One game is left in the season. With it comes a chance at revenge and a dark-horse shot at a trip to the state tournament. What more could the Durango Demons ask for?
Vail Mountain will come to town Friday afternoon for an inaugural Mountain League Crossover game against the Durango High School boys lacrosse team.
The Demons are hungry to avenge a 13-8 loss to Vail Mountain suffered on the road April 4.
“I just know we’re going to come out on fire. The kids don’t understand how hard we’re going to hit them,” DHS senior midfielder Enver Djunushbekov said before practice Thursday. “It’s not going to be an easy game, but we’re going to come out fired up.”
The game will determine seventh and eighth place in the Mountain League, which grew to 12 teams for the 2015 season. With 12 teams, the Colorado High School Activities Association opted to form two six-team divisions before seeding each team one through six depending on their results in league games.
DHS (7-6, 4-4 ML) and Vail Mountain (9-3, 6-3 ML) both took fourth in their divisions, and Durango and the rest of the West Division teams will host the Crossover games this year, with hosting privileges going to the East Division next year.
“I like having a rematch against this team because they beat us earlier in the year in a real tight game. I thought we matched up with them and didn’t play our best game,” DHS head coach John Robinette said. “It’s nice to finish the season with some competition in a rematch here.”
Also on the line is a potential state tournament bid, with the winner contending for one of the final spots in the 16-team Class 4A field.
“I feel like a win could give us a chance. It’s not a definite, but there is a chance,” Robinette said. “If we lose, I would say we’re done.”
But losing at home, where the Demons are 3-1 this season, hasn’t even crossed the mind of the Demons and their eight seniors. They feel like they weren’t at their best on the road in the previous meeting between the two teams, and having a whole week to prepare for the Gore Rangers has DHS captain Jack Marshall feeling prepared.
“We definitely want to beat these guys. The first time we played, we did pretty good but lost it on penalties and stuff like that. I know we’re better than these guys,” said Marshall, son of Lisa and Peter Marshall.
DHS came on strong later in the season and had two games against tough competition in Colorado Springs last weekend to help prepare for the final challenge of the regular season.
Senior Trevor Gabbard, who attends Bayfield High School, has led the team with 29 goals and 43 points thanks to 14 more assists.
Sophomore Kyle Robinette, son of the head coach, added 20 goals and a team-high 17 assists for 37 points.
Marshall has been right there with Gabbard and Kyle Robinette, adding 19 goals for the Demons.
“What I’m excited for is the first time we played (Vail Mountain) I put in three goals, and Kyle and Trevor didn’t come into play much,” Marshall said. “Hopefully they’ll be looking for me and I can feed it to those guys. They’re extremely reliable players, and if they get a shot, they’ll score.”
Senior Hunter Hall has come on strong, especially in the faceoffs department, where he has won 50-of-76 this season.
Coach Robinette has been impressed with several players stepping into new roles this season, one year after the Demons had their best season in program history with eight talented seniors.
“We lost key scorers, a goalie and good defensemen. For the guys this year to step up, it’s been huge,” coach Robinette said. “Jackson Berridge has come up big at defender, Hank Muir went to goalie, a position he’s never played before, and been strong. Guys like Mitch Guffey and Hunter Hall, they’ve all really helped the team as seniors.”
Djunushbekov, son of Jill Djunushbekova and Ray Mino, said it was last year’s seniors that instilled the desire to win, and even start playing lacrosse, in this year’s team.
“Wesley Komick and all those guys who played last year convinced us to play,” he said. “We had some big shoes to fill.”
This year’s Demons said they aren’t thinking about the state tournament, yet. They simply are enjoying one more chance to play on their home field against an opponent they know they can compete against.
“If we win, then it’s up to the people, God, or whoever to decide if we go to state,” Djunushbekov said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
