Oak Hill is like many Class B boys’ lacrosse programs that haven’t quite reached the Cape Elizabeth/Yarmouth/North Yarmouth Academy level of play.

Riding a talented core of seniors, the Raiders enjoyed a breakout year in 2008. And that typically indicates a step backward in ’09.

Staying true to that form, Oak Hill improved to 4-6 with a victory late last week over Mountain Valley, but probably need two more wins and other help to make the seven-team playoffs in Eastern Class B.

“Our guys have to want it,” Oak Hill coach Adam Dube said. “That’s it. You can’t make anybody want it. They have to go out and play like they want it.”

Dube took over the job from Dave Wing after Oak Hill’s trek to the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference championship game last season.

Wing, now the school’s football coach, wasn’t the only departure, though. The Raiders are in the midst of a youth movement – they suited up only 16 players in a 13-1 loss to Gardiner last Tuesday.

“We graduated a lot of guys last year,” Dube said. “We can play with any team as long as we can move the ball and shut down their (defense). We seem to be a second-half team. Maybe it’s the bus ride. I couldn’t tell you what it is, but we really need to get our feet moving in the first quarter.”

Matt Averill, Tyler Michaud, Corey Stubbs and Tyler Gagnon lead a defense that has kept the Raiders competitive. The anchor of that group, however, is veteran goaltender Caleb Fournier.

“He faces a billion shots every game,” Dube said. “I expect big stuff from him because he played well last year, and he never lets me down. It’s a team effort out there.”

Oak Hill meets Morse for the second time this spring in a make-or-break game this week.

“When we played Morse the first time, they didn’t look very spectacular. If we play the way we did (against Gardiner) in the second half, I think we can beat anybody,” Dube said.

Off-season practice

Confidence is a funny thing in sports.

For Lewiston netminder Stephanie Belanger, it took a stint as a hockey goalie – a state championship-winning goalie, at that – to really hone those lacrosse skills.

It’s paid off in spades for the senior.

Cony peppered the net with nearly 40 shots in a game Thursday, and in a losing effort, Belanger stopped almost 20. Some, of course, sailed high or wide.

After the game, Cony coach Gretchen Livingston called Belanger a “great goalie.”

Lewiston coach Christy Gardner credited Belanger’s time between the pipes on the ice with her renewed sense of comfort on the field.

“That helped her reaction time incredibly,” Gardner said. “She is everywhere, and she was that much better today because we took it easy on her in the last couple of practices.”

Belanger has also taken to another hockey trait – dropping down on a shot, butterfly style. That alone accounted for at least half of her saves against Cony, since many players are taught to shoot low, which normally accounts for plenty of goal-scoring in lacrosse.

But not against Belanger.

Cougars keep rolling

With just three games to play and the prospect of a perfect regular season staring them in the face, it would be easy for the Mt. Blue Cougars’ lacrosse team to be looking ahead to the playoffs – and to a No. 1 seed.

But Mt. Blue is far from home free.

The Cougars, sitting at 9-0, have to face three opponents against which they’ve compiled their closest victories of the season – Gardiner, Mountain Valley and Morse.

The good news? All of the games are at home.

In the first contest against Gardiner (rematch Tuesday, May 26), the Cougars outgunned the Tigers 11-5 in the first of three tough road contests.

Four days later, Mt. Blue put up another 11 goals in a closer, 11-7 victory over Mountain Valley in Rumford, and then eked past Morse, 14-12. In that last game, against Morse, Zac Conlogue snapped an 11-11 tie with seven minutes left to lift the Cougars. Derek Rowe scored four goals for Mt. Blue, which had to rally from a 10-8 deficit after three quarters.

Tough losses

Lewiston’s boys’ lacrosse team has grown tired of one-goal defeats. The Blue Devils will get a chance to avenge one when they host Messalonskee on Tuesday.

The Blue Devils’ chances might rest in how they bounce back from a 6-5 loss to undefeated Brunswick and a physical, 10-7 defeat at Mt. Ararat last week.

“It shouldn’t be hard, because the outcome of Tuesday has a very strong impact on the playoffs. So there’s an inherent motivation in staying focused,” Lewiston coach John Brubaker said. “This is the meat-grinder portion of our schedule.”

With only seven teams in the Eastern Class A ranks, Lewiston appears locked into fourth place and a home quarterfinal game, with Brunswick, Messalonskee and Mt. Ararat getting a bye after last week’s results.

Beating the Eagles the second time around would instill a boatload of confidence as the Devils turn the calendar to June.

“When we play together, we play really well,” Brubaker said.

Lewiston (4-5) finishes up with Edward Little and Oxford Hills.