The Brunswick boys lacrosse team poses with the trophy after winning the Class B title last season in Portland. The Dragons scored with 1:11 left to beat beat two-time state champion Yarmouth. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
BRUNSWICK — The high school boys lacrosse season on the Midcoast will feature new head coaches at Morse and Mt. Ararat, as well as several teams looking to make an impact in the postseason playoffs.
Here’s a look at some of the Midcoast teams:
Cooper Quenneville takes over at Morse while Mark St. John now leads Mt. Ararat.
Brunswick
The Dragons return as the defending Class B champ. Brunswick entered the Class B postseason as the No. 4 seed, before it defeated top-seeded Messalonskee and Yarmouth to capture the title.
Brunswick loses a potent weapon in Tommy Labbe to graduation, but brings back a loaded midfield group with Zach Stern-Hayes, Chris Kousky and Jonas McGrath. Newcomers entering the mix are sophomore Avery Tatham, junior James Bowen and senior Jared Similien.
“Our attack will be rebuilt around prolific goal scorer Nick Marro. His new supporting cast will be Gage Senecal and Liam Stewart,” said coach Jason Miller.
The defense will look different a year later, but won’t lack talented athletes.
Brunswick’s Zach Stern-Hayes and Nick Marro celebrate a late goal against Yarmouth in the Class B state final last season in Portland. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald
“Our defense will be brand new starters, but not new varsity players. Athletes like Kaleb Hull, Rafe Pearson, Ansel Kipp, Iain Clendening, Lucas Orthober and newcomer freshman Eben White,” added Miller.
Freeport
Freeport returns to the field looking for more postseason success after posting a 9-8 record a year ago.The Falcons won their first-round playoff game against Traip before falling to York in the Class C quarterfinals in 2022.
First-year coach Brandan Boss, who also teaches physical education within the Regional School Unit, comes to the Falcons after playing at Springfield College and having coached at both the high school and collegiate levels.
Top returners for the Falcons are goalie Adam Clough, Corey Lefebvre (attack), Randall Walker (attack) and Jordan Knighton (midfield), while newcomers Hunter Richards (attack) and Jack DiRusso (midfield) add depth.
Knighton and Cooper DeLois will handle the faceoffs for the Falcons.
Morse
The Shipbuilders enter the season with a new coach in Cooper Quenneville.
“This team is a very focused group that is excited to learn and compete,” said the first-year coach. “Each day they hope to get better and push each other on the field.”
The Shipbuilders return seniors on both the offensive and defensive end of the field, along with junior goalie Michael Martin.
Former longtime Brunswick boys lacrosse coach Don Glover will assist Quenneville.
Morse’s Bjorn Langord (10), left, shoots and scores over Erskine defender Alex Ochoa and goalie Nathan Grenier during an April 14 boys lacrosse game in South China. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
Morse has six freshmen joining the squad and, according to Quenneville, Austin Wood and Alcide Demers should make an impact, along with Taber Gale this season.
“There is a buzz around this squad and they hope to show it out on the field,” said Quenneville. “I am excited to see how they continue to come together throughout the season and what successes we can achieve along the way.”
Mt. Ararat
St. John takes over the program and expects his team to be an improved team from a year ago that went 9-5.
The team returns four seniors as key contributors on offense while gaining support from a talented group of juniors who anchor the defense.
Seniors include Zander Kirk (midfield), who will handle faceoffs, John Martin (midfield), Sam Dube (attack) and Pete Hahesy (midfield). Top returning juniors include Keegan Rowe (defense) and Kyle Ingalls (defense).
Some newcomers looking to make an impact include junior Nelson Balboni (goalie), Brennan Fitzpatrick (defense), Nick White (midfield), Joey Beaucage (midfield) and Jerimee Cote (defense).
“With a developing cast of younger players filling roles and a new goalie, the Eagles will be a tough matchup,” St. John said.
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