Senior River King said the Steamboat Springs High School boys lacrosse team is like a diesel motor. It takes a while to warm up.

“We got to leave our glow plugs on,” senior Ezra Moyer agreed.

All 11 seniors agreed that slow starts are pretty typical for the team, so when the Sailors went down 4-1 early against Battle Mountain, no one was concerned. Once their engine was warm, the boys in red and white took off.

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Starting with a late first-quarter goal from junior Kellen Adams, Steamboat scored seven straight goals to take an 8-4 lead. They rode that advantage all the way to a 12-7 win. Steamboat ends the regular season with a 7-3 record and a three-game win streak.

All of a sudden, the Huskies were barely holding the ball, and the Sailors were dominating. The team said that shift came because of the atmosphere at Gardner Field.

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Senior Luke St. John said the crowd and the bench were loud, and it’s hard not to get pumped with people screaming at you. Senior Jackson Metzler loves the energy his teammates give him and the defense from the field and sidelines. Senior Jack Bube said King played a huge role in getting every Sailor “gassed up” in the huddles.

“We got really loud,” King said. “And we got really excited about everything big and small, and that helps you grow momentum.”

The Sailors really do get excited about everything. They notice the little things their teammates do, and they show their thanks and appreciation.

Senior Thomas Faunce was impressed with all the ground balls that were earned, while Moyer noted Reeves Kirby being unstoppable in the faceoff circle. Moyer and senior CJ Smith shouted out Kings’ physical play in the crease and his relentless ability to keep the team’s energy high. Senior Finn Russell was just happy to be a part of that energy for a full game after battling back from an injury.

“I thought it was crazy when Aidan made that goal. Then he got hit, and his helmet came off, and he got right back up,” Bube said.

Story had one goal on the day from just to the left of the goal. He got slammed to the ground with a high check from an opponent, a hit that drew a three-minute unreleasable penalty against the Huskies.

Adams earned a hat trick in Saturday’s win, while Hayden Magnuson and St. John added two each.

Steamboat’s season started just like their games: not so great. The Sailors were 2-1, after the first week in the season, but were 6-1 the rest of the spring. The team thinks that trend is indicative of their growing chemistry and how close they’ve gotten over the short and jam-packed season.

“I’m really proud of just us as a team,” senior Jack Becker said. “We started out not knowing each other super well, a bunch of younger guys, a bunch of new guys. We really came together and played really well throughout the last couple games.”

Senior Ryan Hoffman said he’s enjoyed watching the people around him grow up and get better and come together as a team, a team that went into the game on the edge of the playoff bubble. It’s still unclear if their performance Saturday helped them. They’ll find out Sunday if they will make the eight-team state bracket.

“Everyone came together, played really hard and talked,” Story said. “This could have possibly been our last game, and we left it all out there if it was. Hopefully, it wasn’t, but I’m happy with our team. We’ve gotten so much better through the year, and it’s great to be a part of.”

Steamboat Springs 12, Battle Mountain 7

BM 4 0 1 2 – 7

SS 2 5 3 2 – 12

First quarter

BM — Stephen Mill, 9:31

BM — PJ Kessenich, 8:34

SS — Hayden Magnuson (Aidan Story, Andrew Kempers), 8:15

BM — Blu Barnett, 5:48

BM — Nate Bishop, 5:13

SS — Kellen Adams, 0:54

Second quarter

SS — Finn Rodgers 10:18

SS — Adams, 9:00

SS — Jack Becker, 7:02 – 5,4

SS — Adams, 5:38

SS — Story, 4:14

Third quarter

SS — Luke St. John (Becker), 7:00

BM — Garrett Ast, 5:22

SS — St. John, 4:30

SS — Kempers 0:06

Fourth quarter

SS — Magnuson (Adams), 7:46

BM — Jaden Weiss 5:30

BM — Barnett 4:44

SS — Tommy Meissner 1:15