If you can’t beat them, emulate them.

That was Butch Dow’s philosophy when taking command of the Lewiston junior varsity girls’ lacrosse program three seasons ago.

After watching Brunswick dominate KVAC and Eastern Class A competition for years, Dow decided it was high time to teach the youngest Blue Devils the Dragons’ quick-pass, catch-and-shoot game.

“We have a lot of respect for Coach (Beth) Caputi and her program, so we figured why not try to take a page from their book?” Dow said. “It takes a lot of repetition.”

Now that Dow and those former JV players are mainstays with the varsity program, the repetition part involves the ball going into the cage over and over again.

By virtue of a season-ending victory over Oxford Hills, Lewiston’s best-ever season will continue with a berth in the KVAC championship — yes, against Brunswick — and at least one home game in the playoffs.

No.3 Lewiston (11-1) hosts No. 6 Cheverus (7-5) in Wednesday’s Eastern Class A quarterfinals. If the Devils survive, they’ll take on the Portland-Messalonskee winner in the semis.

“I don’t know much about them at all,” Dow said of Cheverus. “I’ve got to do a little homework at the all-conference meeting and talk to some other coaches.”

Teams were free to start scrambling for information when the Heal Points became official Thursday.

Seven local teams qualified for the tournament.

St. Dom’s leads the boys’ field. The Saints (12-0) are the No. 1 seed in Eastern Class B after completing their third consecutive undefeated regular season.

First up is No. 8 Camden Hills, whom St. Dom’s shut out 13-0 in the opening game of the season. Lying in wait after that could be No. 4 North Yarmouth Academy (6-6), which hosts No. 5 Maranacook/Winthrop (9-3) in the quarterfinals.

NYA ousted St. Dom’s in last year’s semifinal round. The Panthers are a co-favorite in the field despite their .500 record.

“We need to think ahead put not look ahead,” St. Dom’s coach David Haefele said. “Camden gave Morse a 9-8 game the other day. They’ve obviously improved.”

Joining St. Dom’s and NYA in the crowded Eastern B chase is No. 3 Yarmouth (7-5), which hosts No. 6 Oak Hill (8-4) in the quarterfinals.

Yarmouth and NYA hail from the Western Maine Conference, which features a longer and stronger lacrosse tradition than the KVAC.

“We send out some of the top players in our league, but (those teams) put 10 of those guys out there,” Haefele said. “And their second and third lines are equal.”

Reigning Eastern Class A boys’ champion Lewiston (6-6) is the seventh and final seed in its draw. The Blue Devils will travel to No. 2 Mt. Ararat (10-2), which swept the regular-season series by scores of 6-4 and 6-1.

In addition to Lewiston, Oxford Hills and Mountain Valley are in the girls’ postseason field.

No. 8 Oxford Hills (8-4) draws the task of traveling to No. 1 Brunswick (11-1) in the Eastern A quarterfinals. No. 4 Mountain Valley (4-8) is home for the Eastern B opening round against No. 5 Gardiner (1-11).

Both the St. Dom’s boys and Lewiston girls have a terrific tuneup on the docket.

St. Dom’s will scrimmage Class A champion Scarborough on Friday. Lewiston gets to face Brunswick in the KVAC title game at 3 p.m. Monday.

Brunswick handed Lewiston its lone defeat, 16-5, on May 3. The Devils since have won seven straight, averaging nearly 17 goals per game.

“It’s great,” Dow said of the KVAC showcase. “It will really show us where we need to work on things.”

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