AGOURA PUTS FEAR IN ROYAL BEFORE FALLING ROYAL 10, AGOURA 7.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

AGOURA - By the end of the first quarter, the Agoura High boys' water polo team went from being scared to instilling fear.

Royal of Simi Valley won Friday's Marmonte League contest against the host Chargers 10-7 to take sole possession of first place, but the closeness of the game served as a reminder to both sides that the Highlanders are not invincible.

Royal never led by more than two goals until Tyler Templeton's shot with eight seconds remaining provided the final margin of victory.

The defending league champion and Division IV finalist Highlanders (16-3, 3-0) entered the game ranked No. 1 in the division and having outscored the opposition 45-7 in the first two Marmonte games, while Agoura (13-5, 2-1) had struggled to find its groove.

``They were like, `Oh, no, we have to play Royal, the No. 1 team,' '' Chargers coach Jason Rosenthal said. ``The kids were scared. It gave them a lot of confidence seeing they could do this.''

Agoura's Donovan Tatum provided the Highlanders with their first deficit in league play when he scored the game's initial goal with 5:35 left in the first quarter. A backhanded shot by Royal's Ramiro Saldain tied the score a minute later, but with Agoura's defense shutting down the Highlanders on counter-attacks, a goal by Royal's Sean Carnahan was the only other score of the opening period.

The Highlanders took just three shots in the quarter, but escaped with the lead because the Chargers had two shots hit the crossbar, another sail just over the goal and another go wide.

``They always play us tough,'' Royal coach Steve Snyder said. ``We expected a very tough game, but they took advantage of our weak side and Tom (Onyshko) missed some shots he usually gets. To be honest, we're lucky to get out of here with a win.''

Onyshko made 13 saves, but in an uncharacteristic play for last year's league MVP, he lost his grasp on a shot by Paul Stuart late in the second quarter, and the ball slipped in to cut Royal's lead to 4-3. Onyshko redeemed himself by blocking Matt Monoco's potential game-tying penalty shot the next quarter.

Saldain scored a game-high five goals and Tatum and James Wong led Agoura with two goals each. Eric Acevedo had eight saves for the Chargers and his teammates' week-long preparation for Royal's usually dominant counter-attacks paid off by keeping the Highlanders within one until there were less than four minutes left.

``It was probably the first good game we played all season,'' Rosenthal said. ``Everything came together today. It was definitely the best game we've played all season. . . .

``Maybe we're peaking at the right time.''

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Photo:

Agoura's Mike Thomas, background, is shadowed by Royal's John Newton during Friday's game.

Joe Binoya/Staff Photographer