By Austin White
The last week of February has come and gone which means the spring sport rosters are set and ready to roll.
After a season that ended with a state championship for the boys lacrosse team, expectations have sky-rocketed to keep up this success. However, as seen in every level of sports, whether it’s the pros or high school, repeating as champions is nearly impossible. The key to a repeat is staying motivated and coach Chris Knott is not very worried. “Keeping the kids motivated is the easy part,” says Knott. He says that the motivation flowing through the veins of these athletes is the desire to not let a teammate down and even if a mistake is made, one should do everything they can to correct it.
This year, the underclassmen on the team will have to step up due to eight seniors graduating. Coach Knott is looking for about ten freshman and sophomore players to step up to varsity this year and he says, “If we find these 10 players we will have a great shot at defending last year’s state championship.”
These seniors accounted for 90 goals last season so the shoes needing to be filled are quite large. Standley Lake senior John Roach led the juniors on the team last year in goals with 35, and Ralston Valley senior Caleb Cerf led the entire team last year on defense with 20 takeaways. Senior goalie Jensen Makarov from Ralston Valley is also returning with great numbers from last year when he allowed just 4.3 goals per game!
To start the season in March, the Farmers will take on the 5A Mullen Mustangs who the boys lost to last year 8-9. This chance for revenge and 4A pride will take place on March 10 at 6:30 at Mullen. Other noteworthy games on the Farmers’ schedule are matchups against another 5A school, Cherry Creek, and the disliked Golden Demons which take place on March 17and April 25, respectively.
As for returning Wheat Ridge schoolers to the team, senior Tyler Knott was fifth on the team in scoring last season with 22 goals and seniors Chris Gardner and Dylan Mechling added in nine goals between themselves. These Wheat Ridge seniors will most likely be stepping up to lead the team this season.
The average fan might see students coming from different schools to play on the same team as the cause of some problems. These athletes go to schools in which there is no lacrosse program, so they choose which high school in their area to play for. “The kids take pride in being a Farmer,” says coach Knott on keeping the team stitched together. He says that the team plays for each other, and on the field they all bleed yellow and blue.
With these players stepping into their senior roles, all the team needs is the underclassmen to perform well, and another trophy presentation on Sports Authority Field will be in the works.
