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Rio Rancho Raptors advance to the state championship
Freshman Bruin Shawver shakes off an oncoming defender. Shawver scored five goals, and helped the Raptors advance to the state championship.
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RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Raptors lacrosse team defeated the Los Alamos Hilltoppers in a playoff semifinal matchup and have punched their ticket to the state championship game.
“Gritty. They worked their butts off. Credit goes to all the players,” head coach Andrew Leonard said of the 15-6 victory.
The Raptors have had quite the season. In fact, they were the number-one seed heading into the matchup.
“We came in here, handled business, and we came out with a W,” Raptors captain Brendan Cochrane said.
The Raptors ripped off four quick goals before Los Alamos finally got on the scoreboard.
However, the Hilltoppers found themselves climbing uphill as the Raptors scored 11 unanswered.
During the scoring frenzy, the Raptors were physical, moved the ball with ease and played with endless motors.
Having himself a day was freshman Bruin Shawver, who scored five goals. Other Raptor players who also scored multiple goals were senior Lukas Garcia (3) and freshman Michael Denison (2).
In the fourth quarter, the Raptors were up comfortably 15-1.
Another standout for the Raptors was junior goalie Damien Tafoya, who made many impressive saves, and made life difficult for Los Alamos attackers, much to the applause of his teammates.
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“I love my teammates. My teammates are probably my biggest fans,” Tafoya said.
The Hilltoppers showed some life by scoring five straight ,but it was too little, too late. The game ended, and the Raptors began celebrating.
On May 9, the third-seed Santa Fe Wolverines will play the two-seed Duke City Scorpions. The winner of the matchup will play Rio Rancho in the state championship game.
Last year, Rio Rancho made it to the state championship game but lost to Santa Fe.
“This year, I’m expecting a repeat of us and Santa Fe, but I’m hoping it’ll go a different way this time,” Tafoya said.
“They beat us last year, so we’re going to come out with everything that we have,” Cochrane said.
The state championship will be held at 6 p.m. May 16 at Haynes Park. Admission to the game is free.
“Cleveland High Schoolers, Rio Rancho High Schoolers, and a couple of middle schoolers will be playing in the Raptor uniform. These are your community members, future community members. So, if you want to come and support us, please, come out. We welcome everybody,” Leonard said.
