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Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Punahou
in winner’s
circle again
The girls' water polo team
By Tim Crouse
get their fourth straight ILH title;
Iolani coach Chaney says aloha
Special to the Star-BulletinBoth water polo coaches ended up getting wet after last night's Interscholastic League of Honolulu title game.
Winning coach Ken Smith of Punahou took a post-game plunge into the pool in celebration of his team's 4-3 win, and Aaron Chaney of Iolani was covered by tears -- his and his team's -- because he was saying goodbye after 19 years of coaching.
Chaney is leaving Iolani to pursue his interest in being an international water polo official.
"People don't realize how much (Chaney) has contributed," Smith said after Punahou won its fourth consecutive league crown. "This was another game, another championship, but you can't replace people like that."
The relationship between Smith and Chaney goes way back to when Chaney played for Smith in the eighth grade on one of Smith's first teams.
The two have coached together in summer leagues and coached against each other in boys' and girls' water polo for years.
"I'm really going to miss him a lot, and we're going to miss him because he provides such great competition for us." Smith said. "He's done so much for water polo here in Hawaii. I don't know how we're going to replace him, I don't think you can."
The season finale that brought out the post-game splash and post-game tears was set up when Iolani thumped Punahou, 7-2, in last week's ILH Tournament.The Buffanblu won the regular season crown, so last night's contest was for the overall championship.
Punahou jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of goals by Annie Richardson. On the second score, she got a perfect feed in front of the goal from Tianna Johnson, and her shot hit the left post and ricocheted into the net.
The Raiders got on the scoreboard just before the end of the first quarter on a shot through traffic by Brianne Cashllo-Huang.
The teams traded goals in the second quarter, and then Iolani tied the match a minute and a half into the third quarter on a goal by Jennifer Chang.
Both goalkeepers made tough plays, including a save by Iolani's Emma O'Hanlon on a breakaway.
The decisive goal came with just under three minutes left in the third period when Katie Flanagan got the ball all alone inside and fired a shot into the left side of the net.
The final quarter was a defensive struggle. The Raiders put only one shot on goal, and it sailed harmlessly over the net.
Iolani gained possession with just five seconds remaining in the contest, and after a timeout, tried to throw the ball toward the middle, in hopes of getting a tip into the goal.
Neither team gained control of the ball, and the clock ran out without a shot attempt.
"All I knew was that the game wasn't over and we had to stick it out to the end," Punahou senior captain Marissa Rueter said of the final five seconds. "We just pressed on defense and did what we needed to do."
During the final timeout, Smith said he reminded his team what he had told them earlier in the game, that defense wins championships.
"It was emotional at the end because it was the perfect way to end my season and high school career," Rueter said.
And emotions were running high on the other side, as the Iolani players gathered one last time with Chaney.
"They've got great kids here," Chaney said. "I'm not sure going anywhere else that I'm going to find kids better than at Iolani.
"They're dedicated, they work hard, they care about each other and they have a lot of respect for each other," he said.
