<p>Good article:</p>
<p>[New</a> England Lacrosse Journal: Greatest rivalries: Deerfield vs. Salisbury](<a href=“http://www.laxjournal.com/news/2012/06/28_greatest_rivalries_deerfield.php]New”>http://www.laxjournal.com/news/2012/06/28_greatest_rivalries_deerfield.php)</p>
<p>June 28, 2012 </p>
<p>Greatest rivalries: Deerfield vs. Salisbury</p>
<p>by Phillip Shore/</p>
<p>When Salisbury (left) and Deerfield collide each year, there’s more at stake than just bragging rights: The winner usually claims a share of the league title. (photo: Joseph Meehan)</p>
<p>Part of the drama of the Super Bowl is that its one game. There is no Well get them next time, no tomorrow. Each team gets one chance for glory.</p>
<p>That same atmosphere surrounds the Deerfield Academy and Salisbury School boys matchup.</p>
<p>Both teams play in the New England Prep School West 1 division, where there are no playoffs or postseason tournaments. League champions are crowned by the team with the best record in the regular season.</p>
<p>In most years, that makes the stakes in the Deerfield-Salisbury game simple: Win the game, win at least a share of the league title.</p>
<p>The only way a team has won the league outright is if they finish undefeated and that puts a lot of pressure on the teams. It means every game is the Super Bowl, Deerfield Academy coach Chip Davis said. Usually one team (finishes) undefeated and the other has one loss so that game is critical.</p>
<p>In 10 of the past 11 seasons, Deerfield or Salisbury has won at least a share of the title; theyve split it between themselves three times, each representing a missed chance for the loser of the rivalry game to claim sole supremacy.</p>
<p>Unlike Super Bowls where blowouts arent unusual the standard for Deerfield-Salisbury is a tight contest. Since 2005, the series is 5-3 in favor of Deerfields Big Green and five of those games were decided by three or fewer goals, two in overtime.</p>
<p>Over that time frame, one school has given the other its only loss of the season four times.</p>
<p>Some of it is timing. Its their last (league) game, Salisbury head coach Bobby Wynne said. In the last few years, each team has kind of put themselves in a position where that game has meant a lot.</p>
<p>While every contest is tough in the New England Prep league, the build-up to Deerfield-Salisbury is full of hype and anxiousness. Both teams typically are ranked regionally and/or nationally. Its the only shot either team gets at the other, and it most likely determines who gets to be called a champion, and it gets played so late in the year that the players can spend all season looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Thinking about it for so long only makes the game that much more interesting and appealing.</p>
<p>(Deerfield is) like the Johns Hopkins and Syracuse and Duke and Maryland of prep lacrosse, 2010 Crimson Knights graduate and current University of Denver goalie Jamie Faus said. Youre always looking forward to it, but it sneaks up on you. Its almost like Christmas. Its just the best day to be a lacrosse player.</p>
<p>One obvious reason both teams routinely are at the top of the standings is because the caliber of players each school attracts.</p>
<p>Both teams have reputations for growing lacrosse players, so its no surprise that top players bound for prep school whether for all of high school or a post-graduate year are attracted to the New England programs.</p>
<p>Players such as Faus and his Denver teammate Cameron Flint, North Carolina star rookie Walker Chafee and pro star Brodie Merrill are Salisbury alumni, while Cornells Rob Pannell, pro Billy Bitter and his brother Jimmy, and Dukes rising star scorer Christian Walsh all shined at Deerfield.</p>
<p>Its pretty neat when you get kids that are playing like Walker Chafee at UNC or Trevor Brown at Hopkins shooting you an email wishing you good luck, Wynne said.</p>
<p>The games are so exciting to watch and be a part of because the talent level is so high. Most of the players in the game every year go on to play lacrosse in college.</p>
<p>Its really awesome because when youre playing as juniors and seniors in high school and you know where theyre going; my senior year, I was guarding a guy going to UNC, said John Zurlo, a Deerfield graduate and current defender at Denver. Knowing Im playing that talent thats representing that school as well, it made me want to get on the field even more.</p>
<p>With so many players matriculating to big-time college programs, it isnt surprising for former enemies in the prep rivalry to join forces in college. Faus and Zurlo are roommates at Denver, and Chafee and Jimmy Bitter are teammates at North Carolina.</p>
<p>It creates really close relationships among the players both in high school and in college.</p>
<p>When Deerfield plays Salisbury it brings back all those memories we had in high school and had so much fun. In college, theres rivalries but not like in high school, Zurlo said. Having Jamie as a roommate, we talk lacrosse and theres that little bit of resentment for having them beat us two years in a row, and you start to miss high school more than normally.</p>
<p>Fans that go to the games sense the extra energy and intensity. Davis says the atmosphere is certainly unique.</p>
<p>When its here, we usually have our bagpiper. He pipes the kids down to the field, Davis said. Its not a one-game season, but its just that game that has that little something extra to it. I think the players understand the recent history and the stakes and have a ton of respect for the other team.</p>
<p>A Deerfield-Salisbury game promises a lot of things: intensity, high stakes, close and exciting games, good coaching, top-tier talent and good sportsmanship from both sides.</p>
<p>All of it makes for a must-see game that impresses both fans and fellow coaches.</p>
<p>Jeff Tambroni from Penn State came to the game this year, Davis said. He said, That was as good a high school lacrosse game Ive ever seen, and that was cool to hear.</p>
<p>Its a matchup that Faus hopes more people other than other coaches are checking out.</p>
<p>Both (schools) are in secluded areas without a lot of youth lacrosse, he said. I hope the families in the area have realized that and taken advantage of coming out and getting to those games. On any given day, those teams are playing youre going to see some great lacrosse, great coaching and great players you can watch for four years play at the next level on national television.
New Englands 10 best rivalries</p>
<p>Lacrosse is a hard-fought, competitive game, but some contests have more meaning than others, and New England is home to some fierce, bitter rivalries. Throughout 2012, New England Lacrosse Journal is counting down and retelling the stories of the 10 Greatest Rivalries in New England, featuring one matchup per issue:</p>
<p>10 Vermont boys lacrosse powerhouses Essex Junction and Champlain Valley Union</p>
<p>9 Neighboring Rhode Island top dogs LaSalle Academy and Bishop Hendricken</p>
<p>8 New England club lacrosse powers: most notably Laxachusetts and Top Gun</p>
<p>7 Perennial Connecticut contenders Darien and Wilton both in boys and girls lacrosse</p>
<p>6 America East womens rivals Boston University and the University of New Hampshire</p>
<p>5 Bitter prep-school boys lacrosse adversaries Deerfield Academy and Salisbury School</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in the June 2012 issue of New England Lacrosse Journal.</p>