There are few DII college rivalries as intense as Towson v Salisbury.

Both programs have challenged for a national title, although only Salisbury has won any, and the two teams seem to take great relish in bringing everything they can when they face off.

Last year, the teams split their games - Towson won in the regular season, and Salisbury in the Capital Conference final - before both lost close games in the national quarterfinals. And don’t forget that right now Towson is ranked #3 in the nation, and Salisbury #7.

So, yes, this is big.

“It’s huge,” said Salisbury co-captain Patrick Mullens. “Not only for the conference but also for us to measure where we are as a team. Towson does a lot well. They pound their centers, they can kick, their forwards are all big. They are a really good team.”

“This is our first real test,” added Salisbury co-captain Liam Marshall.

That would be because Salisbury might be 3-0, but two of their wins were forfeits. They lost to Mount St. Mary’s in a non-conference game where they gave up 30 penalties. The season doesn’t seem to have really started yet for the Sharks, who just got Mullens back from injury and get one of their coaches, Bill Creese, back from military deployment out-of-state. 

“We’ve got the talent to put together a great season,” said Marshall. “But we have to address some things. Our displine has to be better. We were offside a lot against Mount St. Mary’s and they had a great kicker. We’ve got good depth and good players, but we need to keep our heads.”

Towson meanwhile is a senior-heavy team looking make a big push. They have won their games by big margins.

“But it’s different against Salisbury,” said Head Coach Don Stone. “We might have more experience, but Salisbury is always a huge challenge for us.”

Success on the rugby field is starting to get the attention of the school administration, and that’s certainly a good thing. This game is a big part of that.

Leading the way for Towson is scrumhalf Eric Sweeney, who has been plying his trade as a #9 for eight years now in high school and college. His kicking has been exceptional. Anthony Brian and Brian Shields have also excelled for Towson. For Salisbury, Scott Wheeler and Nick Rodriguez have been effective when the Sharks have been able to play. 

All will need to be solid in this weekend’s clash.