When Air Academy boys’ lacrosse hosts rival Cheyenne Mountain on Saturday, it’ll be about standards. 

The Kadets will look to play to their standard, that of 4A contender that has made the state semifinals in three of the last four seasons, reaching the championship game twice, and the standards of their rivals. 

The Red-Tailed Hawks have won the state title four times, including a three-peat from 2021-2023. 

The Kadets have been to the title game three times, but have never prevailed. The contrast reminds them that their 13-0 record and status as the No. 1 team in 4A per Colorado High School Activities Association, ultimately means little. 

“There’s a lot of scars that this program has accumulated over the years,” Kadets coach Nick Gold said. “The trophy case is a little empty in the championship department.

“Our kids have been playing against (Cheyenne’s) kids since they were 6 or 7 or 8 years old. That’s kind of the gist of it all and to be frank, at the youth level, Cheyenne Mountain is one of the best youth programs in the state of Colorado. It’s one of those challenges that the kids have been facing since they were little. You start in the sport and you know that Cheyenne Mountain is the best and that’s the standard that you’re trying to strive for and you get to the high school level and that continues to be true. They got the trophies that we want and until we start putting trophies in the trophy case at the rate that they have, they’ll always be the standard.”

Last season, Air Academy fell in the state title game to Dakota Ridge. Players like junior attackman Alex Sirois, who led the Kadets in goals last season and is pacing the team again this year, remember the moment. 

“When it came to last year, coming so close just to fall short, it definitely stung,” Sirois said. “I think the hardest part about it was having to look happy and all that, taking pictures with the silver trophy when you look over at Dakota Ridge and they’re with their fans, their friends, holding up the golden trophy and that big banner.”

The Kadets responded with brotherhood. Gold took over the program in the offseason and knew this year’s team would be special back in fall workouts. He marveled at the sheer number of players who came out. 

It’s all led to what’s so far been a remarkable season for Air Academy. The Kadets are dominating opponents in all phases. Their 207 goals are more than 100 over the national average per MaxPreps and their 49 goals against are almost half. 

Offensively, Sirois, who has scored 50 goals this season, noted that the attackmen are more patient. 

“One game, some of us might score more than others and vice versa but … one thing we preach is getting the best look. Not a good look, get the best one,” he said. “Whether we have to make one dodge and we can go to cage, whether we have to run through our offense for five minutes. We’re out there trying to set our team up for success and set the offense up for success.” 

It’s a relatively young group for Air Academy up front, Gold said. The team’s first and second lines are juniors and sophomores, and four of the top six scorers are second-year players. 

But part of the success comes from not feeling a ton of pressure to produce. Defensively, the Kadets are just as impressive. Air Academy hasn’t allowed an opponent to score double-digit goals this season.  

Gold credits junior goalie Scott Cox. He also emphasized the experience his team has on defense. 

“(Our defense) they’ve been around the block, they’ve played a lot of games for us. We know that, offensively, we can rely on our defense to cover some of the mistakes that we might make,” Gold said. “If we don’t have a quality offensive possession, we know nine times out of 10, we’re getting it back and the score’s going to be the same.” 

One of those experienced players on defense is senior Jackson Schipfer. 

A running back for The Classical Academy’s football team, which recently went on a more than 20-game win streak to include a state championship, Schipfer knows a thing or two about setting a program’s standard through good leadership and physical play. 

“It’s mostly leading by example,” he said. “I wouldn’t ask someone to do something that I’m not willing to do myself. Extra lifts, running, things like that, conditioning. I want to set the standard myself so then we can reach it as a team.”

Schipfer and last year’s Kadets helped establish what they hope will be a new standard against Cheyenne Mountain in last year’s playoffs, beating the Hawks for the first time in 11 years, excluding 2020 when the season was canceled due to the pandemic.

He’ll look to maintain that standard Saturday and help Air Academy set new ones. The Kadets haven’t won a league championship in 13 years, and would love to add a state title to the trophy case. 

“We have our (goal of a) state championship and then right below that is beating Cheyenne,” he said.