The Durango High School boys lacrosse team got the opportunity to enact revenge for one of its two losses when Fruita Monument came to town for a Friday night showdown at DHS.
The Demons (8-3, 3-3 Mountain League) came up on the short end of a 14-12 game in the teams’ first meeting April 7, as Fruita came alive in the final quarter to win the first game. The Wildcats did the same in the second for a 13-10 win under the lights Friday night.
Fruita Monument (9-4, 6-2 Mountain League) came from behind this time and used a five-goal run in the fourth quarter to steal one from the Demons. The five goals were the final five scored by either side.
Durango’s Kyle Robinette led all scorers with seven goals. Fruita’s Michael Steele led the Wildcats with six goals, and J.D. Clifford added four.
“We started to get behind for a bit, and I think we got desperate there,” Steele said. “We just worked our butts off. We started feeding off each other and making plays for each other, and all of a sudden we were in control.”
It took awhile for the Wildcats to find that control.
Robinette got Durango off to a fast start with the game’s first goal just two minutes in.
Fruita’s Clifford quickly answered back, and the tone was set for the tight, back-and-forth game that followed.
Robinette had a hat trick in the game’s first 15 minutes, but the Wildcats, specifically Clifford, continued to answer each Demons goal.
The Demons’ star had four first-half goals and assisted on the other two – both of which belonged to Tommy Rodgers. Clifford had three, including one with 2 seconds left in the half to send the teams to the locker room tied 6-6 at halftime.
Cullen Robinette broke the tie to start the second half, which gave Durango the lead once again. However, Steele, caught fire and answered back with two quick goals to give the Wildcats a brief lead.
Kyle Robinette scored his fifth and sixth goals of the night to give the lead right back to Durango heading into the final 12 minutes. He pulled off a nifty over-the-shoulder shot that beat the Wildcats’ goalie to give Durango a two-goal lead early in the final quarter. It was the first time all night either team had led by more than a goal.
However, with their backs against the wall, the Wildcats came alive. Steele cut the deficit back to one with his fifth goal of the night, Clifford added his fourth and Steele scored again to give the visitors a two-goal edge.
Durango didn’t have an answer, and Michael Anton had the final statement as his goal capped off a five-goal run and a big comeback win for Fruita.
Dylan Gaver made eight saves in net for the Demons. Rodgers finished the game with two goals, and Cullen Robinette had one. Kyle Robinette won 11 of 13 faceoffs for Durango to go with his seven-goal night.
“I can’t say enough about (Kyle) and the effort he puts forth every night,” Durango head coach John Robinette said. “I’m super proud of all our guys. Both games we played against Fruita were back-and-forth just really good lacrosse games. I wish I would have made a few changes to our defense, so I feel like this one’s on me, but we’ll have another chance to win (Saturday) and we’ll be ready.”
Durango will try rebound in a noon game Saturday at home against Grand Junction.
“We need to find that fire and keep it going until the end,” Kyle Robinette said. “We just have to shake this one off and come back to do our jobs (Saturday).”
jfries@durangoherald.com
