HIGHLANDS RANCH — Highlands Ranch took a one-goal lead into halftime, but Douglas County countered with four in the last 40 minutes of the game to get the 4-1 win on Thursday.
Golden midfielder Will Abbey (1) attempts to get past Ralston Valley defender Ryan Bruening (6) Wednesday at Trailblazer Stadium. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LAKEWOOD — It has been a homecoming for Mike Thumim this boys lacrosse season.
Thumim is back coaching Golden’s boys lacrosse team after spending the past five years at Dakota Ridge. Thumim, a teacher at Golden High School, took the opportunity to return to head the Demons’ program. He guided to the nearly 100 wins in winning five league titles over 10 years when there was just one classification for boys lacrosse.
“I have to say, if there was a 4A (classification) my first time around at Golden we would have won three state championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006,” Thumim said.
Golden’s deepest playoff run came in 2005 where the Demons lost by a single goal in the state semifinals to eventual champion Cherry Creek.
“It’s been great coming back and being apart of the program again. I feel like I have some unfinished business,” Thumim said after Golden defeated Ralston Valley 12-6 on Wednesday afternoon at Trailblazer Stadium. “We’ve got some talent and there are some things we can do.”
Golden’s Broderick Calley, left, gets off a close-range shot off on Ralston Valley goalie Chris Rivera (9). (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Thumim has racked up 146 career coaching victories during his stints at Golden and Dakota Ridge.
His started up Dakota Ridge’s boys lacrosse program in 2012 with a junior varsity team. Thumim’s most successful season with the Eagles came in 2014 when the Eagles had a 11-5 record and made their first postseason appearance.
“Numbers are nice, but it just means I’ve been doing this a long time,” Thumim joked as he approaches the 150 career win mark. “I’ve had some good teams and I have to credit a lot of people for those wins.”
Wednesday’s win for the Demons came with some solid performances from juniors Will Abbey and Taven Brewer. Both had three goals as Golden double-up on Ralston Valley.
Golden got out to a 3-0 lead early in second quarter with goals from juniors Jake Niss, Mike Madayag and Brewer. Ralston Valley closed to within 4-2 with goals from junior Jared Escobar and freshman Chase Wilson, but the first-year varsity program couldn’t get any closer.
“Once we got things rolling we started dropping in some goals,” Brewer said. “We are going to look for a faster start next game.”
Golden, ranked No. 5 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys lacrosse poll, has been dealing with injuries.
There was question if Abbey would even play against Ralston Valley because of a hamstring injury during the Demons’ spring break trip to Virginia. Abbey, who attends Pomona High School, didn’t want to miss out playing against Ralston Valley.
Golden players celebrate a second period goal Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Senior AJ Greiner, one of the Demons’ leading scorers, is out with a broken collarbone. Sophomore Brady desGarennes missed the Ralston Valley game, but was just cleared for contact, according to Thumim.
“Injuries have kind of gotten us this year,” Thumim admitted. “It’s a nice win. I’ve tried to tell our Golden kids that back in the day when Ralston Valley was in 4A that Golden and Ralston Valley had a great rivalry going.”
Thumim is excited about this season and the future with only two seniors on this year’s team. The Demons (6-3 record) will have their work cut out once it begins play in the 4A Foothills League next week.
Evergreen and Green Mountain are both undefeated on the season. Then there is Conifer, a team that went 14-2 last season and defeated Golden 11-2 last season.
“We want to win our league so we have that automatic bid into the playoffs,” Brewer said. “We want some revenge on Conifer for last year for sure.”
Golden will face the No. 6 Conifer in the final conference game of the season April 26.
“There are teams with better sticks, but nobody can run up and down the field with us,” Abbey said. “I think that’s a greatest asset.”
Playing at the varsity level for the first time is giving Ralston Valley (1-5) plenty of valuable experience.
Golden’s Garrett Landmark, left, tries to keep the ball while getting checked by Ralston Valley’s Chase Wilson. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“There is some really good progressive,” Ralston Valley coach Jason McNelis said. “The boys are really starting to learn what we are looking for.”
Ralston Valley freshman Ben Takata scored three straight goals for the Mustangs in the second half. McNelis has also been throwing more at his young players. Ralston Valley worked on a zone defense against Golden that it has just installed.
“Half of our team is freshmen and getting this experience is great,” McNelis said. “We are going to go into league with a lot of experience.”
The Mustangs open play in the 5A Front Range League on April 12 on the road against Rocky Mountain in Fort Collins.
Golden and Ralston Valley both begin conference play next week. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
FORT COLLINS — Going into the bottom of the third inning, Cherry Creek had already blasted three home runs and held a 10-2 lead over CHSAANow.com No. 1 Rocky Mountain.
But the 2016 state runner-up wouldn’t go away and eventually rallied to win the game 14-13.
The Lobos (1-4 overall) scored two in the bottom of the sixth to take a 11-10 lead. The Bruins (4-3) responded by getting three across the plate in the top of the seventh.
