DHS boys lax comfortable with its prediction

Cooper Stowers, after predicting a win over Pueblo West that came to fruition back in March, said he was hoping to provide “a spark for the rest of the season.”

Consider that spark now a full-fledged roaring flame. The Durango High School boys lacrosse team won that game March 30, and the Demons haven’t lost since, winning five in a row to move to 5-6 – 6-6 if you consider a forfeit by Santa Fe Prep two weeks ago. After a rough start, the Demons will try to run the table with two more wins to finish their regular season against Eagle Valley at 4 p.m. today and Glenwood Springs at 11 a.m. Saturday.“(Stowers) put it out there, so that was the challenge that we put out to everybody. ... The kids just realized that finally we’re outside practicing together as a unit and starting to gel a lot more, starting to get more continuity with guys playing together in certain units,” said DHS head coach John Robinette, who hinted at the Demons’ slow start to the season because of wintry weather conditions that forced the team indoors. Robinette often referenced Durango’s increased comfort level – comfort playing with other teammates in their particular units, comfort in new roles, comfort with the rest of the team in general.Some of that comes with the repetition of practice, particularly drills where the DHS offense works against the DHS defense in three-on-three drills, which allows the attackers to get accustomed to where their teammates will be in given situations while the defense gets more at ease with who’s handling what and becomes better in terms of communication.

“They’re just getting more and more comfortable with each other – knowing where to be, knowing where to pass to each other,” the fourth-year head coach said. A couple of players have extended that newfound feeling of comfort to new positions. Jacob Boyle moved from defense to the midfield, where he’s managed seven goals this year, good for fifth on the team. Robinette also lauded the play of Wesley Moore in a new defensive role.

“We had switched Jacob Boyle from defense to midfield a couple of games into it, so he’s been getting a lot more comfortable with that role in the offense,” Robinette said. “Wesley Moore has been stepping up in a starting defensive spot.

“Everybody’s getting a lot more confident.”As a team, groundballs may be the other critical area the Demons have improved to allow them to make this run after a struggle against the region’s top squads.

“One of the big things is groundballs,” Robinette said. “Being able to get that first-time scooping. We’ve been spending lots of time every day of practice on groundballs.”Now all that remains between Durango and its lofty goal of winning out is two home games. Two games the Demons desperately want to get, both to complete the run and for their seniors – Sage Myers, Max Ponce, Nate Stilwell, Stowers and Jordan Thompson.“They definitely want to get it done,” Robinette said. “We’ve been talking all this week, the five seniors ... talking about how Cooper put it out there for us. It’s attainable. We’ve got to keep our focus, got to want to finish what we started.”

rowens@ durangoherald.com