The historic 2014 season continues for the Durango High School boys lacrosse team.
DHS (10-4) earned the No. 14 seed in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A Boys Lacrosse Championship and will face No. 3 seed Valor Christian in the opening round at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch.
“I was hoping we’d be 9, 10 or 11,” DHS head coach John Robinette said. “I’m OK with it no matter who it was. At this point, no matter what team you’re playing, it is going to be a tough team all around.”
It is the first time the DHS boys lacrosse program has reached the state tournament.
Robinette had a five-year plan when the program began in 2009. The goal was to make the state tournament, and it all panned out in year No. 5.
Robinette doesn’t think his team will use their low seed as extra motivation.
“It’s the first time they’ve been in this position,” he said. “I think they’re excited about the opportunity to go.”
Five other teams DHS played made the state tournament, including four from the Mountain League: No. 5 Aspen, No. 4 Battle Mountain, No. 6 Steamboat Springs and No. 15 Summit.
Valor Christian (11-4) beat the Demons 14-5 when the two teams met in the regular season April 11.
The Eagles led DHS 11-2 at halftime of their previous meeting, but the Demons played an even 3-3 second half against Valor Christian’s starters.
“I like our chances,” Robinette said. “We’ve got them on tape. We saw where we made the mistakes and where some opportunities were for us.”
While Durango will be experiencing its first state tournament, Valor Christian has been around the block.
The Eagles advanced to last season’s state tournament semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Wheat Ridge, who returns this year as the No. 1 overall seed.
Ryan Russell leads Valor Christian and ranks seventh in 4A with 45 goals.
Durango will counter with one of the best goalies in the state in senior Walker Brown.
He ranks third in Class 4A with a .619 save percentage and has stopped 145 shots.
Liam Millar orchestrates much of the Demons’ offense, ranking seventh in the state with 29 assists.
“I think they’ll be excited to have a rematch with this team,” Robinette said.
Should the Demons advance, they’ll match up with the winner of No. 6 Steamboat Springs (13-2)and No. 11 Conifer (7-7).
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
