After losing a pivotal game down the stretch and missing the 2007 playoffs, Central boys lacrosse coach Bill Lawson admitted he and his players weren’t just disappointed to be on the outside of the postseason looking in. They were angry.

If their first 2008 contest is any indication, they’ll be spending the season taking that anger out on anyone who crosses their path.

First up was Salem, on Monday, April 7.

The Little Green stuck a pitch fork in the Blue Devils, 12-1, though Lawson said the key to reaching the postseason isn’t beating up on mediocre opponents, but rather winning contests against upper-echelon squads like Bishop Guertin and Souhegan.

“We missed the playoffs by a tiebreaker last season, and we didn’t like it. But we only had two seniors last year, and that makes us a much more mature team this year,” said Lawson of a squad that finished 7-9 after losing a late-season contest, 10- 9, to Souhegan, which took the final playoff spot. “In a backand- forth game, we made some dumb mistakes, and Souhegan’s experience won out.”

This season, Central fields 11 seniors.

It’s strength, said Lawson, is in the backfield, though the offense looks improved, too. Junior Tyler Prattem, who leads the defense, is complemented primarily by classmate Jeff Monk and senior Pat Tatro.

Ryan Garrell and Kellan Grady handle long-stick duties in the midfield.

In net, senior Kris Butler, junior Shaun Vesey and sophomore Ethan Brown battle for playing time.

Lawson said he has yet to decide on who’s No. 1 but hopes the players make the decision for him.

Offensively, a handful of players are likely to contribute, said the coach.

That list includes seniors Shea McCarthy, Scott Mc- Curdy and Thomas Houle, and juniors Marc Perroni, Justin Colvin and Billy Lawson. Against Salem, McCarthy scored four times, and Mc- Curdy and Lawson each tallied three goals.

Houle and Colvin found the net as well.