No matter the sport, the Blue Raiders and Warriors have always had a great Dual Valley Conference feud going, but golf matches on Tuesday and again on Thursday held even greater significance.

HOPEDALE — After six long months without athletic competitions, the Hopedale and Nipmuc golf teams dove right back into their rivalry this week.

No matter the sport, the Blue Raiders and Warriors have always had a great Dual Valley Conference feud going, but matches on Tuesday and again on Thursday held even greater significance since they were the first contests for either school since March.

Nipmuc took the first meeting on Tuesday at Shining Rock Golf Club, but Thursday’s match at Hopedale Country Club went to Hopedale, 180-188, thanks to a 6-over 41 from freshman Lucas Levasseur and a 43 from junior Joel Bernardes. Nipmuc’s medalist from Tuesday, junior Connor LaCross, had the lowest score for the Warriors with a 43.

“It’s heaven,” Hopedale coach Jim McCallum said of finally being back out on the course competing against other teams. “The only negative is, we have to play so late. Usually we’re all through and getting ready for tournaments. Now, it’s going to be weird playing in late October, but I couldn’t be happier to be back out here with the guys watching them compete.”

The most intriguing part of Thursday’s match was the fact Hopedale had an eighth grader, a freshman, two sophomores, a junior and a senior in their lineup while Nipmuc had three juniors, two seniors and a freshman competing. These guys will be seeing each other quite a bit the next few years, allowing the rivalry to grow even further.

“It’s great to be back out just competing,” said Levasseur. “Some sports have gotten delayed but I’m glad golf was able to get back out here. We’ve got a great young core I think that we’ll hopefully be able to move up in the years and be able to compete with some tougher competition and some older guys, so, it means a lot to Hopedale I think.”

Nipmuc coach Ryan Cody also touched on the rivalry developing over the next few years with so many young faces on Hopedale’s side and so many juniors on his side.

“Hopedale’s going to be a problem,” Cody said with a laugh. “It’s really cool in the DVC with only four schools playing golf, so, it’s almost like we memorized each other’s lineups. It’s just going to come down to the mental days, which kids have it that day and which kids don’t. It’ll be fun to see how this develops over the next few years.”

Being a freshman and the No. 2 golfer on a varsity team is no easy feat, but Levasseur hasn’t felt any pressure yet.

“I just play golf to have a fun time, go out there, just try and do my best,” Levasseur said. “Playing with (eighth-grader Connor Griffin, who shot a 47) he’s great, really encouraging, great kid to be around. I’m sure there’s some pressure, the first match was a little nerve-wracking, but, buckled down today and came back strong.”

The “home-course advantage” came in to play heavily on Thursday with Griffin, Levasseur, Bernardes and sophomore Jake Frohn (49) all shooting in the 40s while only LaCross and senior Chris Lavoie (45) posted sub-50 scores for Nipmuc.

Hopedale Country Club is not very long (only 2,702 yards from the tees played Thursday) but, there are subtleties that are important to know about.

“Truthfully, Hopedale is a shorter course,” said Cody. “It’s historically, in my opinion, been kind of like our kryptonite. They always play well here and that’s kind of the way it’s supposed to be. Home teams usually have the advantage, so kudos to them.”

“Home-field advantage at a golf course is just so big,” added McCallum. “At Shining Rock our guys shot 199, here they shot 180 so, you’re talking 20 shots. Shining Rock is a harder course, but, there are a lot of subtleties here that Nipmuc just didn’t know about and it helped us get a big win today.”