The Steamboat Springs Sailors will have a new home for the boys lacrosse season. The question is whether they will be able to use it.

Coach Bob Heister is excited about the prospects of having home games as the Sailors sports programs have a new turf field. But he also knows the local snow season can produce incomparable numbers even into late April and May.

"Last year, we did not play a single home game, and we got over 400 inches of snow up here," Heister said. "The travel that we had to do was exhausting and tough. We're really hoping we get to use (the field), but who really knows.

"We have a lot of disadvantages up here."

The Sailors might not be the only team that has to deal with excessive snow this year, with other varsity programs having sprung up for the first time west of the Eisenhower Tunnel.

With teams in Summit and Telluride, all signs are pointing to expansion to the Western Slope.

"It would be ideal to have a Western Slope League, but with Summit coming in, that is huge," said Heister, whose team will compete with Summit in the Foothills League. "We still might be a couple years away, but there are club teams in Glenwood and Eagle-Vail. Everything is going in the right direction."

Added Kent Denver coach Tom Graesser: "Colorado is leading the way in terms of the growth of this sport. I would think (a Western Slope League) is coming soon. Lacrosse is a fun sport to practice even on your own, and you get pumped up once you have that stick in your hands. It catches on quickly."

• Palmer coach Clint Byrd has a run of three consecutive playoff appearances since the team's inception but still is looking for a postseason win. The playoff run is impressive given that members of eight schools, many of whom are rivals in most sports, comprise the team.

"You get kids from Palmer and Doherty playing together when they are bitter rivals in football and basketball, but it's really cool to see that they just put all that aside and come together," Byrd said.

• Pueblo West coach Bob Vigil is looking to take a page out of Byrd's book. The first-time varsity Cyclones will draw from all the Pueblo schools as well as Cañon City.

"They can't get enough of it," Vigil said of his players. "We have a tough group of kids, from hockey players to bull riders."

• Air Academy had the third-highest scoring team last season, and the state's leading scorer, Emmett Jones, returns along with seven other starters for coach Mark Shriver.

The Kadets have a good shot to get into the quarterfinals behind Jones, who is bound for Division III Denison, but they have had trouble in the playoffs. Air Academy has been outscored 43-6 in its past three second-round games.

• Among the new teams heading into the 2007 season is Ridge View Academy, a school that essentially is a youth correctional facility for boys age 14 to 20.

Given that coach Nick Chapla pretty much fields a new team every year, although he will have two returning players this season, his goals are simple.

"I just want our guys to have fun and experience a piece of what I was blessed with playing lacrosse through high school and college," Chapla said.

BOYS TOP 5

1 Cherry Creek: The Bruins shored up an inexperi- enced defense with former Arapahoe player Chase Clark.

2 Kent Denver: Tyler Morton and the rest of the midfield pose a solid threat once again to upend Cherry Creek.

3 Denver East: Josh Russell is a fine finisher, and the Angels will continue to stifle teams defensively.

4 Regis: The Raiders will battle Arapahoe for the Continental title, but they return more impact players.

5 Fort Collins: The Vipers made the quarterfinals for the first time last year and look to repeat the feat.

• Consensus league picks: Cherry Creek (Centennial), Regis (Continental), Fort Collins (Foothills), Kent Denver (Southern).

TOP PLAYERS BY POSITION

Player School Year

ATTACKERS Josh Russell Denver East Jr. Emmett Jones Air Academy Sr. Ryan Driver Cherry Creek Sr. Henry Miketa Fort Collins Jr. Will Tynan Palmer Sr.

MIDFIELDERS Cooper Mazon Mullen Sr. Tyler Morton Kent Denver Sr. Dane Mueller Cherry Creek Sr. Greyson Konkel Regis Jr. Andrew Lay Denver East Sr.

DEFENDERS Henry Clark Kent Denver Sr. Chase Clark Cherry Creek Jr. Tim Van Benthysen Regis Sr. Dan Gilliland Golden Sr. Steven Brizie George Washington Jr.

GOALKEEPERS Mike Allan Air Academy Sr. Sean Corrigan Monarch Sr. Richie Londer Denver East So. Mark Stone Cherry Creek Sr. Andy Titterington Fort Collins Sr.

• For a complete league-by-league outlook, including top players, go to RockyPreps.com.

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