Highland Boy’s Lacrosse had a grueling task ahead of them before a week’s slate of games. Whereas a normal six day period of games could consist of anywhere between zero to two games, boys’ lacrosse had a tough four games scheduled for the week of April 6-12. An occurrence that is very rare in the world of contact sports.
“I think some of the boys got a little burnout from it,” Highland junior Luke Robison said. “We’re really satisfied going 3-1 on a week like that though.”
Even one game of lacrosse is enough to leave any player with a number of bruises, bashes, and scratches, or anything worse than that as multiple players on the team have discovered, with a few key players having season-ending injuries. Needless to say, even after the first game the players’ soreness was definitely setting in.
“Its really physically demanding. Taking a lot of hits and getting checked,” Highland senior Taveon Agnew said. “It just wears you out. Makes it hard to play all those games.”
The week started with possibly the most physical game that the Rams have played in the year. In a game against a resilient Wasatch Wasps team, the game was as competitive as they come until the latter half of the fourth quarter when the Rams found their footing and ran away with the game that ended 10-6 with Highland on top.
Highland put the ball into the net three quick times to start the game, but a roaring comeback from Wasatch put the game at a tie at four at the end of the first. That’s when the game started to get a little chippy, both teams capitalizing with big hits. The Rams and the Wasps combined for three goals in the closing minute of the half, including a buzzer beater goal by Highland senior Elliott Clark, putting the Rams up 6-5 at half.
After a quick break, Wasatch came out and evened the score early in the second half. The goal stung, but it was no match for a Rams team that pulled it together in the closing half and finished out the game with a strong 10-6 victory.
Starting a 4 game week with a game as physical as that was sure to have a negative effect on the gameplay throughout the rest of the week. Fortunately, the second game of the stretch was more like an over glorified practice than a game.
Fellow region competitor West High School’s chances weren’t great going into the game, and the Rams took care of business – cruising to a 14-0 victory. Highland scored a couple early goals before giving younger guys chances to get some varsity play time. A comfortable lead also allowed some of the boys to play positions other than their typical ones.
Senior Charlie McConkie spent the game defending the goal (different that his normal offensive position), although defending would be an overstatement, as McConkie was able to do things like take off his gloves and have a snack, lie down for a quick nap, or a number of other things while the game was going on.
“We had two games scheduled on a week that we already had two games,” Robison said. “We had a tough game against Lone Peak that really was a test for us.”
After that quick break of a game, the team was back into action with a match against a very talented 6A program in Lone Peak. It was good evidence of why there are teams in different classifications when the Knights captured a 9-1 victory over the Rams.
The game was highly competitive all the way until halftime. Highland was down only 1-0 when the horn sounded for halftime. The Rams had multiple good looks at scoring and played some solid defense in the first half. It looked as if the Rams could come out after the break and take a lead and possibly carry that momentum all the way to a major upset. Unfortunately, Lone Peak had similar aspirations of winning the game.
Things started to fall apart in the third quarter when sloppy play mixed with capitalization by the Knights dug Highland into a hole that would prove too hard to get out of. Lone Peak rattled off six unanswered goals in the third quarter, and outscored Highland 2-1 in the fourth quarter. The Rams were simply outmatched.
After a tough loss to one 6A team, the boys were out for revenge against another 6A opponent on Saturday night. It was clear the Rams learned from their previous matchup as they walloped American Fork 15-3.
Although there wasn’t the same sort of shenanigans that occurred in the West matchup, the game was still filled with plenty of less experienced players getting minutes and making plays. Everyone in uniform on the sideline got the chance to prove themselves on the field.
The Rams showed immense poise in a tough week, coming out with a 3-1 record, even in the games were split down the middle between being competitive and being goal-fest. Even so, that is very impressive and a major accomplishment of this team as it heads into the homestretch of games before playoff play.
Both Robison and Agnew agreed that the keys to success in a week like that are sleep, food, and stretching.
“That’s pretty much all we did for the whole week besides playing the actual games,” Robison said.
The Rams scheduled is littered with highly difficult games throughout the rest of the season. They’ll be playing phenomenal in-region teams like Park City, Alta, and Brighton, while also adding an unpredictable dose of rivalry against East High School.
“We’re figuring out what we are struggling with, and what’s happening in the games that were losing,” Agnew said. “We just learned we can come back, be our best, and just have fun with it. It’s hard, but that’s to our benefit.”
Ultimately, difficult weeks like the one the Rams just passed are going to prepare them for those challenging games ahead of them, which will in turn prepare them to go deep into the playoffs as they come this year.
“Weeks like that are just preparing us mentally and physically for the tough games we have coming up,” Robison said. “Everything we’ve done during the season will hopefully combine to help us in the playoffs.”
