Air Force Academy – Kit Carson forward Damon Dechant will always remember winning the Class 1A championship Saturday because he and his teammates wouldn’t allow themselves to forget the way they lost the state title game last year.
The Wildcats won Saturday’s rematch against Hi-Plains easily, prevailing 58-36 at the Air Force Academy. In last year’s final, the Wildcats fell to Hi-Plains 55-52.
“It’s been on our mind all year,” said Dechant, a 6-foot-6 senior who led his team with 23 points. “Since that day, we’ve been on a mission to come here, and we didn’t lose a game. Mission complete, I guess.”
The Wildcats, who finished the season 25-0, took control with a 20-4 first-quarter lead. Dechant and Stetson Mitchell each had six points in the quarter.
“We just didn’t get everything sealed up, and Dechant, he can play, he’s a phenomenal player,” Hi-Plains coach Dave Sheffield said. “They’re about as disciplined a group as you can find….We lost by 22, we were down by 16 at the end of the first.”
Hi-Plains outscored Kit Carson 24-23 over the second and third periods but Kit Carson put it away with a 15-8 advantage in the fourth quarter. Dechant had eight points in the period.
Hi-Plains employed a balanced attack, with three players scoring eight points each: junior Nathan Rueb and sophomores Evan Bancroft and Kent Herman.
“They lost a lot to graduation but they’re still a real good team, else they wouldn’t be up here,” Dechant said of Hi-Plains. “We came in a lot more confident, and we knew if we went out and played our game, no one could beat us.”
Kit Carson coach Jim Trahern said there was no “revenge factor” in the rematch.
“I don’t think it mattered who we played today,” Trahern said, “they were going to rise to the occasion.”
The Wildcats won a state championship in 2004 and finished sixth in 2005 before their runner-up finish last season.
“This team has been together,” Trahern said. “For them, anything less than a state championship was going to be a disappointment. They set their goals pretty high.”
Now Dechant has three college scholarship offers to consider.
“Damon Dechant I feel is the best player in 1A basketball,” Trahern said. “He can do it all, and everything starts there, but we have such a great supporting cast. Outstanding senior class, outstanding leadership.”
Hi-Plains 4 17 7 8 – 36
Kit Carson 20 15 8 15 – 58
Hi-Plains – McCrachan 0 0-0 0, Bancroft 3 0-0 8, Bro. Benson 1 0-0 3, McCullough 0 0-0 0, Tagmeyer 1 0-0 2, Mills 0 0-0 0, Bry. Benson 0 0-0 0, K. Rueb 3 0-0 7, Henry 0 0-0 0, Herman 3 2-3 8, Schultz 0 0-0 0, N. Rueb 4 0-1 8. Totals 15 2-4 36.
Kit Carson – Jolly 0 0-0 0, Dechant 10 3-5 23, Connelly 5 2-3 13, Maxcy 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 4 0-0 8, Hammer 0 2-2 2, Trahern 2 1-1 6, Rhoades 0 0-0 0, Ar. Arroyo 1 0-0 2, Stephenson 0 2-3 2, An. Arroyo 0 0-0 0, Ball 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 10-14 58.
3-pt. goals – Bancroft 2, Bro. Benson, K. Rueb; Connelly, Trahern. Total fouls – Hi-Plains 13, Kit Carson 9. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
THIRD-PLACE GAME
CALICHE 70, OTIS 44
Caliche 13 24 16 17 – 70
Otis 11 10 13 10 – 44
Caliche – Gutierrez 1 0-0 3, Stieb 4 2-2 11, Hendrix 0 0-0 0, Debus 0 1-2 1, Chartier 1 0-0 3, Zink 6 2-2 16, Weingardt 4 0-0 9, Monheiser 2 1-2 5, Kippes 2 3-6 7, Stumpf 3 1-2 8, Jones 0 0-2 0, Gillman 0 7-10 7. Totals 23 17-28 70.
Otis – K. Kuntz 1 0-0 2, McCall 2 1-2 5, Anderson 1 0-0 2, Perry 0 0-0 0, Patterson 0 0-0 0, G. Kuntz 1 1-2 3, Ruiz 2 1-1 5, Schoenfeld 3 2-3 9, Aughe 0 3-6 3, Rogers 1 0-0 2, McGrath 4 0-2 8, Davis 2 1-4 5. Totals 17 9-20 44.
3-pt. goals – Zink 2, Chartier, Gutierrez, Stieb, Stumpf, Weingardt; Schoenfeld. Total fouls – Caliche 16, Otis 22. Fouled out – Schoenfeld. Technicals – None.
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP
GRANADA 69, CREEDE 48
Creede 13 15 12 8 – 48
Granada 15 14 17 23 – 69
Creede – Stroh 0 0-0 0, Small 9 1-2 24, Vineyard 0 0-0 0, Gallegos 1 0-0 2, Tiley 0-0 0, Carpenter 5 0-0 10, Karr 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 1-4 1, Hosselkus 0 0-2 0, Ussery 3 0-0 6, Whitmore 0 1-2 1, Bell 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 3-10 48.
Granada – Tys. Thrall 10 1-1 21, Sigala 1 0-0 2, Marquez 4 2-2 11, Esparza 0 0-0 0, Vega 5 1-1 11, Tyl. Thrall 7 0-0 15, Widemer 1 0-0 2, Morales 2 2-2 7, Dorenkamp 0 0-0 0, Merritt 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-6 69.
3-pt. goals – Small 5; Marquez, Morales, Tyl. Thrall. Total fouls – Creede 12, Granada 13. Fouled out – None. Technicals – None.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Damon Dechant, Kit Carson, Sr.
Kendal Rueb, Hi-Plains, So.
Nathan Rueb, Hi-Plains, Jr.
Ty Trahern, Kit Carson, Sr.
Cody Zink, Caliche, So.
MVP: Damon Dechant
John Meyer can be reached at 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com.
