The season will go on for the Durango High School boys lacrosse team.
The Demons received an at-large bid into the 16-team Colorado High School Activities Association 4A Boys Lacrosse Championships as the No. 12 seed. The bracket was announced Monday morning and the Demons (12-3) will travel to face No. 5 Conifer (12-3) at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The winner will play either No. 4 Vail Mountain (13-2) or No. 13 Windsor (8-7) in Friday’s quarterfinal. The No. 1 seed went to Dawson School (14-1) from Layfayette. Valor Christian (11-4) is the second seed, Cheyenne Mountain (11-4) is third and Vail Mountain (13-2) is No. 4.
“I’m happy with the way it shook out,” Durango head coach John Robinette said. “Seems like we’re pretty evenly-matched teams and we just played what I think was our best game with this group.”
Though Conifer and Durango were separated by seven spots in the rankings, the two 12-3 teams are nearly identical on paper. Not only do they share the same record, the teams both scored exactly 215 goals this season. Durango gave up 100 and Conifer allowed 103. The matchup is highlighted by two of 4A’s four offenses to score 200 or more goals and both offenses feature some of the most dynamic scorers in the state.
Demons senior attackman Kyle Robinette finished the regular season at the top of the 4A class in a number of stat categories. The DHS senior led the state with 69 goals, while the next closest player was 17 goals behind. He also led the state with 108 points and was third in assists with 39.
Durango is hardly a one-man show, though. Junior Tommy Rodgers finished the season with 42 goals and was fifth in 4A with 37 assists. Cullin Robinette scored 30 goals and TJ Rifkin tallied 25. Draw control specialist Easton Verduzco led the team with 184 faceoff wins and was second with 96 ground balls.
Everyone got involved on Saturday as the Demons capped off its winningest season in school history with a 11-5 win against seventh-seeded Aspen.
“Last year we kind of limped into the playoffs after losing a tough crossover game,” Robinette said. “I think in the past we were just happy to make the playoffs. This time, that’s not good enough. Our goal is to make some noise in the playoff and it starts Wednesday.”
Conifer will be a tough out. The Lobos finished at the top of the 4A Foothills standings after closing out the regular season with 11 consecutive wins. They boast an arsenal of offensive weapons led by four 30-goal scorers.
Senior Chase Phelps racked up 44 goals and 43 assists to lead the team with 87 points. Fellow senior Mason Meyer is second on the team with 36 goals and leads the Lobos with 45 assists. Nick Williams’s 34 goals and 31 from Riley Miller round out the fearsome foursome Durango will need to contain.
Conifer hasn’t lost since March 22 and two of the team’s three losses came at the hands of Valor Christian and Cheyenne Mountain, which are two of the top three seeds in the 4A state tournament.
The Demons will have to be at their best to achieve one more goal in what has already been a historic season.
“Honestly, we think all the pressure is going to be on them,” Robinette said. “The guys are really pumped. We’re practicing hard and upping the intensity to simulate the pace of a playoff game. We’re going to be as ready as we can be and we’ll see how far these guys can go.”
Four Demons also got a boost of confidence Monday as Cullen Robinette, Kyle Robinette, Rodgers and Verduzco were named to the Mountain League’s first team.
jfries@durangoherald.com
