It was a familiar feeling, to be sure. Chris Gaudreau jumped in the air, his arms pumped, his smile broad.

Next to him, his brother, Steve, did the same.

In 2004, the last time the Bow boys lacrosse team won a state title, the two were together, only then Steve was the head coach and Chris was his assistant.

Steve left the program following that season, and Chris took over.

Steve returned as assistant to Chris, though they say they’re co-coaches.

The combination of the two, in any order, apparently means championships. “I told him he must be the difference maker,” said Chris.

On Tuesday, June 3, the Falcons defeated upstart Oyster River, 11-5, to lay claim to their first title in four years.

That, after the program graduated 14 seniors following a 2007 season in which it finished Division II runner-up to St. Thomas.

“We came in this year with a lot of holes to fill and a lot of hard work to be done, and I just feel like this group has grown so much over the season,” said Chris Gaudreau. That maturation, said the head coach, likely began after Bow suffered its first and only loss of 2008, an 8-2 setback against Dover on April 15.

“We had a little bit of a pit stop there, and we really took a look at what we were doing and how hard we were working, and we really dedicated ourselves,” he said. “After that Dover game we really questioned our toughness. We knew there was some talent out there, but we won this thing because we were mentally tough.”

Not only did the Falcons carry one loss into the DII tournament, where they earned the No. 1 seed, but they added three playoff wins – including an 8-4 quarterfinal triumph against Bishop Brady and a 5-4 semifinal squeaker against Winnacunnet - to their 14 regular-season victories.

Their most convincing win, however, came on the state’s biggest stage, at Bill Ball Stadium in Exeter. After going down by a goal in the first minute, Bow responded with six unanswered goals and didn’t allow Oyster River to score again until midway through the third quarter.

The two squads then traded goals, but the contest was never closer than four points, and the Falcons pulled away late to secure the crown.

“(Oyster River) beat the No. 2 and No. 3 seed, so we didn’t take them as a No. 7, we looked at them as a No. 2,” said senior Steve Gallerani, who scored four of Bow’s goals. “Wow, this was just a great ending for all the seniors who didn’t really get a chance last year. It was just a great year.” While Gallerani led the team in scoring, Alex Grip found the back of the net twice; Brian Moore added a goal and two assists; Alex Stevens and Sean Dippold each contributed a goal and an assist; and Greg Bueddeman and Stephen Lagos each scored once. Alex Davies also offered a helper.

In the semifinals, Bow dispatched a Winnacunnet team that had not lost since April 25. “That was a hot team, that was a very good team, and we were lucky to get the win,” said Gaudreau, who added that his squad wouldn’t even have a shot at the title if it weren’t for the stellar play of David Bucchino and his 18 saves against the Warriors. “He was just fantastic,” said the coach. “He saved us an awful lot. I mean, our defense played well, but Winnacunnet had some quality possessions and great looks, and when they got there, time and time again David came up big.”

While Bucchino took care of business on his end, Dippold led the Falcons in scoring with two goals and one assist. Davies, Zack Steck and Stevens also notched points, and Grip added an assist.

“These kids, you know, only if you spend every day with them in the trenches do you know how hard they work,” said Gaudreau. “We ask an awful lot out of them. I’ll tell you what, I’m so proud of these kids right now.”