Holy Family claims seventh state title

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

DENVER – ere aren’t many instances at a state high-school championship where there’s a discussion about the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia.

But Holy Family girls basketball coach, Ron Rossi, had a reason to bring up the subject after his Tigers beat D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School 49-44 at the Denver Coliseum to win the state title March 11.

Rossi, who has won seven titles since joining the Tigers’ program 20 years ago, wears his Jerry Garcia during each title game. ere certainly wasn’t any tension on Rossi’s face as he threw the ball back over his head in celebration after the game ended.

“ is tie went through championship 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6,” he said. “I said, ‘I gotta wear it.’ I’m probably the only coach in the United States who wears a tie with all the coaches’ gear we wear. It’s a fun, little thing we do to release the tension.

Whether it was the tie or something else, the Tigers found a way to outlast the second-seeded Jaguars.

“It feels amazing,” said Essynce Contreraz, who scored 10 points for the Tigers. “We’ve been waiting for this since freshman year. “ is was the best team I’ve ever been on. It feels amazing.”

Fiona Snahsall scored 14 points to lead Holy Family. Enyiah Contreraz had nine. Macy Scheer had 18 points for D’Evelyn. Peyton Marcel scored 11.

Holy Family held the Jaguars to seven points in the third quarter. Rossi felt that’s when the game changed. It also helped the Tigers’ cause to start an 11-0 run in the quarter to give the Tigers some