By WILLIAM MONTGOMERY
On the basketball court or the football field, the Highland-Marlboro rivalry is one of the area’s most intense.
Yet when it comes to lacrosse season, Marlboro’s athletes find themselves behind enemy lines, wearing Highland’s blue and gold.
And they love it.
“Some of the guys, we’re from Marlboro and we came into the youth program,” said sophomore defender Jake Marro. “We got really close to the guys from Highland. The team chemistry is great. It’s fun to go to practice every day. It’s fun to play together. That’s what really gets us working as a team. We’re all friends. It’s a fun experience.”
Four players from Marlboro — Marro, Tyler Jollie, Chris Schlappich and Tristan Welker — have joined the predominantly Highland team.
The collaboration isn’t limited to lacrosse — Highland also hosts Marlboro’s wrestlers during the winter months.
“At first, I didn’t know what to expect, but they’re just like kids from Marlboro,” said Jollie, a sophomore and defensive midfielder. “They’re easy to get along with. That’s what makes us a good team.”
Highland, which dropped its season-opener against Millbrook, responded with eight straight wins heading into Monday’s game at Rondout Valley.
Highland lacrosse has come a long way in a short time, winning a total of seven games over the first three years of the program, then going 0-14 in 2011. It finished with a winning record at 9-7 last season, falling to Wallkill in the opening round of the Section 9 Class B playoffs by one goal, 8-7.
“I’m very pleasantly surprised,” said coach Tom Schlappich. “I expected this to be a two-year type of situation with this team only because we have so few seniors on this team. We’re very, very young. They’re just a little bit ahead of where I expected them to be. Granted, we have a lot of schedule left and we have a lot of difficult opponents left, so we’ll see.”
Schlappich (53 points) and Thomas Holloway (51 points) lead the team in scoring, but Kyle Merget (27 points), Jollie (20 points) and Joe Schupp (17 points) have also added to Highland’s offensive attack.
Highland’s defense has also played well over the eight-game winning streak, holding opponents to an average of 6.1 goals per game over that span.
“I started last year, so I’ve been learning from everyone on the team,” said senior Earon Velie, a defensive midfielder. “It’s awesome having the other players come from Marlboro. It’s a great experience playing with them. It’s fun all around.”
“I think it’s just a natural, cohesive thing,” Jollie said. “The coaches do a good job, but I think it’s natural talent that gets us where we are. It isn’t just one person. We all work together.”
Varsity845 Top 5 rankings
1. Warwick (10-1): Aaron Ackerman notched career goal No. 100 in Saturday’s win over North Rockland in the Wounded Warrior Challenge.
2. Minisink Valley (9-3): Junior attack Joe Sessa will hit the 100-point mark soon. He has 37 goals and 47 assists through 12 games.
3. Valley Central (9-3): It’s a big week ahead for the Vikings, who play on Thursday at Warwick and on Saturday host Minisink Valley in its second run through the Division II schedule.
4. Delaware Valley, Pa. (11-1): The Warriors’ defense continues to impress. Delaware Valley hasn’t allowed more than four goals a game in nearly a month, a span that stretches to a 10-7 win over Vernon (N.J.) on April 10.
5. Rondout Valley (8-2): The Ganders are coming off a non-league loss at Minisink Valley on Saturday, but they have a chance to get back on track this week with games against Highland, New Paltz, Red Hook and Wallkill.
Teams raising funds for cancer
Highland will team up with another rival on May 10, when Red Hook will join the Huskies in the Lax Lace-Up, an event to benefit the HEADstrong Foundation.
Players from both schools will wear neon green shoelaces during the game to raise awareness for HEADstrong, which helps those affected by blood cancers. HEADstrong also will have a booth set up at the game and will take donations and sell merchandise and apparel, with the proceeds going to the charity.
“I have such a young team and I wanted to make sure we make an impact on these kids,” said Highland coach Tom Schlappich. “We wanted to do something for the community and the greater good.”
“It’s nice because, as coach said, some things are bigger than the game,” said Jake Marro. “It’s nice to give back to the community and help out and find a cure for blood cancer.”
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