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SANTA ANA — Corona del Mar senior Noah Gerard knows from experience that the trek to playing varsity-level water polo at an Orange County powerhouse program can require years of persistence and being ready when opportunity arrives.

He also experienced the rewards of the journey on Tuesday.

Gerard played well off the bench after early foul trouble to co-captain Charles Warmington to help the Sea Kings open their season with a 15-6 victory at Foothill.

Gerard scored two of the Sea Kings’ five counterattack goals in the second half that pushed the score from being competitive in the middle of the second period to lopsided in the end.

Corona del Mar (1-0) scored the first four goals of the third quarter on the counterattacks, including one by Gerard that made it 11-3 and drew a timeout by Foothill (1-1).

Gerard entered in the opening quarter after Warmington picked up two early fouls.

“(Warmington is) a huge part of our team and when he got two early, me and my coaching staff, we looked at each, we looked at the bench, and this was a kind of a chance for certain guys to step up,” Corona del Mar coach Kareem Captan said. “That is what this team really has, (that) playing for each other.”

Gerard earned his call Tuesday after playing junior varsity as a freshman and sophomore, and proving himself off the bench last season as a junior.

Corona del Mar, ranked fourth in Orange County, features nine seniors, including six who start.

It’s no easy task to play for Sea Kings, who also are loaded in the lower levels. They won the Capistrano Valley frosh-soph tournament last week with a roster of ninth graders, and not the ones playing varsity and JV.

“I had to earn everything,” Gerard said of reaching varsity. “I kind of took (playing junior varsity) as a positive, like a chip on my shoulder, and I just used it a lot, and it paid off last year when I finally got the call and started getting minutes.”

Gerard has company when it comes to being extra motivated. Corona del Mar is full of players who are seeking to reach the Open Division playoffs for the first time and beat rival Newport Harbor, the two-time Open Division champion.

“There’s a lot chips on the shoulders,” Gerard said of his teammates. “Everyone knows that CdM was on the map for a long time and hasn’t been as much (in recent seasons). Our goal is to simply to put us simply back on the map, and we’re going to do that through playing.”

That hunger showed against Foothill as the Sea Kings’ defense fueled the counterattack and led to nine players scoring.

Senior left-hander Luke Zimmerman led Corona del Mar with three goals while seniors Carson Simonson and Camren Simoncelli and sophomore Cooper Harlan each joined Gerard with two apiece.

The Sea Kings’ bench finished with six goals.

Senior goalie Chase Campbell added six saves in his duel with Foothill junior Edric Scott (nine saves).

“They just bulled over us in the third quarter with their counterattack,” Foothill coach Dean Crow said. “We got to stick together. It’s a lesson early in the season.”

Senior William Griswold and junior Brody Metz each scored twice for the Knights,. Griswold added two assists and four steals.

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