The one-on-one battles between Ethan Parrish of Dos Pueblos and Chase Raisin of Santa Barbara High were epic each time they squared off in crosstown water polo games.
When either player scored a goal, the reaction was like an NFL touchdown celebration.
Parrish and Raisin were hugely important players on their respective teams and left an indelible mark on the programs at their schools.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is honoring the seniors as the High School Boys Water Polo Co-Players of the Year.
Because of the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, the Round Table is recognizing its high school and college athletes of the year through a virtual Evening With the Athletes. The award winners are being presented through the Round Table’s social media platforms of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and on the Noozhawk.com Sports Page.
Monday’s Award: Girls Tennis
Raisin scored the biggest goal of his life in the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game against Schurr. He beat the goalkeeper with a fall-away lob from distance to break a 7-7 tie in the fourth quarter, and the Dons went on to win 9-7 for their sixth title in program history and first since 2006.
“Chase was the driving force for our water polo team this fall,” Santa Barbara coach Mark Walsh said. “His desire and will to win was the motivational force that drove us to a league championship and CIF championship.”
Raisin was named the CIF Division 3 Player of the Year and the Channel League MVP. He is headed to Santa Clara University on a scholarship.
“In the pool, Chase’s team-first attitude propelled us to many wins,” Walsh said. “His defense on the other team’s best players was the foundation of our team defense to start every game. On offense, he was able to draw exclusions and score goals from all over the pool.”
Parrish did it all for Dos Pueblos. He led his team in six statistical categories: goals (135), assists (48), steals (98), field blocks (38), exclusions earned (46) and sprints won (23).
He also excels in the classroom, maintaining a grade point average above 4.0.
“Ethan is a tremendous student-athlete and embodies every aspect of that term with excellence,” coach Bryan Snyder said. “He has a total skill set in the water with one of the most complete games for a high school water polo athlete that we have in our sport.”
Parrish signed a letter of intent with Stanford, where his brother, Blake, excelled for four years, earning All-Academic and All-American honors several times.
“(Ethan) comes from a great family with a rich water polo tradition,” Snyder said. “When you asked any of the teachers or administrators around campus about Ethan, they all know exactly who he is and have nothing but great things to say about him as a person.”
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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