All the talent from across the northern Front Range was not enough to compete with East and its nearly 40 years of boys lacrosse history.
The Angels scored the first six goals and replaced goalkeeper Piet Dudley in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand Friday before grabbing an 11-6 victory over the six-school Fort Collins Unified Vipers at All-City Stadium.
Dudley, who allowed two goals on seven shots, pointed to his defense as the key to his success, but he could have just as easily touted East’s tradition.
“I have three of the best de- fensemen out in front of me, and that makes my life a whole lot easier,” said Dudley, who will play at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
The program at East (3-0) was founded in 1968, 31 years before the Colorado High School Activities Association sanctioned the sport, and the Angels have accomplished some great things, including the most recent state title in 2000.
Jon Barocas, who might retire after his 28th season as head coach, has a 306-63 record over that span with five undefeated seasons and nine state titles, eight coming in the pre-sanctioned days.
Fort Collins (3-1), which won the first meeting between the schools but dropped the past three, put up a 42-12 record with three playoff victories in the past four seasons, including this one. But the Vipers did not have the firepower to take down East.
The Angels’ first score came on a power play midway through the first quarter, and that goal opened the gates to a 6-0 East lead.
With the game still scoreless, East’s offense lined up with the man advantage but quickly turned the ball over. After regaining control, Kjael Skaalerud dished inside to Ben Allison, who tried to go high on Vipers goalkeeper Andy Titterington. But Titterington got just enough of his stick up to deflect the shot.
No matter, as Allison then set up Zach Tedeschi for the opening score with 6:30 to play in the first quarter. Josh Russell and Skaalerud assisted each other on goals in the final minute of the quarter.
Tedeschi finished with four goals, Alex Vinton added two, and Russell had three assists.
Fort Collins scored just once before halftime – a goal from Jared Houghton. The Vipers had issues holding onto the ball on the offensive end.
“We showed signs of improvement, but we couldn’t throw the ball and we couldn’t control it. If you can’t do that, you can’t score,” said Houghton, who will play for the University of Denver along with brother Jacob.
Fort Collins 0 1 1 4 – 6
East 3 3 1 4 – 11
Goals – FC: Saller 2, Jar. Houghton, Miketa, Jestes, Whitcomb; E: Tedeschi 4, Vinton 2, Skaalerud, Russell, Allison, Connor, Clark.
Assists – FC: Miketa; E: Russell 3, Skaalerud 2, Allison. Shots on goal – Fort Collins 2-2-3-4 – 11; East 4-4-7-7 – 22. Saves – Fort Collins (Titterington) 1-1-6-3 11; East (Dudley) 2-1-2 (Londer) 0 – 5.
