Peddie sports fans are in for a treat this upcoming weekend. With Parents’ Day on Saturday, Oct. 17, all of the sports teams will have home matchups against Mid Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) rival Lawrenceville School. This marks the second MAPL weekend for Peddie athletics, who are coming off a successful 8-4-1 showing at Hill, but it also continues the long rivalry the school has with the Big Red.

Though Peddie has been playing Lawrenceville for decades, the rivalry still runs deep. For the football team, there is even a new element this year. New head coach Chris Malleo was the defensive coordinator for the Big Red, so many players from the opposing team are familiar with him.

“It’s a big test for the football team, especially since the Lawrenceville players will know Coach Malleo from his time there,” said co-captain Jason Meisner ’16.

The football storyline aside, every Peddie team is excited to get a chance to beat rival Lawrenceville.

“This game is really important both because it’s our second MAPL game and we need to do our best in the league, but also because of our unspoken but well-known rivalry,” said girls varsity soccer co-captain Kelsie Sirak ’16. “When we beat them it becomes that much more rewarding because they pride themselves on their athletics.”

Meisner believes that the rivalry has remained intense due to the even matchups between each sports team.

“The fact that it is never one-sided makes the rivalry even more heated,” he said.

This can best be exemplified in field hockey, in which both Peddie and Lawrenceville consistently make it to the state championship game.

A new addition to this year’s rivalry is a tailgate sponsored by The Grilling Club and The Nest which will occur in the morning and afternoon before the games begin, featuring food, music and games as an appetizer for the main course.

As only the second MAPL weekend of the year, the games on Saturday will be important for each team as they look forward to keeping their chances at a MAPL title alive.