South leads the way for Sailors

Farrel South knows how to light up a scoreboard.

Last year, he had 113 goals for the Newport Harbor High boys' water polo team, easily a team-best. He was first-team All-Sunset League and All-CIF Southern Section Division I.

This year, South has 31 goals in the Tars' first nine games, double that of any teammate.

The Newport Harbor High senior said these statistics don't matter, not as long as the team is winning. There's still one thing that changed from junior to senior year.

Now he's a team captain.

"Since I'm captain, I feel like I need to perform higher than anyone," said South, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week. "I'm pretty excited about the role. [Former coach Jason] Lynch and the captains from the team last year kept talking to me, saying that I needed to build up my leadership role last year. It didn't really happen. I just kind of stayed where I was, which I was fine with and they were fine with.

"We had three captains last year [goalie Chris Whitelegge, Andrew Duhoux and Davey Jorth], and it was their time to shine. I thought they all did super-well last year."

Now South knows it's his time to shine. He did plenty of that last weekend at the South Coast Tournament, helping Newport Harbor finish second.

He missed nearly half of the semifinal game against Loyola with foul trouble, yet still found a way to make an impact. He scored three straight goals early in the fourth quarter, single-handedly rallying the Sailors from a 7-5 deficit. They went on to win, 10-7.

A couple of hours later Saturday, South was again on fire in the final against top-ranked Mater Dei. He kept Newport close in the opening quarter, scoring three of his team-high four goals, before Mater Dei pulled away and won, 16-7.

The three-year varsity starter is blessed with a super-hard shot. Watch South for a full game, and there's a good chance at least one of the goals will be of the "Oh my God, did I just see that?" variety.

"He definitely is ahead of the game when it comes to shooting," Newport Harbor Coach Robert Lynn said. "He does have the top shot, one of them, in high school. [He's] at least in the top three or four. The potential with the arm is limitless. I think a lot of colleges should be interested in him and his offensive prowess."