Cherry Creek boys lacrosse coach Bryan Perry said the only bad part about this season is its approaching completion.
“It’s been an unbelievable year,” he said Thursday.
But the ever-growing legion of lacrosse fans have one last reason to celebrate – the state championship, featuring regulars Kent Denver and Cherry Creek at 7 tonight at All-City Stadium.
Recent history predicts a gem.
Kent Denver (15-3) owns the past two titles and four of the past six. Cherry Creek (16-2) won it in 2002, and the two teams met in the final game from 2001-03. Since 2002, the Sun Devils and Bruins have played each other seven times, and Kent Denver holds a 4-3 advantage. However, the seven games have been decided by a total of nine goals.
“I’m excited,” longtime Kent Denver coach Tom Graesser said. “We are the little guys and they are the big guys as far as school size. A lot of the kids feel that it is pretty special to even be playing on the same field, let alone competing, with a school that size.”
Don’t let the coach fool you too much. Although Kent Denver’s enrollment (about 400) pales compared to Cherry Creek’s (about 3,500), and while it is true Kent Denver was not named by Sports Illustrated the fifth-best high school athletic program in the nation, as was Creek, it also is true the Sun Devils are a lacrosse powerhouse.
The Sun Devils girls team won its third title since 1998 on Tuesday – against Cherry Creek, of course – and Graesser’s history in the area dates to the 1970s. Plus, Kent Denver attracts top-notch talent.
This year’s crop includes goal scorers Josh Reichert, Tim White and Ian Ferrell, who apparently is so good that opposing fans chanted his name in the semifinals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Max Pluss has more than 100 saves this year, and a defense led by Will Cudahy limits the chances other teams get at the net.
Cherry Creek also is loaded. Senior attacker Spencer Cooperman is fifth in the state in goals scored this season, and Steve Lundberg and Cameron Kerr are among many offensive threats. Goalie Mark Stone is protected by college-bound seniors Jordan Hendry, Jason Lavenhar and Aaron Gillespie, just to name a few of the significant regulars.
“They have a lot of depth, particularly at midfield,” Graesser said. “And their close defense is excellent, as is their attack, led by Cooperman.
“The focus is on the kids relaxing, not squeezing their sticks so hard out there,” said Perry, who played at Cherry Creek and Whittier (Calif.) College. “This is my third time coaching this game, and it’s really tough to relax.”
Cherry Creek has not lost to an in-state opponent this year, and the Bruins beat Kent Denver 10-9 in the their first game of the season. Last year, Kent Denver beat Cherry Creek in the semifinals, and the year before the Sun Devils did the same thing in the title game. In 2002, Cherry Creek ended the season for Kent Denver in the final, repaying the favor for the 2001 season.
“It’s a great rivalry between great teams,” Perry said.
