Too big a hurdle: Fossil Ridge falls to Denver East in Colorado 6A championship game

With a third state championship game appearance in 10 years and both higher seeds out of the picture this season, there was only one hurdle left for the Fossil Ridge boys basketball team.

Unfortunately for the third-seeded SaberCats, it was a titanic one in legendary coach Rudy Carey and the Denver East program.

The Angels tied Manual's Colorado record with a 12th boys state championship, as No. 4 Denver East (26-2) oudueled Fossil Ridge 82-61 Saturday in the Class 6A state title game at the Denver Coliseum.

For a third time since 2014 and the second straight year, Fossil Ridge (25-3) reached the state championship game but fell just short of the mountaintop in a runner-up finish.

"It’s not easy making another run after losing last year," said Fossil Ridge senior Nick Randall. "It’s hard to put into words how much this team means to me and I’ll always be proud of us."

Here are four takeaways from the Denver East win over Fossil in the 6A title game:

A showdown of stars

Randall made another strong case for 6A Player of the Year with 26 points and often kept Fossil Ridge afloat when a bucket was needed.

But one of Randall's primary competitors for that honor staked his claim. too.

Angels guard D'Aundre Samuels poured in 25 points and did it every which way, spinning and weaving to the rim through Fossil's athletic defense.

"I think Nick is the best player in Colorado," Fossil Ridge coach Matt Johannsen said. "I'm sure that Samuels would have something to say about that, he might argue with me there."

East utilized a two-man game, as Jack Greenwood also fired off a season-high 27 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers that essentially sealed the title.

East roared out of the gates with a 7-0 run but Fossil hung around all first half, cutting the lead to one multiple times as Randall's 14 points helped keep it to a 33-27 halftime game.

Fossil Ridge allowed a season-high for points in a half, surrendering 49 to the Angels in the final 16 minutes with some "uncharacteristic" defense as Greenwood and Samuels took over.

"We usually do a better job of being with our man," Johannsen said. "We lost them several times. We weren’t playing our assignments."

Randall was Fossil's best bet to match, but even his dozen in the second half wasn't enough.

Still, the SaberCats senior star was brilliant again, finishing the season at 22.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while dropping 26 ppg in the Coliseum from the quarterfinals through finals.

"Nick is that dude," Johannsen said. "He’s going to be impossible to replace."

"It’s awesome playing here and I feel like I showed people who I am," Randall added.

Carey enhances the resume

This was a heavyweight matchup and featured nearly 70 years of head coaching experience.

While Johannsen and the SaberCats had already knocked off Regis Jesuit and Ken Shaw (3rd on Colorado's coaching wins list) in the semifinals, another legend proved too much.

With the victory, Carey earned a record 10th boys state championship and seventh at alma mater Denver East.

His last two titles have now been at Johannsen's expense, as the Angels also beat Fossil for the 2014 5A championship.

It was the 897th career victory, stretching his all-time wins record after passing the retired Dick Katte in December.

"Rudy doesn’t have all those wins just because," Johannsen said. "He doesn’t have a record number of titles just because. He’s a great coach and that’s a great team."

Denver East never lost again after falling to Fossil Ridge 63-40 in the second game of the season on Dec. 2.

'Win one for Matt'

Randall said it himself.

This wasn't just about avenging last year's title loss to ThunderRidge or getting the school's first state basketball title.

The SaberCats craved this one for Johannsen, the only boys basketball head coach the school has ever had since opening in 2004.

"We wanted to win one for Matt so badly," Randall said. "He's been my favorite coach I’ve ever had."

He's now won 325 games at Fossil Ridge, leading the program to two consecutive state-title appearances and three over the past decade.

For context, no Fort Collins school has won a boys state title since 1954 and Fossil now accounts for three of seven city boys Final 4 appearances in the past 50 years.

Johannsen can recognize the accomplishment but it didn't totally stem the immediate sting.

"It’s frustration," he said. "I really thought we were ready and had a good gameplan and just didn’t execute it.

"But hopefully the frustration turns into pride in the fact we were in the finals three years out of 10 as a Fort Collins school. I’m very proud of that."

SaberCats settle for second again

The hurt was certainly evident. There's no silver lining on a state championship loss, especially in the moments after.

There was more behind that pain for this Fossil Ridge group, though.

It's a senior class of 10 — yes, TEN — that has come up through the program together. Some have hooped together their whole lives.

These SaberCats felt the disappointment keenly but managed some perspective.

That starts with Johannsen, who acknowledges it's a cliche but always insists it's about more than what happens on the court.

"The scoreboard says we’re losers but you try and remind them that a second-place finish two years in a row is doing some damn good work," Johannsen said.

"I wish we had a different chance at it," Randall lamented before lauding, "It’s very rare to make it twice in two years. So I love this team and we gave it our best effort."

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado 6A basketball championship: Denver East dominates Fossil Ridge