The Hoover boys’ water polo team showed beyond doubt that even though water polo is exhausting, they are a strong team. Davit Harutyunyan led Hoover with six goals as it defeated El Rancho, 15-8, on Wednesday.

“I feel a big part of it is my team trusts me with the ball,”Harutyunyan, just a sophomore, said. “Them trusting me makes me want to perform. That all together, with the hard work over the summer, gave me all I needed.

“I feel like I could have done a lot better. I try to do better for the team. I want to be a better player myself and make my team better.” 

Michael Arabian scored two goals for Hoover. Alex Orujian, Menua Iskandaryan, Tiko Mkrtumyan, David Tarakhchyan, Raffi Davtyan and Haik Aghadjanian also scored a goal for Hoover.

“You’re not just using your legs and your lungs, you’re using every muscle in your body to put yourself against the other player and you’re trying not to drown, it’s really hard,” said Porsche Double, the coach of the varsity boys’ water polo team.