This time, only one spot in the Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship game is available to Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek.
The two annual powerhouses have met for the state championship in each of the past two seasons at Sports Authority Field at Mile High — splitting the two contests — but only one will get a title shot this year.
The Raiders and Bruins ended up on the same side of this season’s 5A postseason bracket and will decide which team gets another shot at a championship when the two meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the semifinals at Legacy Stadium. Second-seeded Mountain Vista and No. 3 Arapahoe meet in the other semifinal.
“We’d love to see Creek, but it’s going to be a challenge whoever we get,” Regis Jesuit coach Jim Soran said May 14 after his team’s 10-3 quarterfinal win over Rock Canyon at Legacy Stadium and before Cherry Creek’s 16-9 victory over Grandview in the following contest.
Soran’s Regis Jesuit team is in the semifinals for the ninth straight season and has converted four of those previous eight chances into title game appearances. It could be a fifth if they can make the 5A final at 7:30 p.m. May 20 in the Denver Broncos’ home stadium.
The state championship game has included Regis Jesuit and/or Cherry Creek every season stretching back to 2009. The Bruins seek their fifth trip in a row to the finals, while the Raiders bid for their third consecutive finals berth.
Regis Jesuit’s players remember well their first meeting this season with Cherry Creek, a 6-5 overtime loss on April 14 in front of a packed house at Stutler Bowl. It was the Raiders’ only loss of the season instate — the other coming on a Spring Break trip to California — and it still burns a bit.
“You have to play the best to be the best and Creek is definitely always a contender,” Regis Jesuit senior attackman Mikey Bealer said. “They’ve been to the state championship game like four years in a row or something crazy like that. They have a little edge on us since they beat us earlier in overtime, but we’re definitely ready to see them again.”
Regis Jesuit has gotten on a roll since the loss and carries a nine-game winning streak into the semifinals, while Cherry Creek suffered losses to both Arapahoe and Mountain Vista shortly thereafter before its current seven-game winning streak.
Should the Raiders beat the Bruins, they would play either the Golden Eagles — whose only loss came to Regis Jesuit — or Arapahoe, which they’ve also beaten in close contests.
As usual, defense gives Regis Jesuit a chance to win any game its in. The Raiders have yielded a combined three goals in their first two playoffs contests and no more than six goals to a state team all year.
Junior Braden Host has been stout in the nets and the Raiders have a host of experience in the back that not only limits opponents, but gets the ball quickly to the offense.
“Our defense really anchors us,” Bealer said. “They really help us in transition on offense, which is big because we basically started from scratch this season. We’re starting to mesh and find each other.”
The Raiders’ offense — featuring an entirely new cast of players from last season — piled up six goals in the first period against Rock Canyon to set the tone for the contest and appears to be hitting its stride.
Host appreciated the early lead the offense gave Regis Jesuit against the Jaguars
“The offense is really starting to click and score goals,” Host said. “It’s awesome to watch.”
Historically, Regis Jesuit aims to win its third state championship, which would put it into a tie with Arapahoe for third behind Cherry Creek and Kent Denver, which own five titles apiece.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2016 CLASS 5A BOYS LACROSSE SEMIFINALS
May 18 at Legacy Stadium
(4) Cherry Creek vs. (1) REGIS JESUIT, 5 p.m.
(3) Arapahoe vs. (2) Mountain Vista, 7 p.m.
