Minneapolis’ western suburbs have dominated much of Minnesota’s young high school lacrosse history. Since the Minnesota State High School League started sponsoring state tournaments in 2007, the west has taken all four state championships.

This fact is not lost on Travis Sanders, coach for the Stillwater boys’ lacrosse team.

“We don’t get as much love, but we haven’t earned it. We haven’t won anything,” Sanders said.

However, the east appears poised for a run, and the Ponies are leading the charge.

With most of its defense and its No. 1 scorer returning, Stillwater has the tools to move up. The defending Suburban East champions ran the table in conference play and finished 12-2 overall in 2010, losing to Totino-Grace in the section semifinals.

The school finally is seeing its first crop of talent rise all the way from Stillwater’s original third-grade youth program. It’s a few years behind the likes of Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka and others, but there’s a lot of talent in the St. Croix Valley this year.

Sanders said the key is getting young athletes excited about lacrosse. Once they commit, the rest is history.

One look at Carson Cannon confirms that. Cannon, who has committed to play Division I lacrosse at Denver University, is the Ponies’ linchpin on defense.

He’s a 6-3, 200-pound physical specimen who also stood out as a wide receiver and safety for the football team.

“He runs like a deer; he’s the fastest guy on our team. It’s crazy,” Sanders said. “And a couple years ago he figured out where the weight room was.”

Not only does he take on the opposition’s top offensive threats, but Cannon is effortless in moving the ball upfield.

“To have a guy that big and that fast that can take the ball away from you and be instant offense going the other way, it’s a pretty fun thing to have as a coach,” Sanders said.

But Cannon is not the only weapon in Stillwater’s offensive arsenal. It’s impossible to overlook junior Samuel Mathieu, a top Division I prospect who excels as a finisher.

As a sophomore, Mathieu was third in the state scoring race and finished the season with 49 goals and 23 assists for 72 points in 14 games. Standout performances included one eight-goal game and two six-goal games — one of which was a 12-point performance in a 19-7 victory over Hill-Murray.

Alex Flock, who was the team’s second-leading scorer, has graduated, so Mathieu is expected to take over as the Ponies’ main guy.

And that means he’ll also be on the receiving end of attention from the top defenders of every team Stillwater faces. It’s a challenge for which Mathieu said he believes he is ready.

“I personally think I progressed as a player and a teammate throughout this summer so hopefully things shape out well,” he said.

One priority, Mathieu said, is getting his teammates involved and helping develop a talented bunch of sophomores that could make an immediate and a lasting impact.

“It’s not just a this-year thing, it’s helping build a program,” Mathieu said.

One youngster to watch is Turner Uppgren, who took over the goaltending job last season as a freshman, finishing 5-1.

Add Uppgren to a mix that already has Mathieu, Cannon, Cody Holsten, Ryan Aldrich and Adam Ostlund, and Stillwater’s future appears much more that just hype. And that’s something everyone in the program is proud of.

“We’re kicking out a lot more talent; it’s an awesome feeling,” Mathieu said.