AURORA — The stage is set.
Kent Denver and Cherry Creek had two completely different stories from their Class 5A boys lacrosse semifinal games at Legacy Stadium on Wednesday night.
But both got the same result, winning to advance to Monday's state championship game where they will play each other for the title.
The first matchup of the evening was a thriller that went all the way down to the final minutes. Battling back and forth, top-seeded Valor Christian exchanged strikes with 5-seed Kent Denver, who held on for the 12-11 win.
The Sun Devils scored four unanswered goals in the second quarter to take a 7-4 lead into halftime. The Eagles, however, returned with four straight of their own to begin the second half.
Down one late in the game, Kent Denver got the equalizer — then netted the game-winner with less than a minute to play when Max Hewitt sent a pass across the slot that set up senior captain Dylan Wells to score.
"It was awesome. It was a great pass from my teammate, and I attribute that to him," Wells said. "That was an incredible feeling. I'm going to remember that for the rest of my life."
The loss was the first of the season for Valor (17-1), which spent the majority of spring atop the 5A lacrosse rankings undefeated.
Kent Denver is eyeing its sixth state title in program history, but first since 2008.
CHERRY CREEK 14, HIGHLANDS RANCH 3
The second semifinal game was far different from the first.
3-seed Cherry Creek wasted no time getting to work against 10-seed Highlands Ranch, which was fresh off a huge upset over 2-seed Arapahoe.
The Bruins scored six goals in the opening quarter, and another five in the following to take a commanding 11-0 lead over the Falcons at halftime. Five of those first-half goals were scored by Henry Olson.
Highliands Ranch wouldn't be able to recover from its deficit.
Cherry Creek and Kent Denver will play in the state championship game at All-City Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Monday night.
The Bruins are the only program with more titles than the Sun Devils' five (with six), and last won in 2017.
Kent Denver has a 2-1 advantage over Cherry Creek in state title game matchups.
Watch the extended video above and see the highlights on the 9NEWS Prep Rally this weekend.