Denver East ready to face top seeded Mountain Vista in 6A boys Final 4
Mar. 8—Despite the fact that he's approaching 900 career wins and just two away from his 10th state championship, every trip to the Denver Coliseum is special for Denver East coach Rudy Carey.
"It's always a new group and a new excitement," Carey told The Denver Gazette days before his team takes on top seeded Mountain Vista in the Final 4 of the 6A state playoffs.
The Angels are on an incredible 24-game winning streak after dropping their opening two games of the season, and not even their coach who's seen it all saw this coming.
"It's always surprising when you win 24 consecutive games, but I know these guys are capable of being successful," Carey said. "They work extremely hard in practice.
"They are a very intelligent group and they're probably one of the easiest teams to coach. They have a lot of chemistry, they like each other a lot and they've overcome a lot."
To say this team has overcome a lot would be an understatement.
The entire Denver East community has had to deal with gun violence as 16-year-old student Luis Garcia was shot while sitting in his car outside the school last month, later dying from the incident a few weeks later.
But the run the Angels have been on the last few weeks has allowed for some positive moments for the community and that's all they can ask for.
"We feel like we've been a bright light in this community, even in times of darkness," Carey said. "These guys have taken it upon themselves to be positive role models in this community."
Leading the way for Denver East are seniors D'Aundre Samuels and Austin Mohr, who average just under 22 and 16 points per game, respectively. Two combined for 40 points in the 77-71 win over Smoky Hill in the Great 8 last weekend.
Samuels and Mohr also combined for 49 points in their January win over the same Mountain Vista team they're about to face on Friday night. But January wins belong in January, according to Carey, who knows that the Golden Eagles are worthy of their No. 1 seed.
"Any wins that you've had early in the season go out the back door," Carey said. "It's a new season, it's one and done and they are a very good team. They're well coached and we expect their 'A' game and we have to bring out 'A' game to even be in the ball game."
But that doesn't mean he and his team expect anything less than to be playing for a state championship on Saturday night.
"Our kids are very resilient and they have an expectation of themselves," Carey said. "We go out there expecting to win, not hoping to win."
Other storylines to watch
Thursday through Saturday at the Coliseum will be jam packed with Final 4 and Championship games across the top three classes in the state.
Here are three other storylines to watch:
* After winning the battle of Fort Collins in the Great 8 of the 6A boys bracket, Fossil Ridge is looking to continue its run against 7-seed Regis Jesuit on Friday night. The Sabercats are led by senior Nick Randall, who averages over 22 points per game and is coming off a 31-point performance in the win over Fort Collins. Regis Jesuit upset 2-seed Rock Canyon.
* In the 6A girls bracket, 8-seed Arapahoe is looking to pull off another upset after beating top seeded Valor Christian by a final of 62-54 last weekend. The Warriors face 4-seed Monarch on Friday afternoon.
* The biggest Cinderella story remaining in the entire state is 17-seed Holy Family in the 4A boys bracket. The Tigers have already knocked off 1-seed Kent Denver and 8-seed Colorado Academy on the way to the Final 4 and now face 4-seed Eagle Ridge Academy for a spot in the 4A title game.
