Demons get into some risky business

Students walked by in untucked white, button-down shirts and boxer shorts, reminiscent of Tom Cruise in the 1983 high school movie, “Risky Business.”Every basketball game at Golden High School has a different theme. Feb. 11 was Senior Night at Golden High School.The gym bleachers started to fill up with people as the clock neared 6:45 p.m. Although the boys’ basketball games began at 4 p.m., much of the crowd was there to see the Demons seniors recognized at the last home game of the regular season.”Seniors have worked so hard in their high school career,” said Nick Capaul, sitting with a group of friends in the front row of the bleachers.Capaul is also a senior, and plays on the baseball team. But that doesn’t matter — when you’re a Demon, everyone is involved.”Everyone knows how hard each other works,” he said, “and it’s good to show support for all the teams.”The hard work the Demons put in all season proved to be valuable — they defeated the Standley Lake Gators with a 59-26 win.”Golden always has a very competitive team,” spectator Mike Santos said. “They’re fun to watch.”Santos has always been a follower of Golden’s basketball teams. Part of that is because his daughter played on the girls’ team four years ago. Now, though, Santos makes a point to come to at least one game every season.A lot of the bleachers were filled with students or parents of students, but Demons games are fun for everyone — even if you don’t have kids that go to the school, said Tracy Drake of Golden.Sitting in the top row of the bleachers was Austin Angus. This was his first time to see the Demons play. In fact, this was only the second time he has been to Golden.”It’s a whole new experience,” he said. The Greeley resident is familiar with basketball, so he knew he would have a good time. Aside from that, he wanted to support the team that his friend Erik Buehler coaches.On the other hand, Phil Henry came from Lakewood to support the Gators because his stepson is the head coach for Standley Lake.Henry goes to the majority of Standley Lake’s games and said it’s just important to support high school athletes, no matter the team you’re rooting for.”High school is very important,” he said. “It’s a big part of growing up.”And Goldenite Gwen Stroup agreed. Her son Jackson is a sophomore and plays on the Level 3 and junior varsity teams.The school community is supportive of the students, and the students are supportive of their players.”No matter if it’s a high-stakes game, or a regular season game, there’s always a large student crowd cheering on their friends,” Stroup said. “And when the Golden community comes together to show support, it helps the youth feel that they’re an integral part of the community.”