Oakton boys lacrosse coach Tony Gray knows how to

mold a winning team, having led the Cougars to three straight state

championships from 2003 to 2005. So it was no accident that he scheduled four of

Oakton's first eight games in 2008 against local private school powerhouses

Georgetown Prep, Landon, Notre Dame and Bullis.

Though

the Cougars lost three of those four games – their only three losses as of

April 21 – Gray is confident that the experience will be beneficial at the end

of the season.

"It's

no secret, we play the toughest teams so that we can be battle-tested before we

even go to districts," Gray said. "We can find out what the kids'

strengths are, but more what their weaknesses are and grow from that."

This

tactic has already paid dividends, as Oakton improved to 5-0 in Concorde

District play with a 9-5 win over two-time defending state champion Robinson

Friday night. The Cougars are 6-3 overall.

"The

private schools are just ridiculously good," said senior Adam Kubiak, who

scored two goals in Friday's victory. "If we can come out strong against

them, we know we can come out strong against anybody in the state."

Added

senior James McClellan, who also scored twice against the Rams, "It helps

us a lot. They prepare us because their defense and offense is a lot better than

the teams we play in our own district. They prepare us for the big games that

come in the regional playoffs and state playoffs."

It is

often easier to learn about a team during a loss rather than a win, and some of

what the Cougars showed during those three defeats came as a surprise to the

players.

"We

have a lot of depth that I didn't realize we had," McClellan said. "A

bunch of juniors are stepping it up this year. A bunch of guys worked hard in

the off-season getting in shape.

"We

never give up. Even if we're down by 10 goals, it doesn't matter, we never give

up."

In

order to return to their glory days, the Cougars' road to a state title will

likely go through Chantilly. Oakton was scheduled to host the undefeated

Chargers Tuesday night after The Times went to press.

"Like

any other team, we want to go right to the top to the state championship,"

Gray said. "You want to win the districts, win the region, win the states.

I think these guys are hungry, so it makes the coaching staff hungry."

Added

McClellan, "We want to take it all. We want to win district, region and

state titles. We've got to get it back to our dynasty."

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