March 24, 2005

Rocky Mountain High (School Action)

Cherry Creek High School head coach Bryan Perry thought he might have a team that would be "dangerous," as he described it, in the Colorado prep landscape this spring, but he also knew the season might not get off to a ringing start.

His Bruins were slated to travel to the state's lacrosse giant, Kent Denver, for the season opener on Mar. 16.

Not only did Kent beat Cherry Creek twice in 2004 - including bouncing the Bruins out of the state tournament in the semifinals - but this game was being played at Kent, a house of horrors for his squad for nearly 20 years. Not one Bruin team escaped from Kent's home field since 1986.

And add in the typical first-game trials, all things pointed to a tough start. "Whenever you play in the first game, you worry about the little things like substitutions, assignments and stuff like that," said Perry. "We were down 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter and scored four unanswered goals. It was a super confidence boost."

Big wins breed confidence, but this Cherry Creek team has all the necessities to win the 24-team state tournament in May.

"I definitely felt we had a team to be a contender," said Perry. "All of the defense as well as the starting goalie returns. We return some key middies and we have some pretty good, athletic players on attack. We have a chance to be pretty good."

Now that the beast has been tamed in the state, Perry and the Bruins will now turn their swords toward the East as an interregional tilt awaits next week when Cherry Creek travels to Baltimore to face Loyola-Blakefield on Mar. 31.

Perry concedes that this will be a daunting task for his team, especially considering Loyola has owned the Bruins over the past several years, including an 18-4 rout last spring.

"They've really taken it to us," said the coach. "But we're really focusing on this game and we have a week to prepare. We have a pretty good squad that may be able to match up with [Loyola's] stick skills. Defending them is our first goal."

Like Cherry Creek, Loyola is off to a 3-0 start, blowing past Georgetown Prep and Loyola (Ill.) Academy. The Dons have also run over Regis (Colo.), a team Perry says his team will most likely have to go through to getat the state crown.

Cherry Creek's attempts at slowing down Loyola will be anchored by senior Jordan Henry, a long pole who was instrumental in shutting down Kent Denver's best sniper, allowing just two EMO goals.

The Bruins will test their mettle against several out-of-state teams in additon to the Loyola game.Along withscrimmages against teams from Utah, Cherry Creek will meet Good Counsel from D.C., South Side out of New York and Chapel Hill in North Carolina.

It is hoped that these games will not only provide needed experience for a state title run, but improve prep lacrosse in Colorado as a whole.

"I'd say we're as good as teams in Ohio and Texas, but if you looked at the power conferences like the MIAA, Class A in Long Island and the Upstate New York leagues, [Colorado's] best teams would probably be in the middle of the pack," said Perry. "We're sending enough talent all over the place and the coaches are getting better, but we're not quite where we want to be.

"Every four or five years we really improve and every year the number of kids playing youth lacrosse grows 33 percent, so this will definitely trickle down to the varsity programs."

Within the state, Perry feels it's too early to get a feel for the tournament, which is pre-bracketed and does not use seeds.

"It's kind of tough to see who will be there, but the quarterfinals will be difficult. It is so competitive in the final eight that you can count on a one or two-goal game. If we get there, we'll probably face Regis or Kent."

***

Westminster (Ga.) Rumbles To Girl's Lacrosse Classic Title

The Westminster girl's lacrosse team hosted the 5th Annual Girl's Lacrosse Classic in Atlanta, Ga., this past weekend and the home Wildcats took the tourney title after ousting Kentucky's defending champion, Manual High School squad, 12-2 in the championship game.

Sophomore Reeves Henritze paced the Wildcats with four first half goals and an assist, allowing Westminster to take a 9-0 lead at the break. The soggy conditions put some pressure on both goalies, with Westminster's Kristen Banks making four saves and Manual's Whitney McClure turning away 13 shots.

Manual entered the championship game after beating Hutchinson of Memphis, 9-7, and McIntosh of Peachtree City, Ga., 12-1. Sarah Stegers scored five goals in the first two games to push the Red Dawgs to the finals.

Westminster downed North Springs (Ga.), 10-7, and Providence of Charlotte, N.C., 15-1, on its way to the crown. Maggie Woodward and Melissa Irby combined for 18 goals and four assists in the two contests with Banks going the distance in goal.

This was the first time since 2002 Westminster was able to capture its own tourney, with Upper Arlington of Columbus, Ohio, winning last spring's event.

If you have news or a story idea for the Lacrosse Magazine Online High School Notebook, email Jac Coyne at jcoyne@lacrosse.org.