On Monday, August 10th, La Porte High School Water Polo hosted its inaugural Round Robin Tournament, and the tournament did not disappoint. Six teams from across the area participated: La Porte, Baytown, North Shore, Klein, Klein Oak, and Southwest Legacy from San Antonio.
La Porte vs. Klein Oak
The La Porte Boys opened the tournament against Klein Oak in what would become one of the most exciting games in program history. Junior Lucas Prigmore got the Bulldogs on the board first, scoring to give La Porte a 1-0 lead. Klein Oak responded with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead. Senior Jake Gazaw answered with a goal to cut the deficit to 3-2. Klein Oak added two more goals to extend its lead to 5-2 with 3:34 remaining in the first quarter. Gazaw refused to let the Bulldogs fall behind, scoring two more goals to bring La Porte within one at 5-4. La Porte then drew two 5-meter free throws. Prigmore and Gazaw each took the shot and converted, giving the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter continued to be a back-and-forth battle. Klein Oak eventually pulled ahead 11-8, but La Porte refused to give in. Prigmore and Gazaw once again took control, scoring back-to-back goals to cut the lead to 11-10. Sophomore Trey Acklen then scored his first high school goal to tie the game at 11-11 heading into halftime. Gazaw opened the third quarter by scoring his ninth and 10th goals of the game, giving La Porte a 13-11 advantage. Klein Oak responded with a goal to make it 13-12, but Prigmore answered to put the Bulldogs back up by two at 14-12.
Klein Oak then found a way through the La Porte defense, scoring three goals in just one minute to take a 15-14 lead. Gazaw answered with his 11th goal of the game to tie the score once again. Klein Oak would score one more time before the end of the quarter, taking a 16-15 lead into the fourth quarter. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Gazaw needed just two more goals to tie the La Porte single-game scoring record of 12, held by his teammate, Prigmore. Prigmore quickly put the Bulldogs back in front, scoring within the first 45 seconds of the quarter. Klein Oak answered with two straight goals to take an 18-16 lead. Prigmore responded with another goal to bring La Porte within one. With just 2:00 remaining, Gazaw scored his 12th goal of the game, tying the La Porte single-game scoring record and tying the game at 18-18.
With 55 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs made a huge defensive stop. Coach Stewart called a timeout to set up the offense for one final opportunity to win the game. With just 36 seconds left, Gazaw delivered. He drilled the game-winning goal, giving La Porte a 19-18 victory and setting a new La Porte High School single-game scoring record with 13 goals. But Gazaw wasn't finished making history. The game-winning goal also marked his 100th career goal, making him the first boy in La Porte Water Polo program history to reach 100 career goals.
La Porte vs. Klein
La Porte's second game of the tournament was just as exciting, but the Bulldogs came up just short against Klein, falling 11-9. Klein came out strong, scoring on one of its first four possessions to take a 4-0 lead. Prigmore and Gazaw answered with a goal each to get the Bulldogs on the board. Klein held a 5-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the La Porte offense began to find its rhythm. The Bulldogs matched Klein goal-for-goal, with Gazaw and Prigmore each scoring twice. Despite the offensive push, La Porte entered halftime trailing 9-6.
The Bulldogs continued to battle in the third quarter. Prigmore scored twice while Gazaw added another goal, cutting the Klein lead to 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter, Coach Stewart called a timeout to slow down Klein's momentum and set up another offensive opportunity for the Bulldogs. La Porte found the back of the net again, cutting the deficit to one. Klein responded with another goal to regain some breathing room, eventually holding on for an 11-9 victory. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs showed tremendous fight throughout the game and continued to compete until the final whistle.
Jake Gazaw finished the game with a school-record 13 goals, the game-winning goal, and his 100th career goal. A historic day for La Porte Water Polo. A historic day for Jake Gazaw. And only the beginning of what promises to be an exciting season for the Bulldogs.
