By Jason Mastrodonato, Globe Correspondent

Finally, after eight games, the seventh-ranked Wellesley boys’ lacrosse team was able to put it all together.

With a ton of preseason hype surrounding Penn State-bound goalie Connor Darcey and the rest of the Wellesley squad, two early losses to Billerica and Concord-Carlisle may have deflated that some.

But after the Raiders (6-2) stormed back from a four-goal deficit to defeat sixth-ranked Needham (4-3), 10-9, in overtime Wednesday afternoon, it might be safe to start up the hype machine again.

Just don’t run it so hard this time.

“For at least those 12 minutes, we hit our stride,” said coach Rocky Batty. “If we can stay where we are, we’ll play anybody right now.”

Led by juniors Nico Panepinto and Robbie Pisano, the Rockets held an 8-4 lead late in the third quarter, but Wellesley senior John Caraviello scored with 28 seconds left to turn the tide. With Needham a man down, Caraviello had some time and let one rip from about 10 yards out.

The Raiders then scored the next four goals, including two by senior Adam Horelick – who played the game of his life, according to Batty – but Pisano found the net for Needham with 1:33 left to send the game into overtime.

Darcey made two big stops in OT before senior Peter Crane finished things off with his third goal of the game as the Raiders claimed some local pride. Darcey finished with 20 saves.

“The key was we had possession the whole game,” Batty said. “I think we did a great job on faceoffs and Darcey had a huge game. He made great saves, great clears that protected us and the defense locked out.”

After St. John's High (Shrewsbury) beat St. John's Prep and Masconomet beat Billerica on Tuesday, there's sure to be some shuffling in the rankings come next Monday.

If you're looking for a big game to get to on Thursday, here's three:
No. 13 Weston @ No. 9 Westford Academy, 5 p.m.
No. 2 Concord-Carlisle @ No. 14 Acton-Boxborough, 5:30
No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury @ No. 1 Duxbury, 6

In other boys’ lacrosse news, Archbishop Williams senior attack Cam Joyce passed the 300-point mark for his career, according to the school’s Twitter feed. Joyce, who broke his collarbone last year, is AW’s all-time leading scorer. He will play at Southern New Hampshire next fall.

By Zach Vierra, Globe Staff

St. John’s Prep and BC High lead off our baseball Top 20 this week. Both teams have 7-1 records and seem to be evenly matched so far this season. The two teams were scheduled to play for the first time Monday at BC High before weather stepped in postponed the game. It will now be played Friday.

Former No. 1 Xaverian dropped to eight after losses to Brockton and Wellesley early in the season. The Hawks were to be tested by No. 11 Catholic Memorial Monday. The only losses for the Knights came against St. John’s Prep and BC High.

Walpole was a big mover, jumping from 15 to 3. The Rebels are 7-0 and have quality wins against Braintree and Wellesley. Lowell (5-1) and Franklin (4-1) have been solid so far and stay at spots four and five respectively.

Marshfield is the first new addition to the Top 20. The Rams look to be the class of the Atlantic Coast League with an 8-0 record, which puts them at the seven spot in front of conference rival Plymouth North. Marshfield has scored 10 or more runs three times so far and has not allowed more than four runs in a game.

Barnstable (5-1) has also not allowed more than four runs and moves up one spot to nine, while Lincoln-Sudbury (5-1) closes out the top 10. The Warriors are 3-0 in the Dual County Large and had a big 8-7 victory at BC High Saturday.

Newburyport and Reading are both 4-0 (the Rockets loss was an exclusion game to BC High) and each moved up in the standings. The Clippers are 12th while the Rockets are 13th.

Wellesley (5-2) is added to the top 20 at number 14. The Raiders started their season with a win against Xaverian and look to be the biggest competition for Walpole in the Bay State Herget division.

Newton South (5-0) hasn’t lost and should challenge Lincoln-Sudbury in the DCL Large. The Lions are new to the top 20 at the 15 spot.

Lexington (3-2) drops down from 7th to 16th after losses to Lowell and Melrose. Danvers (6-1), Dighton-Rehoboth (7-0), Peabody (5-2) and Austin Prep (6-1) are all new additions and round out the Top 20.

By Bob Holmes, Globe Staff

Eight of the top boys' lacrosse programs in the state will square off Tuesday in the opening day of the Third Annual Coaches Challenge Cup.

Day 1 of the three-day tournament is at North Andover High School. Defending champion Wellesley faces host North Andover at 10 a.m., followed by Winchester vs. Andover (noon), Hingham vs. Dover-Sherborn (2), and Lincoln-Sudbury vs. Concord-Carlisle (4).

Round two will be played at Dover-Sherborn Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. The semifinals will be held at 2 and 4 p.m. The tournament concludes Saturday at Wellesley with the championship game at 4 p.m.

Pavel Dzemianok for the Boston Globe

The high school boys got off to a fast start in the Boston Athletic Association Scholastic Invitational Mile on Sunday morning.

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

Ben Groleau is hitting .500 lifetime at the boys’ Boston Athletic Association Scholastic Invitational Mile.

Running the race — which loops around Boylston and Newbury Streets before finishing on the Boston Marathon’s finish line — Sunday morning for the fourth straight year, the Framingham High senior had a winning time of 4 minutes, 27.2 seconds. The race features two athletes from each city or town along the Boston Marathon course.

“That was rough,” said Groleau, who also won the race as a sophomore. “Coming into it I knew it was going to be a hard field, I knew I was going to have to take it out early, but man I didn’t know I had [that kind of kick] in me. I’m excited. I guess experience paid off a lot.”

Groleau said he was surprised to win by such a large margin. Justin Keefe from Newton North (4:39.7) finished second and Tim Bolick of Hopkinton (4:40.4) was third.

“You can’t get caught up behind anyone right off the bat,” Groleau said when asked about what he’s learned from running the race in the past. “On a course with this many turns, you get boxed in way too much on the corners so you have to take it out. I knew that going in, so I jumped in front at the beginning of the race and I figured I’d let those guys figure it out.”

In the girls’ race, Newton North sophomore, Evelyn Heffernan, won with a time of 5:23.1. Shelby Aarden (5:24) of Hopkinton was second and Melissa Lodge (5:24.8), also of Hopkinton, third.

“It was great,” Heffernan said. “The crowd is incredible and they are really helpful. There are people all around and they just push you through the whole thing and it’s great.”

A freshman, Aarden was running the race for the first time.

“I was trying to keep up with the leaders,” Aarden said. “At the end I had some more energy so I went ahead, I passed one or two in the final 100 yards.”

The morning also featured a boys’ and girls’ middle school 1-kilometer race. Zachary O'Leary of Ashland won the boys’ race in 2:54.5, ahead of John Lara of Boston (3:00) and Thomas D’Anieri of Wellesley. Leah Metzger of Newton won the girls' race in 3:35.9, ahead of Piper Higgins of Wellesley (3:43.3) and Nicole Anselmo of Natick (3:44.5).

“I was really nervous so I just decided to go out and have fun,” Metzger said.

O’Leary said, “John Lara caught me at the end of the first lap; I had to pump through it. I couldn’t feel my legs. The first lap I had to pump it. Then I said to myself ‘I have to kick it in.’

"I can't feel my legs right now but it was worth it."

In the high school boys’ race, Newton North’s Keefe didn’t have enough kick to eclipse Groleau. Keefe was running the race for the first time.

“I was hoping for the win but what can I say, he has the most experience,” Keefe said of Groleau. “He’s a strong kid. I’ll get him later in the season.”

Justin A. Rice can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

By Zuri Berry, Globe Staff

Wellesley has named Jesse Davis as its new football coach following the departure of 10-year coach Bill Tracey who stepped down in January.

Davis, a 1999 graduate of the school and one of its former football captains, had been the defensive coordinator for the varsity team. He also was the school's wrestling coach the last four years and played football at Norwich University before a stint with the Marines.

"We had many very strong candidates for the position," Wellesley athletic director John Brown said in an e-mail. "Jesse's pride, commitment and dedication along with his deep passion for the tradition of Wellesley High School football is unmatched. We are very excited by the enthusiasm and energy that Jesse will bring to the head coach's position and the Wellesley High School football program."

Duxbury's Kane Haffey celebrated a goal against St. John's Prep in boys high school state lacrosse championships last June. Duxbury is primed for another state title run. (Adam Hunger / File photo for the Boston Globe)

By Jason Mastrodonato, Globe Correspondent

Early season rankings (or preseason rankings, still, for some teams) are always difficult to craft considering we haven’t seen a lot of these teams in action yet, and most of the coaches don’t even know what they’re squad is going to give them.

But at least at the very top of the Boston Globe boys lacrosse Top 20, the choice was easy.

There’s little doubt around Massachusetts that Duxbury is the clear No. 1. Boasting a slew of Division 1 recruits (12, to be exact) and eight of the last 10 state championship trophies, the Dragons have gained national attention as one of the premier teams in the country. But that doesn’t mean no one else has a chance.

Of the other “Big Four” teams – Lincoln-Sudbury, St. John’s Prep and Billerica – No. 2 L-S appears most primed to make a run. The Warriors had an up-and-down season last year filled with injuries, but a lot of young players earned some valuable experience and coach Brian Vona will have a ton of talent to work with.

No. 6 St. John’s Prep is very raw, but talented, and John Roy always seems to have his team in top form by tournament time, and that’s when it counts.

No. 7 Billerica, meanwhile, could really sneak up on people. The Indians are being discounted after the graduation of Grant Whiteway, but Cam Slatton and Ben Melaugh have formed a dangerous 1-2 punch at the attack, on perfect display during a 6-5 win over Wellesley on Thursday when the two combined for four goals and three assists. And with goalie DJ Smith between the pipes, the typical hard-nosed Billerica defense could give any team trouble.

At No. 3, Needham is full of promise. They’ve gained national attention in some rankings and David Wainwright returns 10 seniors, mostly on the defensive side. But with the graduation of All-American Will Stenberg, sophomore UMass-Amherst commit Mike Panepinto was expected to play a huge role, and he suffered a broken collar bone in the preseason that could keep him out all year. His brother, Nico, is a scoring threat, though, and while Needham could be one of the first teams to fall from the top-five, don’t count them out. The Rockets might just need some time to peak.

No. 5 Wellesley is loaded with talent, including All-American goalie Connor Darcey, but there’s a lot of football players on that roster and their over-aggressive style could haunt them with too many man-down situations. If the offense can score, this team could be as good as it gets.

No. 4 seems like a good spot for Medfield, which lost its coach and starting goalie, among others, but remains very deep as usual. It’s all about going back to basics for the Warriors, and if John Isaf and Mike Douglas can get their players to buy in, a three-peat is possible.

No. 14 Acton-Boxboro has a chance to really surprise people this year. The Colonials are athletic, and their schedule is tough, so if they can stay healthy and get better as the season goes on, they should be dangerous.

At the bottom of the list, Newton North is an intriguing team. Perhaps not a squad with the most talent, but there’s some serious size on that defense, and long-time head coach Bussy Adam has 14 returning players. A lot rides on junior goalie John Hogan.

Remember, there’s a lot of season to be played, and this list could look entirely different in a few weeks. See the full Globe boys lacrosse Top 20.

Qualms, comments, story ideas or anything else? Email me at jasonmastrodonato@yahoo.com

Last five out (in alphabetical order): Andover, Cohasset, Foxborough, Lexington, Walpole

@JMastrodonato

Editor's note: Globe correspondent Mike Grossi takes a look back at the past weekend of football in Division 2 and 2A. Check back tomorrow for a preview of this weekend’s Division 2 and 2A action.

Dime Package -In this segment, I delve deeper into the games that I covered over the weekend.

Duxbury 16-Plymouth North 12

-This was the best game that I saw this weekend. The ending featured a touchdown pass as time expired, and a well-timed blitz that caused Plymouth North to fail in its conversion attempt. The attempt was intercepted and then returned for two points. Here is a link to interviews with Duxbury coach Dave Maimaron and Plymouth North coach Dwayne Follette.

-Both teams were very sloppy during the first half, but both also showed that they are dangerous. The physicality of both defenses really impressed me. Duxbury didn’t allow any running room for Plymouth North’s bulldozer, Matt Walsh. The Eagles also didn’t allow much running room for Duxbury.

- Duxbury seems to be the more complete team of the two. They have a good passing attack that features Kane Haffey at quarterback and Matt Hallisey as the primary target. The Green Dragons didn’t have a problem finding open receivers.

- Plymouth North needs some more refinement in the passing game. It is obvious that the Eagles are built to run. Cody Merritt overthrew some easy targets and that led to a couple of turnovers. For the Eagles to be successful this season, they will have to get a lead, because they just aren’t equipped to make big comebacks on a regular basis.

- It is my feeling that Duxbury will represent the Patriot (Keenan) in the playoffs. Plymouth North has a tougher road ahead but still has a shot. The Eagles have to play Falmouth and Dennis-Yarmouth, both of which have looked strong this season, as well as an always tough Marshfield squad.

FULL ENTRY

By Paul Sulzer, Globe Correspondent

The four MIAA individual tennis titles all went to EMass competitors Saturday at Clark University in Worcester.

The boys' singles title for the second straight year went to Alex Steinroeder of Concord-Carlisle. The girls' title was won by Hingham freshman Emma Alderman. In doubles, the boys' title was won by Wellesley's Alex Robertson and Gordon Peters. The girl' doubles title was won by Westford's Eileen Liu and Jocelyn Lund-Wilde.

Wellesley High School announced the hiring of Glen Magpiong as the school's new head boy's basketball coach.

Magpiong has been part of the Wellesley basketball staff since 2004 as both a varsity assistant coach and freshmen coach. Prior to coming to Wellesley High, he was the head girls' varsity basketball coach at Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California. Under his direction Acalanes won the North Coast California State Championship. He has also been an active AAU Coach with the Bay State Jaguars since 2003.

Rose Lincoln / For the Globe

The girls' lacrosse pairings were announced Thursday and the new power-ranking system to determine seeds produced familiar results, with one surprise. Westwood, Winchester, Framingham and Norwell earned the No. 1 seeds, but in Division 1 South, Franklin (17-1) was a surprising No. 2 seed, ahead of Wellesley (16-1-2). The Panthers have only played four teams with a winning record this month, while Wellesley lost to unbeaten defending state champion Westwood, 16-15, on Tuesday. Franklin's lone loss was to Division 2 Hopkinton, a school that had four losses this spring. In Laxpower.com's power ratings, Wellesley is ranked 5th, Franklin 9th. But that aside, teams will decide on the field just who deserves the seeds. Franklin and Wellesley could meet in the South semifinals. Preliminary round play begins Saturday.

For the girls lacrosse seedings, click here.

By Charlie Peters, Globe Correspondent

Following a week full of upsets and Top 20 matchups, this week’s Globe Top 20 is very different from last week’s list. After the top three teams (No. 1 Westwood, No. 2 Wellesley and No. 3 Framingham), only one squad (No. 6 Triton) stayed put and the Top 20 plays host to five new teams.

Lincoln-Sudbury is one of those new teams as the Warriors jump from unranked to No. 11. After handing Acton-Boxboro its only loss of the season April 29, the 9-2 Warriors made the leap by blowing out Arlington at home and Wayland on the road this week. Lincoln-Sudbury can prove they belong with a strong performance against Westwood Monday afternoon.

Needham also found itself in the Top 20 for the first time this season following a 3-0 week that included a victory over a tough Braintree team. The Rockets four losses this season were to the top three teams and No. 9 Acton-Boxboro, giving them big-game experience that will serve them well come playoff time.

Scituate, Danvers and Notre Dame of Hingham are the final three teams that entered into this week’s Top 20 rankings. No. 15 Scituate downed three teams with winning records this week, No. 16 Danvers snuck in based on their season-long body of work and Notre Dame of Hingham earned a No. 19 ranking after going 1-1-1 against teams with a combined 27-7 record.