More photos. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)
DENVER — On the eve of a fourth-straight championship appearance, the weight of the past could have been crushing.
Cherry Creek boys lacrosse had been to the boys lacrosse championship game the past three seasons, including the past two in Class 5A. They’d lost all three times.
But not this time. Not Friday night.
The Bruins, top-seeded in the playoffs, beat No. 2 Regis Jesuit 13-10 to claim 5A’s crown at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. And the past three seasons only made this title, the program’s fifth, all the sweeter.
“It really does,” said Cherry Creek senior Michael Morean, who had two goals on Friday. “I’ve been on the team for four years, and for three years, walking off the field, losing the state championship — there’s nothing worse than that.
“To finally get one my senior year, with these group of guys, there’s nothing like it. It makes it all the better.”
The funny thing was, Cherry Creek wasn’t too focused on the previous championship games. And that’s probably why the past wasn’t a problem.
“We talked about that all season long: ‘Don’t start thinking about what happened. Stay in the now. Stay here. Stay focused on this game, this play, right now,'” said Cherry Creek coach Bryan Perry. “Because we can’t control anything that’s happened in the past.”
On Thursday, the day before this season’s title game — which happened to be a rematch of last season’s game with Regis Jesuit — “I don’t think we thought about it at all,” said Creek star Max Tennant, a senior.
“The last practice was just like any other practice,” he said. “We didn’t think about the last three years at all. We came out for this game like we did at any other.”
Well, they came out on fire Friday. The Bruins (18-1) led 4-0 after the first quarter, and it was 7-2 at halftime.
More photos. (Matt Minton/JacksActionShots.com)
The cushion proved to be a huge advantage later as Regis tried to claw its way back into the game.
The Raiders (16-3) cut it to 8-6 at one point, and looked to have all the momentum, but Cherry Creek quieted the storm with a few answer goals. It was 11-8 just before the end of the third quarter when Tennant scored with 9 seconds remaining.
It was the second last-second goal of the game for the Bruins, who also got a goal from Dylan Johnson with 2 seconds remaining before the half.
“Going in off a half on a goal, or going in off a quarter with a goal,” Morean said, “that really gives you the momentum coming into the next quarter, and that’s huge.”
As the fourth quarter opened, Regis Jesuit scored just 20 seconds in to make it 11-9, but Cherry Creek’s Asher Nolting responded 20 seconds after that.
“They kind of kept getting goals, and their offense started to click, and we would just match them,” Perry said. “It was a nice cushion, 4-0. That gives you the cushion to withstand that run — we went on our run early — but we knew they were going to make that run.
“Our guys have persevered all year, and they were able to do that again tonight.”
With championship No. 5, Cherry Creek ties Kent Denver for the most championships in the sport’s sanctioned history. It also adds to what’s been a banner year for the Bruins, having won boys tennis, football and hockey.
“I know that I would like to set a standard to be followed for years to come now that I’m leaving,” Morean said.
“We were able to continue what’s gone on with hockey and football and it’s just an incredible feeling,” added Tennant, who led his team with four goals.