On this day 23 years ago, Newsday released their boys’ lacrosse preview and profiled the Bears, who began that season as the reigning Class B County Champions.

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Stony Brook Looms Large: Bears Become Target of Suffolk Class B Contenders

According to John Kenney, Stony Brook is the smallest public school in Suffolk with a boys’ lacrosse program. And he should know, because he is Stony Brook’s coach and the section coordinator of the sport. “Despite the school’s enrollment of only 232, the Bears are the team everyone is gunning for in Class B this season. That’s because Stony Brook upset top-seeded Half Hollow Hills West, 4-3, in the county Class B final last season.

“It’s going to be an interesting challenge,” Kenney said. “A different challenge, because now everybody will be shooting for us.”

To Kenney, the title “Was and wasn’t unexpected. We weren’t surprised, but it was a shock to the county.”

Despite being the defending champion, Stony Brook (14-5 last year) is seeded second. Still, it returns nine of its top 13 players, including its top two scorers. Sam Hanchett had 23 goals and 32 assists and Jake Kenney, the coach’s son, had 43 goals and 21 assists. Other top returnees are defenseman Ed Hughey, goalie Matt Avitable, who was the MVP of the championship game, and midfielders Jim Bickley and Spencer Niebuhr.

“It’s going to be an interesting year in B,” John Kenney said. “It should be a tight race”

The top seed is Half Hollow Hills West (16-2 last year), which won the title in 1993 before losing to Stony Brook in last year’s final.

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The Bears would go on to win the Suffolk County championship, once again at Hills West’s expense, in an 8-7 victory.

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