The LPHS Bulldogs participated in their first water polo tournament over the weekend at Benjamin Davis High School. This event featured four teams: La Porte, Caney Creek, Davis, and Nimitz. The tournament employed a round-robin format, with the Bulldogs competing in two games on Friday and one game on Saturday.

In their opening match, the Bulldogs faced Benjamin Davis High School and secured a victory with a score of 11-5. Sophomore Lucas Prigmore contributed significantly with three assists, while sophomore Cole Bailey added two assists. Juniors Ean Lopez and Jake Gazaw, along with sophomore Douglas Robb, each recorded one assist. Offensively, Jake Gazaw led the team with four goals, followed by Lucas Prigmore with three, and Jaime Reyes and Ean Lopez with two goals each. Defensively, the Bulldogs achieved six steals, and goalkeeper Douglas Robb made twelve saves to prevent goals.

The second game of the day saw the Bulldogs compete against Nimitz High School, resulting in a close 13-10 victory. Nimitz took an early 3-1 lead after the first quarter. However, La Porte responded strongly, outscoring Nimitz 5-1 in the second quarter to take a 6-2 halftime lead. Goals in this period included three by Jake Gazaw, one by Lucas Prigmore, and his first high school goal by sophomore Gary Jordan. Prigmore and Reyes each provided one assist. In the third quarter, Gazaw scored two more goals, bringing his total to five for the game, while Prigmore added another assist. Nimitz mounted a comeback in the quarter, scoring four goals, but La Porte maintained a one-goal lead, 8-7, entering the final quarter. The Bulldogs' defense tightened, allowing only three goals, and Ean Lopez made a crucial block that thwarted Nimitz's drive. La Porte then scored five consecutive goals, with Gazaw adding three more to finish the game with eight goals, and Prigmore and Lopez each contributing one. Goalkeeper Cole Bailey recorded nine saves in this game.

The final round-robin game matched two undefeated teams, Caney Creek and La Porte. Defense was prominent, with only one goal scored in the first quarter by Caney Creek and none by La Porte. In the second quarter, junior Jaime Reyes assisted Jake Gazaw on the sole goal, tying the halftime score at 1-1. In the third quarter, Prigmore scored two goals, one assisted by Gazaw, giving La Porte a 3-1 lead. However, Caney Creek responded with three goals and La Porte only scored one goal resulting in a 4-3 Caney Creek lead going into the final quater. The Bulldogs' defense was exceptional, with goalkeeper Douglas Robb recording two blocks in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. Jake Gazaw tied the game at 4-4, but Caney Creek scored twice to make it a final score of 6-4 to win the game.

Players of the Tournament
Jake Gazaw
Lucas Prigmore
Ean Lopez

Tournament Stats
Ean Lopez: 4 Assists, 3 Goals, 1 Steal
Lucas Prigmore: 6 Assists, 7 Goals, 2 Steals
Jake Gazaw: 2 Assists, 14 Goals, 1 Steal
Jaime Reyes: 3 Assists, 3 Goals. 1 Steal
Cole Bailey: 2 Assists, 1 Steal, 9 Saves
Gary Jordan: 1 Goal, 1 Steal
Douglas Robb: 1 Assist, 17 Blocks

Next Game
at Pearland High School. Boys play at 6:00 PM