More photos. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
DENVER — Trailblazers, always.
Aspen won the school’s first boys lacrosse championship on Friday evening by virtue of a 17-12 victory over Valor Christian in the Class 4A title game.
It was a fitting cap for a group of seniors who have been role models for countless youths in the region.
“They were the first kids to have lacrosse sticks in Aspen,” said Mike Goerne, Aspen’s coach who helped bring the game to the region. “We’ve been telling these kids, since they first picked up lacrosse sticks when they were in fourth and fifth grade: ‘You’re going to win a state championship. You’re going to bring the title home to Aspen.’
“They’ve been fighting for this the last 10 years. This is the final piece.”
Friday, it was a barrage of goals spanning the first and second quarters that proved to be the difference. Aspen, the top seed, went on a 7-0 run in the first half to build a 9-1 lead. They led 9-2 at halftime.
“It was huge,” said the Skiers’ John Heaphey of the run, “but it’s pretty dangerous to be up by that much because you become complacent.”
And, in fact, No. 2 Valor opened the second half with a 5-0 run of its own to make it 9-7 with 2:38 to play in the third quarter.
But, as it turned out, that only served to set the stage for the game’s defining moment. Heaphey scored with 1:07 to play to give Aspen some breathing room — and then served up a dagger with a goal 1 second before the quarter ended.
It was Heaphey’s fifth and final goal of the game, which led all players.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
“Momentum is just so important, such a key part of this game,” Heaphey said. “They really had a little momentum at that point, so I just knew if I could get a couple of goals, I would stop that momentum.”
Added Goerne, now in his seventh season: “They rattled us a little bit. They took away that momentum in the beginning, and we just held strong and took that momentum back up. We knew that our bunch of goals was going come. And when it came, it came right when we needed it to.”
Tyler Tick added four goals for the Skiers, while Matt Gregory, Jonathan Wells and Trey Robinson each added a pair. Arthur Kelso was stellar in net, as well.
Valor Christian was led by Don Provost’s four goals. Ryan Russell had three.
The title is the Aspen’s first in boys lacrosse, and 17th overall. Thirteen of those previous championships have been thanks to the school’s prestigious ski team — seven boys and six girls. Two were cross country titles.
It is the school’s second championship in a so-called team sport, following hockey in 2007. So this is rare territory for Aspen, which has an enrollment of 563 students.
“I’m just extremely proud that small little Aspen High School can come and compete at the state level for the title and take it away,” Goerne said. “These boys have built up for this, and they captured it.”
“It’s huge, not just for us, but for our region,” Heaphey said. “A mountain team’s never even been to the state championship, so it’s just awesome. I hope that this legacy keeps up.”
Aspen went unbeaten (14-0) against 4A schools. It was 17-2 overall, but the losses were to 5A’s Arapahoe and Grandview — both playoff teams.