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It could be Wootton, who has legitimate state playoff aspirations. After winning divisional and regional titles, giving Anne Arundel County powerhouse Severna Park all it could handle in the state semifinals, and only losing one player (attacker Sean Mayhew) to graduation, all the ingredients are in place for the Patriots to go even further.

Spearheading their drive back to the promised land is Sam Burns, the county’s leading goal-scorer a year ago, with 57. Ricky Hafer, who added 40 goals last year, is back as well, and goalkeeper Steven Silverberg will try for three straight years leading the county in save percentage.

‘‘Across the board, we’re pretty even talent-wise — and we’re athletic on both sides of the ball,” said coach Colin Thomson. ‘‘The overall team speed is good and that leads to everything. That’s probably our biggest strength.”

Not far behind Wootton in the 4A West ranks is Churchill, which fell to the Patriots in the regional final by a single goal. According to head coach Jeff Fritz, this is the first team in county history that will send three seniors to Division I college lacrosse programs — defenseman Bertan Unal (Providence College) and midfielders Harris Middel and Kyle Hann (38 points last season), who will join forces at the University of Vermont.

‘‘Expectations are the same ol’,” said Fritz. ‘‘We’ve never won a division championship, so we want to do that first. Then we want to win the region, and we’d love to be the first team in Montgomery County history to play for a state championship. We have lofty goals.”

Another perennial powerhouse, Whitman, wasn’t so lucky to return so much talent. In fact, 15 seniors are gone. However, the Vikings’ leading scorer from a year ago, Will Dempster (38 goals, 13 assists), is back to be an even more vital cog in the attack. Whitman lost several other top performers from a year ago, including midfielder Max Vinograd, attacker Alex Kinnaird and first-team All-Gazette long pole Britton Coe (Brigham Young), but there’s some cautious optimism.

‘‘You know, I think this team is going to rise to the occasion,” said head coach Kevin Pope. ‘‘The lack of stars may be better for us. There’s more depth than the past; we’ll be able to run three solid midfields.”

Another team hit hard by the loss of seniors is Walter Johnson, who will miss attacker Joe Brody (64 points a year ago), and defender Chris Chapman, who now plays at St. Mary’s. Making matters worse is that one of its best players, Ian Johnson, is ineligible until April 11 at the earliest. But to first-year coach Jon Mayer, there’s no reason to panic, and the expectations will be high as always.

‘‘The tradition always continues,” said Mayer, a Walter Johnson alum who played from 1997 through 2000. ‘‘The program is always looking for that. When you graduate people, we always expect the next in line to be ready to step up and play. We graduated a lot of talent, but our expectation is to be competitive every year.”

Richard Montgomery is likely not in the title mix, but it may be one of the most improved teams in the county and one of the most glaring examples of the growth of lacrosse in the area. The Rockets have 15 freshmen on this year’s squad, far and away an all-time high for the school. One of those first-year players is attacker Richard Nuha, who ‘‘lives and breathes lacrosse,” according to coach Mike Reiter. He and senior Michael Wollins should help overcome the loss of midfielder Kenny Smith, Richard Montgomery’s leading scorer from a year ago.

‘‘All the freshmen have played before, too, so I definitely feel more positive about the season,” Reiter said. ‘‘I’d like to go at least .500 this year; we’ve never done that before. The 4A west is such a tough division now, but I think we can go .500.”

The story is also the same for Magruder, which lost multiple seniors at every position on the field. They’ll be replaced with youth, but some of the youth is experienced, like returning sophomore goalkeeper John Rinaldi. He, along with strong junior poles Max Blum and James Jenkins, as well as senior Terry Coleman, look to make the Colonels one of the stingiest defenses in the 4A East.

‘‘We’re really strong on the defensive side,” said head coach Eric Marks. ‘‘I’m not one of those coaches who says we need to have this record, that record. I just want us to push forward towards the playoffs.”

Bethesda-Chevy Chase has proven players coming back all over the place. The Barons’ attack is led by junior Christian Cobb (31 goals last season) and senior Martin Wiegand (16 goals, 17 assists). They are not only returning starters, but the two leading scorers from a year ago, and they are complimented on the other end by Chris Landon, who comes off of a sparkling freshman season in which he became the team’s best defender.

This may be one of B-CC’s most talented teams ever. But Barons head coach Alan Pohoryles admits there is reason for a little concern.

‘‘Here’s the thing — we have a strong goalie, strong defense, decent attack, but we’re shallow at depth,” Pohoryles said. ‘‘If an attackman or middie goes down, we’re in trouble. My expectations all depend on if we can stay healthy. So I say it everyday, we’re not the deepest team but we’re going to be in best shape.”

In the private-school ranks, Landon is expected to return to its dominant self, after graduating a record number of seniors (23) in 2005. While the Bears managed to go a respectable 14-6 last spring, head coach Rob Bordley expects more.

Though he has been slowed with a shoulder injury this preseason, senior midfielder Connor Reilly (Princeton) is expected to be their best player on the field thanks to his blazing speed. He will be joined by powerful attacker Mike Grossman, who also sustained a preseason injury.

Until 2006, Landon hadn’t lost six times in one season for 29 straight years. Bordley knows his team has a golden standard, and looks to get back to it.

‘‘Around here, everyone expects 18-2 and such, even though we play a lot of good teams,” he said. ‘‘With Connor and Grossman out early, we’re not going to set any scoring records, but we’ll be focused on defense. To me, that wins more games than good offense anyways.”

Finally, in the Maryland Independent Lacrosse League (MILL) is The Heights, where expectations are again high after another good year that was also very bad. Midway through last season, senior midfielder and faceoff man Thomas Carroll was killed in a car accident, leaving behind stunned team members and coaches.

The team persevered, and returned to its fourth consecutive MILL title game. This season, the squad will be led once again by James Patterson, who logged an incredible 68 points a season ago, as well as A.J. Guarente, who tallied 39.

‘‘I think our offensive corps is still intact,” said head coach Adam Chaudry. ‘‘All my guys can shoot, all my guys can finish, and we’re going to be able to put up some points this year.”

Fast Facts

B-CC Barons

Head coach: Alan Pohoryles, 6th year

Last year’s record: 9-5

League affiliation: Montgomery 3A⁄2A⁄1A

Players to watch: Christian Cobb (Jr., A), Martin Wiegand (Sr., A)

Churchill Bulldogs

Head coach: Jeff Fritz, 14th year

Last year’s record: 11-4

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A West

Players to watch: Bertan Unal (Sr., D), Harris Middel (Sr., M)

The Heights Cavaliers

Head coach: Adam Chaudry, 5th year

Last year’s record: 13-5

League affiliation: Maryland Independent Lacrosse League

Players to watch: James Patterson (Jr., A), A.J. Guarente (Jr., M)

Landon Bears

Head coach: Rob Bordley, 30th year

Last year’s record: 14-6

League affiliation: Interstate Athletic Conference

Players to watch: Connor Reilly (Sr., M), Mike Grossman (Jr., A)

Magruder Colonels

Head coach: Eric Marks, 2nd year

Last year’s record: 4-9

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A East

Players to watch: Terry Coleman (Sr., M), John Rinaldi (Soph., G)

Richard Montgomery Rockets

Head coach: Mike Reiter, 5th year

Last year’s record: 4-10

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A West

Players to watch: Richard Nuha (Fr., A), Michael Wollins (Sr., M)

Walter Johnson Wildcats

Head coach: Jon Mayer, 1st year

Last year’s record: 11-3

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A West

Players to watch: Ross Modjeska (Jr., M), Al Vostal (Sr., D)

Whitman Vikings

Head coach: Kevin Pope, 10th year

Last year’s record: 11-4

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A West

Players to watch: Will Dempster (Sr., A), Connor Doherty (Sr., D)

Wootton Patriots

Head coach: Colin Thomson, 6th year

Last year’s record: 13-3

League affiliation: Montgomery 4A West

Players to watch: Sam Burns (Sr., A), Ricky Hafer (Sr., M)