As a new season begins for the Thompson Valley boys lacrosse team, the Eagles are out to put last year’s 3-12 campaign as far from their memory as possible.
They will do so this spring with some reinforcements.
Resurrection Christian recently made the decision to not field a team this year after only about a dozen players came out to play. Despite advancing to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs last season, the squad lost a large senior class.
So, the players were given options of where to play this season. A few, including last year’s Reporter-Herald player of the year Jacob Adams, opted to play for Class 5A Erie. However, seven of them decided to stay closer to home and join the Thompson Valley team.
The incoming Cougars were welcomed with open arms. They not only give the Eagles more depth, but also more talent.
“They all want to be here,” junior attacker Lleyton Henry, who played attack for the Cougars last spring, said. “They all want to build their team up and nothing but it. Everyone has low numbers throughout Northern Colorado right now. It’s nice building up a team a little bit bigger and having more time on the sideline and not as rushed to do everything.”
Henry earned all-state honorable mention last year after scoring 39 goals, the third-most for the Cougars, along with six assists.
The addition of the RCS players has been a welcome development for the returning Thompson Valley players as well.
“It’s been good,” Thompson Valley senior long stick midfielder Mason Huner said. “They added a lot of talent to this team, so we should be good. We should be able to go pretty far in the playoffs. If we all just get this chemistry down, we should be good.”
Huner led the Eagles with 62 ground balls and eight takeaways last season.
Third-year Thompson Valley head coach Manny Chavez was caught off guard by the addition of the RCS players and called it a reality check for Northern Colorado boys lacrosse as a collective.
“The Rez thing was a total blind side for all of us coaches, and even to the Rez kids,” Chavez said. “We didn’t know that it was going to happen and when it did, it was kind of a reality check for our program, for their program, for lacrosse in Northern Colorado. It’s kind of put us in a panic mode, but more of an off-season panic mode than an in-season one in March. We’re gelling pretty well now with everything, and getting new guys every other day it seems like.”
Chavez has several of his own top players back from last year. In addition to Huner, the team’s second- and third-leading goal scorers are back.
Sophomore midfielder Camden Gervais scored 18 goals and four assists last year as a freshman. Another sophomore, attack Fynn Farrell, scored 14 goals with 20 assists.
Other returners from last year’s Eagles team Chavez expects to contribute include senior defender Connor Goggin, senior defender Aaron Wehage, senior midfield/attack Quintin Mayberry and senior midfielder Jack Kellog.
Junior Landon Hovland will man the net for the Eagles. He has played in goal before and is making a return to that position this spring.
“I played two years during club and I was thinking about doing it last year, then some new kids stepped in,” Hovland said. “Then we had no goalies for this year because all of our goalies last year were seniors. So, I decided to step in and I think I’ve done a pretty good job.”
Another former RCS player joining the Thompson Valley team this spring is junior defender Trevor Wons. Wons was second on the Cougars’ team with 48 ground balls last season.
He believes the addition of the RCS players along with the returning Eagles will make the team better both offensively and defensively. Although a defender himself, he is biased toward that side of the action.
“So far, I’m seeing a pretty good defense,” Wons said. “I think we’re going to work really well together. We’re going to have a pretty good offense this year. I’m really excited. I think our defense is very solid. Our offense is very solid, and our middies are very solid.”
Other RCS players who have joined the Eagles this season besides Henry and Wons include sophomore midfielder Cullen Corrigan, senior midfielder Logan Wood, junior LSM/defender Deacon Werling and junior LSM Ramsey Hollander.
With the group of reinforcements from RCS, the Eagles’ goals and expectations have elevated.
Not only do they expect to win more games this season, but their goals include winning the conference championship the Cougars won a year ago and making a run in the playoffs.
“The integration process has been phenomenal,” Chavez said. “The Rez kids have been just sponges these last two weeks, which is great. They’re all ready to go and ready to fight, hopefully get that first-round bye. I think we’re going to be a pretty tough team to beat.”
