KENNEBUNK — Sean Foley is well aware that these opportunities don’t come around too often.
Even though it was more than 24 hours before the Western Class A boys high school lacrosse finals Foley’s, heart was already racing in anticipation.
“We realize that Kennebunk has never won a state championship before so we are pretty excited about this opportunity,” Foley, the Rams top offensive threat, said during a short break between a film session and a final practice held Tuesday at Kennebunk High School. “It’s definitely a possibility that we can get there. We know what we have to do and it all comes down to effort and how bad you want it. I think we want it pretty bad.”
The second-seeded Rams (11-3) will travel to Scarborough today to face the top-seeded Red Storm (12-1) in the regional finals. Game time is 6:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the state finals and face the winner of the Eastern Class A final pitting No. 4 Cheverus (10-4) against third-seeded Deering (9-5) being played today at 7 p.m.
The state championship game will be played Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.
The Rams, who beat South Portland (5-3) and Marshwood (9-3) to advance to today’s game, will be in search of their first state championship appearance since losing back-to-back Class B state title games in 2006 and 2007. The game will mark their first regional final appearance since 2008 when they lost to the Red Storm.
“This will be a battle between two pretty solid teams in Class A,” said first-year Kennebunk coach Dan Seavey. “The two powerhouses in Class A West are us and Scarborough and that’s developed into a pretty big rivalry. We feel very strong about this game. We have the talent on this team. The kids are up and ready to play. They’re checked in and they want to win. It’s going to take a lot to hold these guys back.”
The two teams met once during the regular season with Scarborough, the two-time defending state champions, emerging with a 9-6 victory midway through May.
“Honestly, I think we’re the stronger team,” said Seavey. “In the regular season we shot ourselves in the foot numerous times. We gave up four goals in transition within two minutes and we lost by three. That’s really what it came down to.”
The Rams will have their work cut out for them against the Red Storm.
It’s well known that Scarborough features one of the most dynamic and explosive offenses in Maine. The Red Storm also showed in a 7-1 semifinal win over Thornton Academy on Saturday that it can defend as well.
Scarborough coach Joe Hezlep said the Red Storm will need to play solid defense to beat the Rams.
“Sean Foley definitely leads their team offensively but after that they have a bunch of guys who have no problem handling the ball and taking it to the net,” said Hezlep. “That’s one of their strengths, there’s no real person to key in on. You have to play defense well all over the field against them.”
— Contact Mark Jeanneret at 282-1535, Ext. 323.
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