This coach got an ice bath after his team won its first state title. He didn’t like it

St. Thomas Aquinas celebrated its first football state championship in school history Saturday.

But its head coach wasn’t a fan of the particular method of celebration.

As the team rushed the field after a 49-28 victory in the Kansas Class 5A championship against Wichita Northwest in Pittsburg, two players attempted to dunk coach Randy Dreiling with ice and water from a cooler, a custom commemoration of a sports championship. Dreiling responded angrily, one-hand pushing a player in his shoulder pads as he yelled in his direction.

Dreiling told The Wichita Eagle after the game that is he “not a fan of the ice bath.”

Reached Tuesday and asked the reason for his reaction, he said, “It’s just a reaction. That’s all I can say. I reacted. You saw the video.”

As have a lot of people. A video of the ice bath reached national websites, including the USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Deadspin.

Dreiling said he had not noticed the response. “I don’t go on the internet, so it hasn’t gone viral to me. I don’t pay attention to any of that. The only thing I care about is what my kids feel about me and how hard they play for me.”

Dreiling has experienced considerable success at Aquinas, leading the team to runner-up finishes in Kansas Class 5A in 2014 and 2017 before winning Saturday’s championship. He previously won seven state championships at Hutchinson before taking over at Aquinas in 2014.

Dreiling said the talk within the team over the past few days has been about avenging last year’s runner-up finish. The video, he added, has not been a topic of conversation.

“We haven’t discussed it. As far as we’re concerned, it’s over. It’s done,” Dreiling said. “I hope it doesn’t overshadow what those kids accomplished and the work that they’ve done.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2018 at 12:41 PM.