Being senior night, the Ridgeview lacrosse team added a bit of pageantry to its match.

A singer escorted seniors Tanner Maden and Tanner Sande, both defenders, to midfield, where the national anthem was performed. Color programs were handed out, filled with nearly 30 sponsors.

Dozens of fans lined the north side of the field at the school before the May 11 game. Children played lacrosse games of their own as their older counterparts took the field.

It’s been a challenging year for lacrosse in Redmond, but one where the sport has grown.

Ridgeview is in its third year of having its own lacrosse team — though it isn’t an official varsity sport at the school. But it added two teams for third and fourth graders, as well as seventh and eighth graders this season, showing growth of popularity in the community.

More than 40 kids took part in the youth teams, and 22 are on the high school Ravens’ roster. Next year, Ridgeview looks to add a fifth-and-sixth-grade team.

“In five years, we’ll have our first-, third- and fourth-graders moving into the high school level, having had four good years of play before stepping on to the (high school) field,” said third-year Ravens coach Jared Steele.

The team had a tough year on the field, finishing 4-11, from a 6-8 record in 2015. Steele said the team was hurt by the loss of seven seniors from the previous year’s team.

“It’s been a bit of a rebuilding year,” he said.

The season opened with word that an assistant coach on Redmond High’s club lacrosse team had been arrested on suspicion of sexual contact with a team member. Redmond did not participate in High Desert Conference Lacrosse.

This negative publicity made it important for supporters of Ridgeview’s team to show the positive impact of the club sport, said Steve Ashley, one of the team’s board members.

“We’re not supported (financially) by the school very much,” he said. “The boys had to fundraise for their jerseys and things.”

The sport has a community atmosphere in Central Oregon, with home team parents providing dinner for visiting players. The final game of the season featured a Mexican food meal.

Though the sport has experienced growing pains at Ridgeview, the Ravens finished the season with a victory against Sisters — a team they long had trouble defeating. Ashley feels good about the future of the program, with the youth teams giving players experience.

“Most of our kids, the first time they picked a stick up was as a freshman,” he said.

But getting kids to love the game is easy, once they get on the field, said Steele, who played for powerful Summit High before briefly playing lacrosse at Southern Oregon University.

“Once you get a kid to fall in love with a game, all they want to do is practice it,” he said. “It’s developing that love and drive that’s been my life’s work.”

Sophomore defender Cooper Majetich is excited about how the program is growing.

“I’ve met a lot of new people, made a lot of new friends,” he said. “It’s been a great time.”

He likes the physical nature and quickness of the sport, in which players use netted-sticks to throw and shoot a small rubber ball to other players and into a goal.

Ridgeview players have the challenge of explaining an unfamiliar sport and playing for a school that is only four years old.

“Most people are surprised; they didn’t know I played another sport,” said Michael Ashley, a sophomore who also runs cross country.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com