The margin was less than a full point, but the Lewiston Blue Devils are far from caring.
With a pair of games outstanding late Thursday, the Blue Devils’ boys’ lacrosse team held a less-than-10-point margin for the No. 1 overall seed in Eastern Class A over Deering. The Devils and the Rams had both completed their seasons at 11-1, along with Messalonskee, but the two games remaining on the docket implicated teams over which Deering held wins, thereby impacting the Heal Points process.
Friday morning, Lewiston saw its margin shrink to less than a full point. But more importantly for them, the Blue Devils remained on top.
“I knew it was going to be close and it’s exactly what my math told me,” a relieved Lewiston coach Bill Bodwell said.
Messalonskee will host No. 6 Mt. Ararat (6-6) in the first round, while No. 4 Portland (9-3), the only team to defeat Lewiston this season, will host No. 5 Brunswick (6-6). The Blue Devils draw the winner of that match, and either face their longtime nemesis in Brunswick, or the Bulldogs, who came out on top in a 9-8 overtime contest early in the season.
“We’ve lost to Portland three times in the last year and a half,” Bodwell said. “I think we weren’t prepared to play them last time like we will be this time, though. We were missing some key players, and we’ve worked up some offense that we think will help this time around.”
If the seedings hold, and Lewiston advances to the final against Deering, it will be a reversal of last year’s playoff matchup, which saw Lewiston travel to Deering. This time, the Devils have the chance to play through to the state final on home turf.
“A lot of the teams we face have turf fields that we don’t get to see all the time, and they get to come play on our natural turf, so that’s good for us,” Bodwell said. “We’ll be in front of our fans and in our natural setting. We feel very comfortable there.”
Across the bridge, another area school earned a top seed. St. Dom’s completed its season at 12-0, but had to wait on Yarmouth’s final game before learning its fate. Though only 6-6, Yarmouth’s strength of schedule nearly pushed the Clippers past the Saints into the top spot.
“We’re very happy with the way that turned out,” St. Dom’s coach Dave Haefele said. “We get to play the games at home now.”
St. Dom’s will have a bye into the Eastern Class B semifinal, where the Saints will face the winner of No. 4 NYA vs. No. 5 Morse.
“Morse, we played to a one-goal game in the season,” Haefele said, “and NYA always plays strong at the end of the year. NYA split with Yarmouth this year, too, so we know they can play some good lacrosse.”
Yarmouth will host the winner of No. 3 Gardiner vs. No. 6 Maranacook/Winthrop.
On the girls’ side, a late-season loss to Lewiston thwarted Oxford Hills’ chances at the sixth and final playoff berth in Eastern A. No area teams qualified for the girls’ lacrosse playoffs this season.
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