No. 11 Battle Mountain boys lacrosse dominates No. 22 Durango in first round of 4A state playoffs

For many Eagle County teams, the ill-timed, weeklong hiatus from school in late April poses a potentially frustrating momentum killer. For the Battle Mountain boys lacrosse squad, however, spring break was just what the doctor ordered.

“Spring break couldn’t come soon enough,” head coach Pat Doherty said after watching his team cruise to a 17-4 win over Durango in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday in Edwards. After defeating Summit on April 3 to move to 4-1 on the year, Battle Mountain lost six-straight contests in 12 days. Doherty didn’t mince words when asked what it was like to weather the losing streak.

“That stretch was brutal for us — not going to lie,” the coach said. “The kids really had a huge gut check. We just needed a break. When we got back, the kids bought in to ‘hey, let’s not give up on the season. Let’s keep fighting.'” 

The Huskies finished the regular season with a tight two-point win at Green Mountain and blowouts over Glenwood Springs and Holy Family. On Tuesday, Owen Muraro put in the first goal with 7:38 remaining in the first quarter to put the Demons up 1-0, but it was all Battle Mountain after that. Asher Leonard responded two minutes later with the first of his three goals and Logan Roach and Carter Shonk also got in on the first-quarter scoring spree. The Huskies poured in five more in the second to go up 9-1 at the half.

“The offense is spinning the ball and not being selfish at all,” Doherty said. “When you play unselfish lacrosse, good things happen. Right now we’re playing really unselfish, good lacrosse. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

Support Local Journalism

Donate

Doherty praised Champ McNair for helping to set the tone by winning 12 of his 16 midfield face offs.

“Champ has done a fantastic job of owning the ‘X.’ And we’ve been playing a lot of make-it-take-it lacrosse,” Doherty commented. “It’s been a big difference for us.”

Joseph Dekanich led the Huskies in scoring with four goals and two assists. Shonk and Leonard each tallied three goals themselves and Roach, Keelan Losa, Brody Ast and Hunter Gilbert all got in on the scoring as well. Durango received two goals from Henry Huff and another from J.T. Munger, a four-year club player for Doherty.

Battle Mountain heads to Golden for round two on Friday. The Huskies defeated the No. 6 Demons 8-6 on March 29. While that win has instilled a certain level of confidence in the locker room, Doherty expects to see “two different teams” on the field this time around.

“We beat them once. It’s good to know that, but it’s hard to beat a team twice,” Doherty said. “And so we know we have to get to work.”

Vail Mountain School defeats Windsor 11-10

No. 14 Vail Mountain School defeated No. 19 Windsor 11-10 in Vail on Tuesday to advance to the second round of the 4A boys lacrosse state tournament. The Gore Rangers face No. 3 Evergreen, which had a first-round bye, on Friday.