Sticks and goals for Conlogue

By Kalle Oakes

Staff Writer

Lacrosse in Maine’s western foothills is far removed from the trademarked variety flaunted by NCAA champion Syracuse University.

It was a journey into that sea of orange, however, that made all the difference for Zac Conlogue and the Mt. Blue High School program.

Spending a week of summer camp in the belly of the beast with eight of his teammates last year demystified the popular but often puzzling game for Conlogue. Suddenly, trying to stick with North Yarmouth Academy and Waynflete, even Morse or Gardiner, didn’t feel like such an intimidating proposition.

“That helped us with skills and building our team,” Conlogue said. “Then we came home and played a lot of catch year-round, and that made a big difference. Last year most of our goals were one-on-one.”

One thing didn’t change regarding those goals. Whenever the Cougars disturbed the net, Conlogue usually had a stick in it.

Conlogue smashed school records with a nice, round 50 goals as a senior on his way to a career total of 117. Those totals were a primary reason Mt. Blue weaved an undefeated regular season and a Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B championship.

They also made Conlogue an easy choice as the Sun Journal’s all-area boys’ lacrosse player of the year.

“Everything was a big change from last year,” Conlogue said. “I never imagined I would score that many goals. It definitely was a team effort. We had a great team this year.”

Indeed, Conlogue is one of eight Cougars represented on an all-area team of 20 players, easily the most from a pool that includes Lewiston, Edward Little, Oak Hill, Oxford Hills and St. Dom’s.

Not many years ago, it looked like Conlogue might suit up for one of the then-upstart programs in the Twin Cities.

“I started in fourth grade playing with a Lewiston-Auburn team. Then I moved to Farmington and didn’t play again until high school,” he said.

Soccer became Conlogue’s primary sport for a while, but his quickness and athleticism immediately translated to high school lacrosse success.
Mt. Blue was one of the first schools in the tri-county area to pick up lacrosse as a sport, even while it was at a club level and unsanctioned by the Maine Principals’ Association.

The Cougars stumbled in Conlogue’s freshman and sophomore seasons. Fortunes have rebounded since former Mt. Blue player James Black took over the program two seasons ago.

Despite a loss to Freeport in the opening round of the playoffs, Mt. Blue experienced its most successful season to date in Conlogue’s farewell campaign.

“Being able to play all year made our individual talent a lot stronger,” Conlogue said. “We’re playing a lot more, and that’s what the teams in the southern part of the state do.”

Lacrosse may become a secondary passion as Conlogue prepares for the next milestone in his life. Castleton State recruited him primarily to play soccer, which his father Fred played and coached for many years.

Conlogue plans to walk on in the spring and try to tackle both games in Vermont.

“It’s an intense, fun sport. It gets addictive pretty quick,” he said of lacrosse. “I don’t think any other sport has that same intensity.”

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Sun Journal Boys’ Lacrosse All-Area Team

First team
Ben Adams, St. Dom’s
Tim Brodsky, Edward Little
Lance Dwight, Mt. Blue
Zac Conlogue, Mt. Blue
Trevar Haefele, St. Dom’s
Seth Mason, Lewiston
Derek Rowe, Mt. Blue
Alex Stone, Lewiston
Jacob Tanguay, Lewiston
Tyler Wells, Oak Hill

Second team
Ben Altmeier, Mt. Blue
Matt Averill, Oak Hill
Drew Jannelle, Oak Hill
A.J. Larrabee, Mt. Blue
Joe Leclair, Mt. Blue
Devin McLellan, Lewiston
Brandon Melville, Mt. Blue
Jacob Norton, Edward Little
Isaiah Rembert, Edward Little
Nick Watson, Mt. Blue