Cheyenne Mountain said it would treat each 4A boys lacrosse playoff matchup like it’s the championship game.

If the Red-Tailed Hawks’ postseason play resembles their second-round game against Aspen on Friday, they’ll hoist another title.

Following a first-round bye, the No. 2-seeded Red-Tailed Hawks demolished No. 15-seeded Aspen 16-4 at Cheyenne Mountain High School to advance to the quarterfinals.

The Red-Tailed Hawks seek their fourth consecutive boys lacrosse title after winning three in a row.

“We have some talented and determined guys in the locker room and they want another day,” Red-Tailed Hawks coach Mike Paige said. “We have a great culture. We had a phenomenal senior class that graduated and led that three-peat. But in the shadow of that are guys who want to be like that. … These guys want to be part of that legacy.”

The Red-Tailed Hawks beat Erie 11-10 in double overtime last season to earn their third championship in a row.

But to close this year, the Tigers blasted the Red-Tailed Hawks 16-5 – Cheyenne Mountain’s first double-digit defeat since a 22-8 loss to Valor Christian on April 6, 2017.

Players and coaches certainly didn’t enjoy the beatdown. But Paige said that loss reignited the Red-Tailed Hawks.

“Sometimes when you get beat up like that, you take it personally and you go back to the drawing board,” Paige said. “Winning is great but it can distort your reality. Getting reminded of a loss like that makes you come back to practice and say, ‘Let’s get it done.’”

Which is what Cheyenne Mountain did to start the game against the Skiers.

The Red-Tailed Hawks opened the contest with a 4-0 first quarter and netted another five goals in the second to build a 9-0 lead at the break.

Will Weinstein, who entered the matchup as Cheyenne Mountain’s leading scorer with 40 goals, couldn’t find the net in the first.

However, Weinstein needed just six minutes in the second to rectify that and scored 3 of the Red-Tailed Hawks’ five goals in the frame.

“Once Logan [Mika] started getting it going, they keyed in on him,” Weinstein said. “He fed shooters and that allowed other guys to get open.”

Mika, who finished with a game-high five goals for Cheyenne Mountain, continued the onslaught in the third and netted three goals including the Red-Tailed Hawks’ final strike of the period that gave them a 15-2 lead.

“A lot of my goals came from our [midfielders] and defense for allowing us to get those stops and get the ball back on offense as quickly as possible,” Mika said. “That helped me and our other scorers to keep it rolling.”

The Red-Tailed Hawks face No. 7 Northfield at home Tuesday and want redemption.

Cheyenne Mountain’s other loss came at Northfield on April 22, an 11-10 overtime defeat to the Nighthawks.

Players want that fourth consecutive championship, but Mika said they can’t overlook any opponent in the postseason.

“We’re focused on taking things one game at a time,” Mika said. “We’re not looking at the title game right now. Our next championship game is Northfield.”