Punahou boys water polo coach Ken Smith has won a lot of Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships in his 36-year coaching career.

But last night's title-clincher over 'Iolani — Smith's 33rd overall championship — had special meaning because the process of turning out a quality finished product wasn't easy.

Kai Golden scored two second-half goals and Jimmy Field made nine saves as Punahou beat 'Iolani, 6-4, for the overall ILH title at Kamehameha.

"I think of all the other championships, this one has the most meaning considering where we started and where we ended up," Smith said.

He added he's never had a team that had no returning starters. Smith added that two starters — Nainoa Watson and Nick Schaefer — had never played at the Varsity I level prior to this year.

"The team's strongest weapon is the coaching staff, and the ability to depend on each other and the willingness to work," said Golden, a senior.

Punahou, the regular-season champion, finished 8-1. 'Iolani wound up 6-3, with all three losses coming to Punahou. The Raiders forced last night's winner-take-all title match by beating the Buffanblu last Friday for the league's tournament title.

After a scoreless first quarter last night, 'Iolani's Chase Weber scored on a skip shot with 4:33 left in the second.

Punahou quickly tied it on Brett Carter's goal with 3:51 left, and went ahead on Watson's touch shot into the goal off an assist from Schaefer with 2:30 remaining.

Matt Hong made it 3-1 by scoring from the point with 49 seconds left before halftime.

"It's the first game we did that," Smith said of his team's balance on offense. "We've relied a lot on Kai Golden. He was our leading scorer this season and he also scored in overtime (a quadruple OT victory over 'Iolani late last month)."

Golden scored on an assist from Hong with 3:24 left in the third to make it 4-1, and the Raiders' Kacy Johnson scored with 2:41 remaining just as a power play was ending.

Punahou took its largest lead at 6-2 after Schaefer's goal early in the fourth and a power-play goal by Golden with 3:19 remaining.

"Coach told me to put the ball in the back of the net," Golden said. "I might have had two goals, but they were the team's goals, not my goals."

'Iolani's Vincent Lim scored at 2:21 on a penalty shot and again with 55 seconds remaining.

Punahou's Field, a senior, stopped 4 of 6 shots in the fourth.

"I just came in mentally prepared to get up for those shots coming at me," he said.

The Raiders also saw six shots go off the post, and a handful of shot attempts were in desperation with the 35-second shot clock ticking down.

"What Punahou was doing on defense, it wasn't anything we didn't expect," said 'Iolani coach Randy Bart. "It was a matter of settling down and taking shots.

"We knew they were going to camp out on a couple of guys and they did a good job of that."

Smith said his Buffanblu double-teamed 'Iolani's main offensive threats — Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka, Lim and Johnson — at times, and mixed in multiple defenses.

Smith also wanted to recognize his bench as a major reason why Punahou was able to win its ninth consecutive league title.

"We wouldn't be here if not for what we call our taxi squad," he said. "They worked hard and improved so much. They all couldn't play (during the season), but their attitude helped us in practice."

There is no boys state water polo tournament.