(Stephen Priest/CHSAANow.com)

CENTENNIAL — It had been three years since Arapahoe had beaten Cherry Creek in boys lacrosse and it seemed like that streak was going to continue.

Until the Arapahoe defense stepped up in the final minute of Wednesday night’s game.

The fourth-ranked Warriors were able to overcome all adversity as they earned a hard fought 10-9 victory over the Class 5A CHSAANow.com No. 2-ranked Bruins.

The game got off to a shaky start for Arapahoe (10-2 overall, 6-2 Centennial) as they were unable to contain the Creek offense. The Bruins (7-3, 2-1) exploded for a five-goal quarter, two of which coming from senior Henry Adams.

Although they were on their heels early, the Warriors found a way to net two goals, the second coming in the final 30 seconds of the quarter, allowing them to hang around even though momentum was comfortably in Creek’s grasp.

“Cherry Creek is such a fabulous team, we play them every year in conference and Coach (Bryan) Perry and his staff have done such a phenomenal job of building a great program,” Arapahoe coach Logan Bobzien said. “They always on their home turf make an effort to come out fast and they did that tonight, it took us awhile to make a couple adjustments to their game-plan, but once we settled in I thought our guys did better.”

The second quarter showcased a different Arapahoe squad as they seemed to play with more patience and execution, as sophomore Riley Moynihan and senior Keenan Moffitt led their squad on the attack as both scored a goal before heading into halftime down 6-4.

Less than a minute into the third quarter, Moffitt was able to set the tone early for the second half as he put in his third goal of the night, bringing his team within one.

The Warriors would eventually go on to dominate the third period scoring three goals, including the game-tying goal and Moffitt’s fourth goal only 18 seconds a part in the final minute of the quarter.

“We haven’t beat them (at home) since 2009 so just getting the win was the mindset,” senior Keenan Moffitt said.

In fact, the last time Arapahoe beat Cherry Creek, period, was in the 2013 championship game.

“We always tend to start off slow, we are a second half team for sure, but our bench energy kept us going the whole game which is huge,” Moffitt added. “Having all my teammates around me, these guys make me better and as long as we can get a win, that’s all that matters.”

The fourth quarter put on display that dynamic offensive talent both teams have to offer as they traded goals back and forth. In total, six goals were scored in the final period of regulation.

Down 10-9, Cherry Creek had one last chance to tie the contest up to send it to sudden death overtime but a turnover at the 15 second mark proved to be the nail in the coffin as the Warriors were able to retain possession and call a quick timeout, before ultimately draining the remaining time.

“For us, it’s a process of getting better every day, so we treated today just like a normal Wednesday,” Bobzien stated. “And for us, it’s just a matter of maintaining our focus on every play. I thought our guys had good focus for about three quarters, but we have to make sure we put together four quarters as prepare for the postseason. But there is still a lot of lacrosse left to play.”

ARVADA — Fifth-ranked Lakewood baseball rebounded from a loss earlier this week to shutout Pomona 4-0 on Wednesday.

The Tigers, now 12-4, got a complete-game dominant performance from Casey Thompson, who allowed just two hits and struck out seven without walking a batter. Lakewood also got two RBIs from Chase Powell.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”599″]

LITTLETON — Fifth-ranked Cherry Creek girls lacrosse remained unbeaten at 11-0 with an 11-7 win over No. 7 Arapahoe on Wednesday.

Eliza Radochonski led the Bruins with three goals and three assists, while Hope Adams also had a hat trick. Pearl Schwartz chipped in with two goals and two assists.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”600″]

HIGHLANDS RANCH — Kyle Cardona homered and pitched three solid innings to help Legend baseball beat Highlands Ranch 12-0 on Wednesday.

Cardona allowed just two hits on the mound, while striking out four against two walks. Brody McCord pitched the other two innings in the run-rule-shortened contest, and he gave us just one hit.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”601″]

DENVER — Ninth-ranked Colorado Academy boys lacrosse beat Kent Denver 14-7 on Wednesday.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”603″]

DENVER — Up just a goal at halftime, third-ranked Denver East girls lacrosse turned it on in the second half en route to a 19-8 win over Centaurus on Wednesday.

Alex Searles and Fair Romero each had two goals and five assists to lead the Angels, while Josi Robinson had two goals and four assists. Lily Hermann added a goal and four assists.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”602″]

Mitch Johnson is retiring as coach of Fountain-Fort Carson. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

After days of speculation over the future of his status at Fountain-Fort Carson, legendary football coach Mitch Johnson has decided to retire.

His son Bret made the announcement on Facebook on Thursday morning, saying, “Today my Dad officially announced that he will be retiring as the Head Football Coach of Fountain Ft-Carson High School after 37 years. This was a very tough decision for him.”

Johnson confirmed his retirement in an open letter to “Trojan Football Players, Parents, FFC Staff and Trojan Nation” on Thursday afternoon.

“The reality of saying goodbye to the people I love and respect is a difficult challenge: coaches, teachers, support staff and parents,” he wrote. “It is really difficult to say goodbye to the most important group; the 3,000-plus student-athletes who participated and supported the football program from 1986-2015.”

Johnson had been the coach of the Trojans since 1987 and finished his career with 207 wins, according to the CHSAA football record book. That total places him 18th all-time.

His retirement ends three days of questions raised about his future. Rob Namnoum of KRDO in Colorado Springs reported Monday night that changes in the school’s administration led to coaches being notified that they needed to reapply for their positions.

According to various media reports in the market, Johnson felt at that point that his time as the coach of the Trojans had come to an end.

Rather than dive into the process and let it play out, he decided to make the choice on his own and step away.

Since moving up to Class 5A in 2010, FFC reached the state playoffs every year under Johnson. In 2014, the Trojans advanced to the 5A quarterfinals where they fell to Granvdiew 28-7. Johnson’s team had jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game.

Johnson played high school football for the Trojans before playing college ball at what was then the University of Southern Colorado. The school is now known as CSU-Pueblo.

Johnson joined the FFC coaching staff in 1979 before becoming in the head coach in 1987. He was inducted to the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012.

Johnson’s departure creates another opening for a head football job. Follow all of the movement this offseason here.

Johnson’s full open letter is below.

[divider]

An Open Letter to Trojan Football Players, Parents, FFC Staff and Trojan Nation,

It amazes me how time goes by so quickly and it was only yesterday when I fielded my first varsity team in 1986. Fast forward to the 2015 season twenty nine years later with the Trojans completing another successful winning season in Colorado’s largest classification. The reality of saying good-bye to the people I love and respect is a difficult challenge: coaches, teachers, support staff and parents. It is really difficult to say good-bye to the most important group; the 3000 plus student/ athletes who participated and supported the football program from 1986-2015.

The greatest title one can hold is to be called “Teacher and Coach”. Every coach wants to WIN but the real measurement of success has been focused on the growth and development of our players as they enter the real world of competition- LIFE. The game of football is a blueprint to becoming better sons, husbands, fathers and contributors of our society. Collectively, the players and I have shared a common bond of loyalty and trust as we navigated our journeys together. In the end, each player has impacted and blessed my life daily with memories, joyful moments of victory and the emptiness of defeat. I want to thank EACH player for being my “Teacher and Coach.”

As I reflect on my career, the true prize was not always focused on the scoreboard, records, awards and titles but the lasting relationships that were built along the way. I cannot begin to recognize everyone but please know that ALL of YOU hold a very special place deep in my heart as the memories we have built will be cherished for a lifetime.

Today is extremely difficult as I retire from my position as Head Football Coach. Next year will be tough and almost unbearable for me not being involved in Trojan Football. All of the memories from early morning S.O.B Camp, Practices, Scouting Reports, Coaching Meetings, Assemblies, Parent Nights, Varsity Games, JV Games, Freshman Games, Bus Rides, Playoff Games, Saturday Film and Lord’s Prayer hand in hand huddled together as a TEAM on the thirty yard line will be missed next football season.

In closing, all journeys are made to have a start and finish so please don’t be sad because our time has ended, instead be happy because we experienced an opportunity to be a part of something GREAT TOGETHER! I will always be a Trojan, but the time has come for me to pass my armor and sword, to another. I entrust them to fight the good fight by Honoring and Protecting the Proud Tradition of Trojan Football!

I thank all of you for the wonderful memories that are etched deep in my heart, and may God Bless our journeys until they bring us together again.

Coach Johnson

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MANITOU SPRINGS — Ben Mack believes that putting together a tough schedule early in the season was going to have one of two things happen for his Manitou Springs Mustangs.

They were either going to break his players or it was going to make them stronger.

So if the Mustangs’ 1-0 win over Colorado Springs Christian School Tuesday night was any indication, his team is getting stronger.

Manitou (7-4 overall, 3-0 Class 3A Region 2) played a physical brand of soccer that really came to suit them in their 3-2 win over St. Mary’s on Apr. 15.

“I’ve been noticing that (parents) were commenting that we were the more physical team against St. Mary’s,” Mack said. “I started thinking about the game and now I’m seeing that trend start to come out in these closer games.”

The Mustangs were dominant with possession early and it was in the 26th minute of the game that they get their biggest.

Sophomore Brooklyn Mack was able to get in behind the Lions (7-3-1, 3-1) defense, forcing keeper Jessica Knedler out of the box.

Brooklyn was able to aim low and put the ball past Knedler to give the Mustangs the 1-0 lead.

“I knew if I took any more touches, she was going to slide at my feet,” she said. “I knew if I tried to to cut her back she still might be able to jump on it. So my only chance was to aim low and hard and it worked.”

Now battling from behind, the Lions were forced to adjust to the Mustangs’ style of play, which was not an ideal situation in a game that could eventually determine a league champion.

“This is a tough field to play on,” coach Jason Rollins said. “It’s narrow, they’re a physical team and it fit with their style.”

The Lions seemed to pick up the physicality in the second half, knowing they had to match the Mustangs if they were going to generate more scoring opportunities.

And in doing so, the Mustangs were also forced to pick up the intensity. That resulted in Meghann Root picking up a yellow card.

But the Lions still couldn’t capitalize on any opportunities or create a good scoring chance. Their best chance came with less than a minute left as Cobi Trempert set up for a corner kick. The kick looked good and was placed right in front of the Manitou net, but was headed out by Root and the Mustangs held on for the 1-0 win.

But Manitou will have virtually no time to rest as the team travels to Buena Vista Thursday before hosting Salida on Saturday to finish up league play.

“We have to jump right back on it,” Brooklyn Mack said. “Neither of these last two games are going to be easy and this was just the first step that we had to get past.”

The Lions are far from done in their hopes to win league. They travel to Salida on Thursday and a win would lock up no worse than a second-place finish.

“We have to get a good result against Salida,” Rollins said. “It’s in (Manitou’s) hands whether they finish against Salida and take (the league title) home.”

PARKER — ThunderRidge girls lacrosse, ranked No. 6, got a 13-12 win over No. 8 Chaparral in overtime on Tuesday.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”596″]

GREENWOOD VILLAGE — Nate Sweeney went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help Cherry Creek baseball beat Overland 11-1 on Tuesday.

Manny Emrie and Joe Kinsky combined to throw a three-hitter over five innings. Kinsky struck out five in two innings of work.

[divider]

[WPS_photo_gallery id=”597″]