It may have taken three years in the making, but Saugus head coach Josh Ireland believed the first-ever boys’ lacrosse Santa Clarita Valley all-star game was a success for growing the sport in the community and highlighting the student-athletes and th eir accomplishments. “We did this for two reasons. We wanted to celebrate our seniors and the guys that have been here for four years. And then we want to celebrate the success of all the programs we have,” Ireland said. After the 2026 spring regular season, four local high school boys’ lacrosse programs made the playoffs for the first time in Foothill League history. Saugus, West Ranch and Valencia made the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs as automatic qualifiers while the Hart Hawks clinched their bid with an at-large entry. The Saugus Centurions made it the furthest in the playoffs with a quarterfinalist finish in the Division 2 championship and ended the year ranked No. 32 in California, according to MaxPreps. “This year, for the first time, we had four programs in our valley make the playoffs,” Ireland said. Irelands added that after the season concluded, all the Foothill League coaches set up a meeting and selected star players from all five Foothill League teams to participate in the first-ever boys’ lacrosse all-star game. Two rosters were created with a north and south team with players from all five programs on both sides. The north team was headlined by the Foothill League’s defensive player of the year in senior Zain Dhar while the south team was represented by the league’s offensive player of the year in sophomore Gavin Pantelidis. For Dhar, who’s a graduating senior, the all-star game was the last opportunity he got to play alongside his West Ranch teammate – and against. “I think this a really cool experience,” Dhar said. “To have this all-star game and have all these people coming around. It’s so cool to see lacrosse growing in Santa Clarita.” Dhar added that he’s been playing lacrosse since he was 8 years old and believes he’s ending his high school career with the sport the biggest it’s ever been. With four local programs in the playoffs and with talent from all around well represented, Dhar said he hopes younger kids can join the sport and continue to grow it. “I feel like lacrosse is growing exponentially,” Dhar said. “When I first started there were barely any kids playing and now we’ve got youth camps and the sports keeps growing. I think it’sgreat.” In the end, team south defeated team north, 13-5, and all the lacrosse players bid farewell and stepped off the pitch for the final time. Ireland is hoping the 2026 season and all-star game can be a springboard for future seasons and those in the community to see that lacrosse is a growing sport where local talent can show off their skills. “The seniors have worked really hard to get to where they are and some of them are going to play at the next level,” Ireland said. “With the five high schools, we can support each other, bring up our programs, compete during the season but then have nights like tonight where we mix up teams and celebrate each other.” The post Foothill League stars shine, bid farewell in SCV boys’ lacrosse all-star game appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal. ...read more read less