Casa ready to defend lacrosse title

As the Casa Grande High School boys lacrosse team begins defense of its North Bay Lacrosse League title this week, it is hoping a rigorous pre-league schedule will have jelled a basically new team into a cohesive unit.

One thing is certain - lacrosse as a high school sport is big at the Big House.

Coach Ben Hewitt has close to 50 athletes on Casa’s two teams - 26 on the varsity and 21 on the junior varsity. He says numbers and the concern about lacrosse as an official high school sport are no longer even a topic of discussion.

“We quit worrying about that a long time ago,” he says.

Casa Grande has 13 seniors on its large varsity team, but only a handful played a major role in last season’s 19-4 team that went undefeated to the league championship.

Hewitt points out that the Gauchos graduated 16 players from the championship team, including league Most Valuable Player Tommy Buickerood.

“We have a lot of boys playing key roles that require a lot more from them,” Hewitt points out.

One of those returning who knows what it is to play a key role is senior Trevor Naugle. “He is the heart an soul of our team,” Hewitt says of the defender. “He is an absolute workhorse and a tremendous team leader.”

Another big, as in 6-7, 295 pounds, part of the Casa Grande team is Dylan Korte, who takes over for all-leaguer Hank Wickley in goal.

Senior AJ Cole is a mainstay at midfield. He is both an excellent scorer and a strong defender.

Leading the attack is veteran senior Peter Lantier, one of the league’s top scorers.

A pair of sophomores, Ian McKissick (midfield) and Josh Garcia (attack) are being counted on to play key roles in the push for a repeat championship, as is senior Bobby Merwin, who is stepping into a new role as a defensive midfielder.

“We have a lot of work to do to get to where we would like to be,” said Hewitt.

Casa Grande was scheduled to begin league play Wednesday against new league entrant Sonoma Academy. On April 5, the Gauchos meets rival Petaluma.