable team in St. Mary’s (20-9). “We played a couple more tournaments where we could match up against quality teams,” Grattan said. “We’ve had enough tough games to get us ready for the really hard games.”

 

Going through the experience last year is only going to help the Bears in their quest for a second consecutive championship. “The experience definitely helps,” Sarah Slocum said. “Last year we were nervous and you could tell. This time we know what’s coming and we know what to expect. We’ve been practicing for it all year and we’re ready.”

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.