Huskies smack Fruita; Ponderosa next
Anthony Thornton | athornton@vaildaily.com |
EDWARDS — So, Wyatt Dilling needed fewer than eight minutes to notch a hat trick in Battle Mountain boys lacrosse’s 16-3 thumping of Fruita Monument on Friday in Edwards.
Impressive? Actually, by comparison, no.
Double Hat Trick
Huskies sophomore Cole Delain had a hat trick in the JV game and then notched another three in the varsity game.
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“I think Cole’s the first to do that,” teammate Quin Davis said. “He’s going to be good.”
That is definitely how to get the coaching staff’s attention and maybe get a call-up to the big club.
“Our goal with Cole was to get him as much playing time as we could,” Huskies coach Jerry Nichols said. “He’s got a great stick. Looks like he’s working his way onto varsity as a solid contributor.”
Delain certainly did not wake up on Friday morning thinking double hat trick.
“I did not expect it,” Delain said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates helping me out in the varsity and JV games. I’m just trying to prove myself that my teammates can trust me with the ball and that I’ll help out the team.”
The Huskies moved to 7-1 overall and are 4-1 in the Mountain Conference in rather workman-like fashion, but Nichols was pleased with the way his defense was looking.
“We only gave up three goals,” Nichols said. “That’s huge. Fruita’s got some really good shooters. They have some kids who can shoot the ball super-hard, but our defense is stepping it up No. 1 is that we stayed out of the box. We took one penalty in the first period, and two in the second. That’s what we’ve been working on. That’s what we need to improve. Our defense has just been solid.”
The visiting Wildcats had just one goal on the advantage and goalie Zach Trombetta came up with a big save on a breakaway during the third quarter.
“Our team definitely communicated great on defense,” Davis said. “We knew where our slides were coming from and we had great clears as well.”
Dilling ended with four goals. Cannon Kirchner, Crane McGuckin and Mike Lange each had two. Mac Kelsall, Clayton Davis and Noah Beairsto also made the scoresheet.
Ponderosa next
There is no spring break for Battle Mountain boys lacrosse. Not only do the Huskies head to No. 2-ranked Ponderosa on Wednesday, but the Mustangs also sent three Huskies packing from their first playoff appearance last spring.
“I know we got burned in the playoffs, but I think it was a good game,” Davis said. “A couple of things go our way, and it could have been ours. We’ve just got to play hard.”
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.
