Falmouth's Hayden Davis carries the ball while being defended by York's Henry Mirick during a May 7 game in Falmouth. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer)

In the moments immediately after the Class A boys lacrosse state championship game, most of the Falmouth team ran onto the field in jubilation. One player, senior Hayden Davis, lingered on the sidelines, embracing coach Dave Barton in a quiet, personal moment they had anticipated for a year, since the Navigators lost in the 2025 state final.

“As soon as last year ended, that summer I had a few conversations with Coach on how we wanted (this season) to look like. We created a plan and set goals for our team,” Davis said. “We hugged each other and were like, this is it. These were our goals. It worked. It all came together. Everything we worked for all built up to this point.”

This spring, Davis was the undisputed leader of the Navigators, who went undefeated and won their second state title in three years. Davis’ fingerprints were all over the season, especially in the 13-8 win over Yarmouth in the final, when he scored four goals and assisted on another.

A three-time All-American, Davis has been chosen as the Varsity Maine Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year.

It was a record-setting season for Davis, who recorded 51 goals and 32 assists, and graduated as the state’s all-time leading scorer with 351 points in his stellar four-year career.

“That does mean a lot. It’s crazy to hear that. Every single time that’s brought up, I just can’t believe it,” Davis said. “The first thing I think of is, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and my coaches. I like to think of that as a Falmouth stat.”

In his high school debut as a freshman, Davis scored eight goals and assisted on another. Ever since, he’s been rolling, Barton said. The coach first met Davis when the player was a second- grader just starting in Falmouth’s youth lacrosse program. Barton watched Davis grow and improve over the years, and noted the leadership skills were always there. Davis was the pied piper, getting his buddies to come out to try lacrosse.

Davis is a throwback, Barton said, in that he could play any position. Barton and his assistant coaches often joked that if every goalie on the roster went down, Davis could slide into net and succeed.

Davis is such a versatile player, Barton said he would not be surprised if Davis starts his collegiate career at Lafayette on defense. There are moments in a game, a turnover or a missed shot, that have the potential to change momentum, but a player then makes a play to turn that change into a minor blip. Barton calls them Juice Plays, and said Davis is the master at getting the Navigators back on track.

Falmouth’s Hayden Davis, right, gets a hug from teammate Hudson Barry after Davis scored during a Class A boys lacrosse semifinal against Deering on June 17 at Cape Elizabeth High School. Falmouth won, 16-6. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer)

“He takes pride in things like tough ground balls. When people aren’t going to stick their nose in there, he will,” Barton said. “If we kept hockey assists in lacrosse, I think that would get him fired up more than goals, getting the party started with the assist before the assist.”

Davis said his biggest lacrosse strength is his work ethic, and that goes hand in hand with what he called his best leadership trait, his ability to hold everyone accountable, including himself. To Davis, that means making sure every practice is a chance to get work done. It means sending out text messages to teammates to set up a time to hit the weight room together or work on their shots.

It’s how you shake off a disappointing state final loss and bear down to go after it again.

“If we’re not holding each other accountable, we’re not reaching our standard every day, and that’s to get better,” Davis said.

That also included holding Barton accountable. Barton likes to remind the Navigators that lacrosse is supposed to be fun. That point was at the core of his state final halftime speech, when Falmouth found itself trailing by a goal. When Davis felt Barton was veering off that course, he would respectfully remind his coach to lock back in.

Falmouth’s Hayden Davis takes a shot that resulted in a goal during a Class A boys lacrosse semifinal against Deering on June 17 at Cape Elizabeth High School. Falmouth won, 16-6. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer)

Davis described Barton as part big brother, part coach and part teacher.

“I could not emphasize it enough that I would not be where I am today as a player, and even more as a person and a leader. He has truly changed my life,” Davis said.

Davis has already started working out and chatting with his future Lafayette teammates. He doesn’t want Day 1 of college lacrosse to feel like Day 1.

“I love learning about the game, and I’m super excited to push my IQ with the next level and continue to learn. I’m excited to have every single part of the game get better,” he said.

That’s something Davis knows well. If you want to hold everyone else accountable, you need to start with yourself.