Zach Fackrell, Special to the Herald

The Skyridge boys lacrosse team’s perfect season to date sets up an ironically imperfect scenario in the mind of its coach, Bart Butterfield.

The Falcons improved their record to 15-0 following Tuesday’s 12-6 win over Westlake, setting up a match versus Lone Peak on Thursday for the Region 3 championship. While knowing his team could be special prior to the season, the Falcon’s current status has surpassed Butterfield’s preseason prognostications.

“We weren’t expecting, or even wanting to be undefeated, so we could learn some lessons early during the season, or even a bit later,” Butterfield said. “But we’re in a position now where we’re undefeated with the opportunity for a region championship. It’s a good spot to be in.”

Arriving at Skyridge’s current status doesn’t just happen, and it has taken more than a little work since Butterfield became its head coach four years ago. He took over a program that hadn’t seen a lot of success and methodically improved the product every season since.

“We went from getting just one win in region to getting to this year where it’s the first time we’ve beaten American Fork. It’s the first year we’ve beaten Westlake. So it’s been a great year,” Butterfield said. “We have a junior class that’s been together pretty much since I got here and they’re finally starting to understand how to win, and it’s fun to watch.”

Zach Fackrell, Special to the Herald

In Tuesday’s win, the fun part didn’t come through until after the first quarter.

The Thunder came out strong, built a 3-1 lead after the first 12 minutes and looked poised to make a tremendous upset bid. But the Falcons, much like they have season long, figured things out.

“It’s obviously a team that watched a lot of what we do and they were able to jump a lot of the passes we were trying to make,” Butterfield said of Westlake’s early success. “But we made some adjustments after that first quarter and started to get it going.”

Those adjustments manufactured a 5-1 scoring margin in the second quarter as Skyridge built a 6-4 lead at the half. Dominic Weaver started off the scoring run with a goal which was followed up with Cabell Buechner scoring the first of his four goals of the evening. Tevan Ward then added two consecutive goals as the Falcons began to reveal the form they’ve shown all season long.

It’s a form Butterfield knew his team was capable of prior to the start of the season, but perhaps not to the relatively flawless degree it showcased through 15 games played. Indeed Butterfield was intent on testing his team early by scheduling some tough out-of-state opponents, but his players proved to be ahead of the curve.

Leading the way for most of the season is Buechner, who tops the team in scoring and improved his 3.4 goals per game average with his four-goal tally in Tuesday’s win.

“I’d be shocked if he wasn’t considered one of the top eight or nine players in the entire state,” Butterfield said of his junior star. “As you can tell, he’s conditioned like a quarter horse. Ground balls just don’t ever get away from him and his ball security is great.”

And it’s not just Buechner’s play, but the fire and motivation he lends to his teammates.

“He’s kind of the spark plug as far as offensive production goes,” Butterfield said.” We have a lot of guys on the defensive end that kind of ground and anchor this group, but as long as Cabell is healthy we really have a chance of beating most teams in the state.”

With regards to the Falcon’s defense, it’s been led by such players as freshman Renner Farrer, who leads the team in takeaways and senior goalie Jaxton Hansen, among others.

“He makes a lot of saves he probably wouldn’t make,” Butterfield said of his senior goalie. “He’s been with me since day one and he has the potential to be really good when he decides to be.”

While Region 3 presents tough challenges on a week to week basis, Butterfield is aware that the traditional lacrosse power in the state is located north of the point of the mountain. But with the state championships just a few weeks away, he’s confident his team can compete with powerhouses such as Corner Canyon, Davis and Brighton.

“I like where we’re at and it’s going to be fun to watch how we can compete. We’re certainly confident,” Butterfield concluded.

Skyridge will take on Lone Peak on Thursday night before wrapping up the regular season with a game versus Box Elder.