Off to a 9-1 start and with a statement win over No. 8 Lakewood last Friday, No. 7 Chatfield burst into the Post Preps Power Rankings and is again showing it can compete for a championship following a Final Four run last year.
Post Preps editor Kyle Newman caught up with Chargers coach Steve Schimpeler to discuss the triumph over the Tigers, his veteran talent, the team’s lone loss and much more.
:Take me inside your team’s 90-58 win over Lakewood on Friday. What was the key to a blowout victory against a top-tier opponent?
:It was one of those things that sometimes happens in sports that you don’t really even understand why, because Lakewood’s a really good team and we just played really, really well. They happened to struggle that day, and that’s really the only difference.
:With all the talent back from last season — such as Joe Miks, Titus Reed, Mike Vrabel and Lucas St. Germain — how confident are you in your core group of veterans?
:Not only do I have a lot of confidence in them, but in our bench as well. Landon Rodgers, Keland Rumsey and those guys have played really well, and then we’ve got another guy returning, Alex Beckley, who started for us last year and has only played in six of our games because of a foot injury and then an illness. He’s going to be a starter, so I think that if we get him healthy, we become even better.
:What did your team take away from a two-point loss to No. 4 Eaglecrest on Dec. 2?
:We knew we were going to be good, but what we got out of that game was that we could compete with anyone and that we were going to be better once we get everyone healthy.
:What big games do you have circled on your calendar down the stretch?
:We really try to treat them all the same, but obviously we’re going to have to play Lakewood again (Feb. 1), we’ve got Arvada West twice and they can be good, and we’ll have a couple rivalry games with Dakota Ridge and Columbine. Those games are always tough. And you know what? For the rest of the games everyone’s out to get us in our league, so we always have to be ready.
:Looking at the 5A top 10, it seems like any one of those teams can make a title run in the playoffs. What’s the key for your team to emerge victorious in March amid all this parity?
:I would agree with you. For us, it’s about continuing to play together, continuing to stay healthy, and to just work on the little things. If we do that, we’ll be right there.
