PHOTOS: Rising Sun boys lacrosse nips North East

    The Rising Sun and North East boys lacrosse teams could be changing places once again.
    Heading into last Thursday afternoon's game between the two schools, the Indians had already clinched the Susquehanna Division title with Rising Sun headed toward a last place finish in the Chesapeake.
    But there was still one big title to be decided: Best team in Cecil County.
    The Tigers can claim that crown for the time being as they nipped North East 6-5 in a game played at North Harford High.

    "It's been a rivalry since before I was even here," said Rising Sun middie Justin Hopkins who scored three goals. "Whenever these two teams get together you play your heart out. The team that plays harder is always going to win."
    Led by goalie Taylor Saubier and a tough defense, the Tigers played nearly a flawless first half to take a 3-0 lead into intermission.
    They suspected it would not be easy. It wasn't.
    North East scored two goals in the first 24 seconds of the third quarter. "We weren't surprised at all," said Hopkins. "Every time we play North East one team goes up early. But it's always a bloodbath. Always hard hits. It's nothing we weren't ready for."
    Rising Sun responded rapidly. Tyler Lyness won the ensuing faceoff and fed Brad Alexander for a goal to make it 4-2. Just like that, there was as many goals scored in the first minute of the second half as scored in the entire first half.
    North East cut the deficit to 4-3 before two Hopkins howitzers raised Rising Sun's lead to 6-3. "The adrenaline gets going and you take advantage of it," Hopkins said.
    The Tigers were whistled for a pair of penalties and the Indians took advantage to trim the margin to 6-4 early in the fourth quarter.
    North East scored again with 3:03 remaining to make it a one-goal game. The Tigers took an ill-advised shot with 2:15 left, but North East committed a turnover on an errant pass. Rising Sun gave the ball back with a turnover of their own and North East called a timeout with 47.4 seconds left. The Indians settled for a long-range shot with 30 ticks to go, perhaps the easiest of Saubier's 11 saves.
    "We're such big rivals with North East," said Alexander, who finished with three goals. "They always seem to put up great fights against us. Every game is a nailbiter all the way to the end and we just hope to come out on top. And today we managed to."
   Brandon Aro, who teamed with close defenders Kyle Lammey and Bryan Butler to anchor the Tigers' defense, also picked up an assist. Jordan Edwards and Connor Burkhardt each added an assist.
    "It was a family effort," Lammey said. "We were constantly communicating. We know each other. We're family. We understand each other's weaknesses and strengths. It was just a great team effort."
    The Tigers remained confident despite taking their lumps against some of the state's top teams in the Chesapeake Division.
    "I think it built a little character," Alexander said. "We needed to work harder to get the ball in those games. And if we continued to work hard against teams like North East we'd be successful and that's how it ended up."
    Said Rising Sun coach Jim Tucker: "I think it's consistency, saying the same message over and over. And I think the message for the most part has to be positive. And that's what we've tried to do as a staff. Be positive… The kids believe in themselves. They really do. There's some self-policing that goes on. Give the kids credit."
    Thursday's non-division game against the potent North East squad was hardly a respite for the Tigers.
    "It's a pretty good feeling to beat North East," said Lammey. "I've done it three times. I've also lost to them three times. I wish we could play them again. We've grown up playing against each other. We're basically family with them despite what it looks like."
    Tucker has great respect for the Indians and their coaching staff.
    "It's kind of morphed into the biggest rivalry in the county" he said. "For six or seven years we played each other twice a year and we're about eight miles apart so you become familiar with one another and all the kids know each other. They've played with and against each other for so long. Before last year we hadn't beaten them in about five years. We beat them two out of three last year. There's an additional incentive because we knocked them out of the upper division last year and we replaced them. So you combine those things with the natural geographic rivalry and you have the makings of a really good, spirited game … It's a fun game to be part of. I'm sorry there's a loser but I'm glad I'm the winner."