After falling to Campbell in the Division III semifinal last season, coach Deacon Blue’s Hopkinton High boys’ lacrosse team is ready for another shot at the state title.

Hopkinton (12-4 last season) won the 2023 championship and has played in five Division III title games since 2017. With eight returning starters and six exciting newcomers, the Hawks are going to go for it all again.

The team captains – junior Shane Smith (All-State First Team midfield) and seniors Merrick Chapin (Second Team attack), Brayden Crawford and Nolan Staples-Roy – have been a huge help to the squad through the early stage of the spring season and have been key to getting everyone on the same page. At this point, their skills are well-developed but their biggest impact has been as dedicated leaders.

“The varsity captains have been really vocal and articulating what needs to happen really well. They’re all veteran players, so they have a lot to teach, and I think they’re doing a really good job in their respective positions, and really getting the new guys, the younger guys, up to speed,” Blue said.

The Hawks varsity and JV teams train together, and thanks to the middle school and youth programs in the community, the boys’ lacrosse fire is burning as bright as ever, according to Blue. Four of the new players are midfielders, and the two others are on defense and offense respectively.

“They’re definitely ready to go and pumped up. So I think through the whole varsity squad, we’ve got a good mentality as a team,” he added.

From their first introduction to the sport through their senior year of high school, the focus of the lacrosse programs in Hopkinton has been to teach life skills and impart life lessons, such as a strong work ethic, maintaining a positive attitude, being selfless and communicating, which lead to a strong team but also well-rounded individuals after high school.

This upcoming season will be challenging for the Hawks as ConVal, Kennett and John Stark have moved down to D-III from D-II.

CONCORD

Division: I.

Coach: Jeff Smith (13th year).

Last year: 8-10, reached prelims.

Returning starters: Liam Yeatman, jr., A/M; Brayden Beauregard, jr., A/M; Jaden Haas, so., FO/M; Tyler Morin, jr., A/M; Ben Ryder, jr., M; Broc Pelchat, sr., D; Dan Colby, so., D; Noah Wyatt, jr., D; Harry Snow, jr., G.

Top newcomers: Eugene Conn, fr., M; Grady Brown, fr., G.

Outlook: The Tide returns many players from last year’s varsity roster who know Smith’s system. Concord will be looking to continue to build its depth and gain experience.

“We’re looking to grow on last year’s success and players taking on more roles,” Smith said. “The kids need to take on new roles in these systems and expand on what they did in 2024. Learning will take some time.”

Teams to beat: Bishop Guertin, Exeter, Bedford, Pinkerton, Londonderry.

MERRIMACK VALLEY

Division: II.

Coach: Sean Gill (third year).

Last year: 4-10, did not make tournament.

Returning starters: Mike Kingsbury, Jackson Deyermond, Travis Garcia, Colby Scheffer, Carter Lankhorst, Mike Heine, Matt Lauren, Colin Reardon, Jake Leclerc, Conner Hanson, Tyler Carter, Jacob Demers, Ryan Monaghan.

Top newcomers: Carter Garland.

Outlook: “This season is shaping up to be a competitive one for MV. We are strong across all positions with 14 seniors, many of whom have played together for a number of years,” Gill said. “Our goal as a team is to earn our spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The guys have been putting in hard work this preseason and I think we will accomplish our goals and more.”

Teams to beat: Portsmouth, Derryfield.

PEMBROKE

Division: II.

Coach: Bill Lawson (third year).

Last year: 3-13, did not make tournament.

Returning starters: Jameson Barnett, sr., D; Garrett Bishop, sr., A; Chuckie Braga, jr., A; William Chabot, jr., M; Luke Hanson, sr., D; Gabriel Johnson, jr., M.

Top newcomers: Shane Bowen, so., D; Mason Hurley, fr., M; Jake Menczywor, jr., LSM; Jacob Watts, jr., M.

Outlook: The Spartans graduated leading scorer Caden Mix and will be relying more on their defense as the offense develops. Pembroke is looking to be more balanced in the attack this season.

“We will be a much different team by the end of the season than we are now,” Lawson said. “Returning two-thirds of our close defense and adding Shane Bowen into the starting lineup gives us a solid trio. With the change to long-stick midfield by Jake Menczywor and the addition of freshman Mason Hurley as a short-stick defenseman, along with the ability of our two-way midfielders to play defense, we are confident in the back half of the field.”

Teams to beat: Portsmouth, Derryfield, St. Thomas.

BISHOP BRADY

Division: III.

Coach: Sean Hockensmith (first year).

Last year: 6-10, reached prelims.

Returning starters: Noah Abdat, so., D; Alex King, sr., M; Joey Richardson, jr., A; Drake Bekar, so., A; Jason Doyle, sr., SSDM/FOGO; Luke Jackson, sr., M.

Top newcomers: Grant Sexton, sr., A; Colin Underwood, sr., D; Ray Weatherbee, so., G; Luke Riethmiller, so., M/FOGO; Cole Chandler, jr., M.

Outlook: The Giants have an entirely new defense, but a returning core group on offense as Hockensmith moves into the head coaching role after serving as an assistant for two years, with Tucker Cole coming on board as an assistant.

“With a new leadership group, we are hoping to build on the culture previously established with an emphasis on hard work and sportsmanship,” Hockensmith said.

Teams to beat: Hopkinton, Pelham, Laconia, Campbell, Bow, Coe-Brown.

BOW

Division: III.

Coach: Devin Calkins (third year).

Last year: 12-5, reached semifinals.

Returning starters: Jake Antuna, sr., FO; Harrison Denise, sr., LSM; Adam Auclair, sr., SSDM; Keenan Hubbard, sr., SSDM; Eli Ayers, jr., D; Brad Ekstrom, jr., G; Sam Bennett, jr., M.

Outlook: The Falcons return a lot of varsity experience on the defensive end but will have a lot of new players stepping up into big roles on offense.

“Our goals are more short term right now,” Calkins said. “New players in the varsity program are learning and taking in a lot of information very fast. We’re just adding small building blocks. We return less than 20% of last year’s goals on offense. This really excites me. Really excited for our offense to gain more experience. I expect the team we are in early April is very different from how we’ll be looking in late May.”

Teams to beat: Campbell.

COE-BROWN

Division: III.

Coach: Tony DePalma (seventh year).

Last year: 10-6, reached quarterfinals.

Returning starters: Jack Matson, sr., G; Gilbert Bean, sr., A; Liam White, sr., M; Ryan Rodler, sr., A; Joey Alie, sr., D; Carson Hodgdon, sr., M; Aiden McGuigan, sr., FO/M; Jason Pogorek, jr., D; Joseph Fenton, jr., A; Landon Midwood, jr., M; Garrett Ward, jr., M; Sam Frye, so., A; Colby Strum, so., D; Jackson Alie, so., G; Myles Brackett, so., M; Rorik Collins, so., LSM.

Top newcomers: Odin Audet, sr., M; Glenn Papineau, fr., A; Abel Szatko, fr., M.

Outlook: The Bears have lots of optimism given the abundance of returning talent, but those players will need to step up for Coe-Brown to continue to be competitive.

“Lots of personnel will need to step up into bigger roles this year to live up to that optimism,” DePalma said. “We’re excited to see what this team can do, but we know how competitive D-III is going to be this year and know there are a lot of teams sitting in a similar position as us. It is going to be a ton of fun to see how it all shakes out. We think we have a good schedule in front of us to help us grow throughout the whole season and hopefully be playing our best lacrosse at the right time of year.”

Teams to beat: Pelham, Bow, Hopkinton, Campbell, Kearsarge.

JOHN STARK

Division: III.

Coach: Thomas Zervos (third year).

Last year: 0-14 in D-II as part of Hillsboro-Deering/John Stark cooperative team.

Returning starters: Wyatt Puza, jr., D; Shane Brunini, so., D; Cam Shaw, jr., A.

Top newcomers: Charlie Pierce, fr., M/FO; Parker Hamel, so., G.

Outlook: After playing a couple of seasons with Hillsboro-Deering in Division II, the Generals are a solo program for the first time since 2019.

“We are excited to bring lacrosse back to John Stark,” Zervos said. “We are an extremely young team (no seniors and only four juniors), so we’ll be counting on younger players to step up throughout the season. Our sophomore class in general will be playing heavy minutes this season. It also gives our players an opportunity to earn their playing time everyday they battle at practice. So far our team culture is positive and we are growing and learning everyday at practice. Our inexperience will be a weakness but we show a lot of promise and we are laying down the foundation for a strong John Stark team for years to come.”

KEARSARGE

Division: III.

Coach: Chris Boucher (second year).

Last year: 10-5, reached quarterfinals.

Returning starters: Gunnar Benedict, sr., A; Noah Whipple, sr., D; Brodie Malynowski, sr., G; Cole Fleury, sr., LSM/D; Jacob Heath, sr., LSM/D; Braden Hurley, sr., D; Will Spanos, sr., M; Noah Rubenberg, sr., M.

Outlook: After going 3-11 and failing to make the playoffs in 2023, Boucher (the 2024 D-III Coach of the Year) and his staff fostered an impressive turnaround, leading the Cougars to the No. 4 seed before losing an overtime heartbreaker to Bow in the quarterfinals. For the second year in a row, the program has seen incredible turnout, with 47 players trying out despite graduating 13 seniors from last year’s team. Benedict, Whipple (All-State Second Team defender) and Malynowski are all returning as second-year captains.

Benedict leads the team up front, while Whipple, who “acts as an additional on the field,” according to Boucher, is coming off an All-State season and will be playing for the University of New England next year. Malynowski is “the foundation of our program” who anchors Kearsarge between the pipes, according to Boucher. Spanos returns as a strong two-way player, and Fleury, Heath, and Hurley are all intelligent players defensively. After playing behind a very talented class in the midfield, it’s now Rubenberg’s time to showcase his skills.

“The team is determined to exceed expectations this season,” Boucher said. “Despite losing 13 seniors from last year, the team is now more balanced in both defense and offense, and I believe that scoring opportunities can arise from any player this season.”

Teams to beat: Campbell, Hopkinton, Pelham, Kearsarge, Laconia.