In 15 years as a club sport at RBHS, Boys’ Lacrosse has never beaten Clayton High School. The pseudo rivalry has lead to 15 straight regular season losses as well as one postseason loss in 2011, but as of April 28, the streak has been broken. On Saturday, the Bruins beat the Greyhounds (15-6) to claim their first ever win over the team and go to [7-2] on the season.
For head coach Tim Baird, though the win was a sweet victory over a team he had repeatedly lost to during his own time at RBHS, the real win came from rising to first in the Gateway division in the Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Rankings (MSLA), and securing the team a spot in the playoffs.
“More than anything, I think we’re all most excited about getting back into the playoffs this year and making a trip back to the gateway tournament,” Baird said. “At the end of the day we’re always most focused on the postseason and making sure that we have the best possible shot at winning a championship.”
For junior Christian Koburov, the win also brought about a smaller personal victory as he broke the team record for most assists in a season. Though singular records don’t hold much weight for Koburov, he says that the accolade is more representative of the team around him then just his own play on the field.
“I’m very proud of the record but honestly I had no idea that I was even close to it,” Koburov said. “Really it’s more of team record as I wouldn’t even have it unless the guys I was passing to scored each time.”
As this season continues to produce more and more surprises, coach Baird says he hopes the success continues into the final stretch of the season and beyond.
“We’re getting to the point in the year where I believe we’re starting to play our best lacrosse which is fantastic,” Baird said. “Now it’s up to us to finish off the season at our current speed and bring a trophy back to Columbia.”