DENVER — When Silver Creek seniors Blake Gorr and Luke Schmeeckle first arrived on campus four years ago, Bob Banning felt they were something special.
At that point, the high school basketball coach of 45 years knew this would be the class that he could hang up his career with. On Thursday at the Denver Coliseum, Banning’s 13th-seeded Raptors boys ensured his final ride would extend past the final four after they defeated No. 8 Lewis-Palmer 51-47.
Schmeeckle and fellow senior Cooper Herchert powered the birds of prey to victory, scoring 18 and 15 points, respectively. No Silver Creek team had ever made it to the semis, much less a state title game.
That championship bid, however, will come Saturday night to put a bow on the day’s big-school hoops competition at the Coliseum.
“Itap not so much about their basketball ability, but more about their desire to succeed,” Banning said. “I guess, maybe, in conversations that people have with themselves or with God, I thought that (a deep state tournament run) might happen.
“It was their basketball skills but more importantly, their competitiveness. Itap not like (Schmeeckle and Gorr) are super tall kids. They’re well-built kids and they’re athletic, but I think it was just more about that desire to be true competitors and their purity. They were also in the middle school feeder (team), and I saw them play and I thought, ‘Man, these two could be special players.’”
The numbers, of course, speak for themselves. Schmeeckle had been leading the Raptors all season long with 18.7 points per game, soaring as high as 45 in one night against Littleton. Gorr came in clutch when he
When asked at what point of the season he realized this team was the best he’s ever fielded at Silver Creek — as the only boys basketball coach the school has ever known — Banning said, “summer.”
“I really can’t pinpoint it,” he explained. “It probably was not one thing why, probably a lot of little signs and having a long, long career of seeing some good basketball teams and having a chance to climb the mountain to the top one time. It was a feel.”
The Raptors were certainly feeling it against the Rangers on Thursday. They spent the first half consistently trailing just a little bit behind Lewis-Palmer and couldn’t quite find an edge over its strong offensive rebounding.
Schmeeckle altered that narrative midway through the third quarter, when he alone fueled a 7-2 Silver Creek run to make it 27-26 in the Rangers’ favor at the 3:36 mark. Through the fourth quarter, he and Herchert combined for 10 points while Gorr, ever the threat from the foul line, hit the front end of two free throws with 20.7 seconds remaining.
Herchert sealed the deal with a layup as the clock neared zero.
“The goal’s been, all year, ever since last season ended, to get to the state championship. Itap just about showing up every day and working hard,” Schmeeckle said. “Itap happened every game this tournament. We keep getting better every quarter. Thatap our mindset — work harder every single play.
“We’re just so close. We all buzzed our heads for playoffs. We don’t care who scores. We don’t care who gets interviewed. Itap just about the team. I’ve never been with a group of guys thatap been closer.”
Banning’s long coaching career began in 1978, and the only state championship in his tenure was at Niwot in 1993.
He’ll hang up his whistle with the best team the school’s ever known. And now, he’ll get the chance to add another crown to his legendary career. The Raptors will either play No. 10 Lutheran or No. 11 Windsor for the state championship at the Coliseum on Saturday.
“Sometimes, when we finish practice and games, itap usually waiting for everyone to enjoy the moment,” Banning said. “We certainly have a time where we’ll break down and be thankful for that time that we’ve had together during practice and during the games, but especially this time of year. Most teams are not playing, so basically itap giving recognition to the hard work thatap been put in and the friendships that have been made.”
