LACROSSE
Firmly established
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
After qualifying for the state tournament for the eighth time in nine years, it can safely be said that lacrosse is no longer a young program at NHS; it seems to have established itself quite well, thank you.

For coach Rick Blair, who has guided the boys' squad to all eight of its tourney appearances, there was added satisfaction this year in seeing his players regroup as the season progressed and help the team earn a spot in the postseason.

"I think all the adages and clichés about putting the team first were proven true this year," he said. "We seemed to play better with a shorter bench and when everybody was willing to accept their roles."

Although the team's ride through the postseason made its last stop in Scituate last week, there are several positives to take from the experience. One is that all of Nantucket's scoring came from the sticks of three sophomores: Hakeem Lecky, Gaven Norton and Ray Decosta. A second is the continued strong goaltending of Keith Clemens, who Blair looks forward to welcoming back for his senior year. A third is that Scituate is one of the premier teams in eastern Massachusetts and played in the Division 3 finals Monday afternoon. "When they get their offense going, they're the class of Division 3," Blair said. "I think they're ranked in the top five overall in the state."

Before Scituate, there was the overtime thriller at Norwell, a game that saw senior Mark Dwyer score both the tying goal in regulation and the game-winner as well, a fitting capper to his high school career. The enthusiastic player is off to Monroe Community College in the heart of lacrosse country in upstate New York.

The other seniors on the team - captain Matt Dunham, Josh Stone, John O'Mara, Matt Aguiar, Eric Rogers, Elias Ammermann and Jordan Beans - will also be missed. "The seniors were our defensive front line at the beginning of the year," Blair noted. "We had a totally different look than we did at the end of the season."

Several underclassmen who stepped up to the varsity squad will help form the nucleus of next year's team with the dependable core of varsity returnees. "The good news is we have Will Martin, Hakeem Lecky, Ray DeCosta, Gaven Norton, Hadi Nabulsi, Teddy Fales, Lorne Paterson, John Higgins and Matthew Marrett all returning," Blair noted. "At midfield we return Joe Bopp, Taylor Thayer and Henry Farrell." Also returning are Henry and Sam Toole. Of next year's team, only Martin and Clemens are seniors.

With a new year comes new captains and the trio of Martin, Farrell and Lecky were selected as team leaders before the summer break.

That this year's team battled back bodes well for next season, Blair believes. "I really thought it was enjoyable. We'd never been able to win a tournament game on the road before (as the Whalers did against Norwell). The kids can be proud of that. All of them are looking forward to playing other sports

before the season begins next year." I