LEWISTON — The typically stable Lewiston boys lacrosse program experienced upheaval this week when its varsity coaching staff left the program following Tuesday’s win over Mt. Ararat.

Longtime head coach Ben Fournier and assistants Tom Fournier, Jon Fournier and BJ Wade all stepped down. Lewiston JV coach Sam Cloutier his been hired as the new coach of the varsity team and was leading the Blue Devils during Saturday’s 14-4 loss to Bangor.

Ben Fournier was in the middle of his 11th season at the helm for Lewiston. He’s also a 2004 Lewiston High School graduate, and his father, Tom Fournier, was his high school coach. Jon Fournier is Ben Fournier’s younger brother.

“Things have transpired over the last couple of days, and Coach Fournier felt it was in the best interest of the program to step away so the kids could move forward in a healthy environment,” Lewiston athletic director Jason Fuller said. “He’s made that decision and we’re going to take the necessary steps to finish the season off on a positive note and go from there.”

Fuller declined to comment on the specifics of the scenario in question, but the coaching change took place following Tuesday’s 16-2 win over Mt. Ararat.

Lewiston was scheduled to play Oxford Hills on Friday, but that game was moved to Monday, May 13.

Cloutier declined to comment on the cause of the coaching change.

Fuller helped Cloutier coach the Blue Devils, who are ranked in a tie for eighth in the first Varsity Maine poll of the season, in Saturday’s game. Cloutier’s hiring as the varsity coach leaves an opening as the program’s JV coach.

Fuller said there has been an offer made to an individual for the JV head coach position, and “hopefully by Monday we’ll have everything in a place where we can take the next step as a program.”

“I think we’ve got to hit a little reset button as a group,” Fuller said. “Monday will be a big step, (with a) team meeting to kind of put everyone on the same page, and make sure we’re all on the understanding of where we’re going from here, and recover.”

Fuller also said he, Cloutier and the entire team recognize the potential of the remainder of the season, with the Blue Devils sitting at 4-2 with eight games left on the schedule.

“There’s no reason for us to pack it in and end this thing, I think there’s some things that we can accomplish and we’ve just got to reset,” Fuller said. “I think it was hard on the kids (Saturday), and there are a lot of emotions involved. They gave an effort and that’s all you can ever ask for. We’ll move on and get better as we do every day that we’re on the field.”

Ben Fournier did not respond to phone calls by the Sun Journal.

He was hired to coach the Blue Devils in 2013 and led the program to eight winning seasons and several playoff appearances. Most recently, Lewiston made it to the Class A preliminary round last spring and reached the A North semifinals in 2022.

This season was Cloutier’s second year as the Blue Devils’ JV head coach. He is a Lewiston High School graduate, earning first- and second-team all-conference honors during his career. He then played NCAA Division III lacrosse at the University of New England as a midfielder, graduating in 2016.

Cloutier said he has not coached any of the current varsity players yet, but said that the “building blocks for success have already been put in place,” by the past coaches, and he looks to coach the team to a “deep playoff run,” this season.

“Sam is an unbelievable young man,” Fuller said. “Very fortunate to have him at Lewiston right now. He’s been a system athletic director. He’s played collegiate lacrosse. He’s been around the game his whole life. He has a pretty good legacy here at Lewiston, both as a lacrosse player and a hockey player. He’s a person of strong character, strong morals. I think he’s going to pass that along to the kids.”

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