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SULLIVAN WEST 27, ONTEORA 6
Bulldogs’ Homecoming yields
a joyous win
BY
RICHARD A. ROSS
JEFFERSONVILLE, NY —Though some
will say that this homecoming weekend was missing
spirit, it wasn’t for lack of great football
by Sullivan West Bulldogs. They were busy making their
last game into one they will be glad to remember.
Ask any former high school athlete
about what he or she remembers about their careers
and many will tell you about the emotion of playing
their last game. It’s as if all those hours
of practice, the games, the wins and losses, the friendships
formed and those few shining moments get compacted
into that last time on the field. On October 26, the
veterans of Sullivan West came to play and that memory
will replace former ones that were less pleasant.
The Onteora Indians won the toss and
elected to receive. That bit of fortune was to be
their last. After going three and out, they punted.
The Bulldog offense took the field and unveiled an
offense previously unseen this year. Mike Compton
had two long runs totaling 56 yards and Jacob Sauer-Jones
took the ball in from six yards out to give Sullivan
West the early lead. Following another failed series
by the Indians, Sauer-Jones returned a kick-off to
a touchdown, which was called back on an illegal block.
Undaunted, the Bulldogs kept the chains moving behind
great running by Rob Orr and Compton. Orr scored the
first of his two touchdowns of the day. Sauer-Jones
completed a pass to Compton for the two-point conversion
and the Bulldogs led 14-0.
The defense kept up its inspired play
and Onteora’s offense was hardly ever on the
field. On the next series, the Bulldogs deployed inspired
running by Ryan Egan and a 36-yard pass to Andre Truijklo.
The drive stalled on the four-yard line but a sack
of quarterback J.C. Gonzalez led to a fumble. Orr
pounced on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Even though the two-point conversion failed, the Bulldogs
had built a 20-0 lead. After John Glassel recovered
a fumble by Onteora, Sauer-Jones launched a 23-yard
touchdown pass to Truijklo. Compton punctuated the
scoring with a point-after kick. The 27-point lead
stood up well as Onteora scored only six points in
the second half. It was a great win and promises an
exciting next season when the young “dawgs”
will be a year older.
Compton ended the day with 91 yards
on 11 carries. Orr had 47-yards on 13-carries and
two touchdowns. Sauer-Jones ran for 19 yards on five
carries and was three for four on pass completions
for 82 yards. Ryan Egan ran 17 yards on three carries.
Seniors honored included Mike Compton,
Ryan Egan, Rob Kautz, Brian Long, Rob Orr, Brent Rose,
Jacob Sauer-Jones, Everett Saul, Amber Conley, Julia
Roser, Heather Schmidt and Amanda Wagner.
Homecoming crowns went to Holly Salzburg
and Everett Saul at the Jeffersonville campus, and
Doug Haugen and Kate Humleker at the Delaware Valley
campus.
Flowers were exchanged with parents
and smiles were everywhere. There may not have been
a bonfire or much hoopla, but in Jeffersonville on
Saturday, there was no place like home.
ROSCOE 13, ELDRED 10
Yellowjackets
nearly derail Roscoe in Mud Bowl II
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
ELDRED, NY —The winds of fate
can be chilly and fickle. And both football teams
who faced those changeable winds on Saturday, October
26 wondered what the outcome might be. For Roscoe,
trailing 10-7 as the first half neared its end, the
dreary day, the muddy field and the score loomed ominously
to possibly end hopes for a divisional championship.
For Eldred, the headiness of beating
a team that demolished them under the lights two weeks
ago must have seemed too good to be true. But football
is a game of chance and mischance. In an instant,
a penalty, a miscue, an overthrown pass or missed
assignment can cause the winds to change direction.
It was just that kind of day.
Roscoe took the early lead on a touchdown
run by Brian Ballard. What seemed to be smooth sailing
for the Blue Devils turned suddenly turbulent as Eldred
caused two crucial turnovers. The first led to a four-yard
touchdown run by Kyle Schneider. The second led to
a field goal by Devin Weyant that gave the Green a
10-3 lead. Approaching halftime with the lead and
the ball, a pair of costly penalties stalled their
drive and caused them to have to punt. It was just
the break Roscoe needed.
In a post-game interview, Fred Ahart,
the Roscoe coach, gave a lot of credit to his quarterback
Justin Bowers.
“He went into a hurry-up offense and
called the plays himself. I usually send the plays
in, but there wasn’t enough time. He did a great job,”
said Ahart.
He was referring to how the Blue Devils
drove downfield in the waning seconds of the first
half. Tim Haas plunged three yards into the end zone
to give the lead back to Roscoe, 13-10.
The Eldred team clustered around their
coaches at halftime. Each coach told them that this
game was theirs for the taking but they would have
to play inspired football.
And true to form and good halftime
coaching, both teams came out and played great defense.
Each offense had its chances but each time, the opposing
team’s defense held fast.
Eldred’s running attack was sporadically
effective yielding first downs. Roscoe decided to
key on Vin Reilly, forcing Eldred into third and long
on several key possessions. For Eldred, the passing
game has been only partly effective this year, and
on Saturday it resulted in overthrown passes to wide-open
receivers.
With 9:45 to go in the fourth quarter,
Eldred was on one of those drives. Getting to the
Roscoe 38, the Blue Devils stopped Reilly twice and
the Yellowjackets had fourth and five. The ball was
overthrown and Roscoe took over on downs. After failing
to move the ball, Roscoe faked a punt and Ballard
took off all the way down to the Eldred 45. The Yellowjackets’
defense pulled off yet another miracle and caused
a fumble on the four-yard line. Unfortunately, they
could not move the ball and Roscoe took over on downs.
Eldred did get the ball back, but time expired as
the Roscoe players chanted “Dietz, Dietz, Dietz”,
a reference to the stadium in Kingston where they
will play for the championship.
The Eldred players held their heads
high. They had played a great game, one that won’t
show up in the won-lost column. Had the winds of fate
turned one more time, David might have slain Goliath.
Ballard of Roscoe ended the day with
112 yards on 19 carries. Reilly and Schneider each
had 86 yards. Schneider carried the ball 17 times.
Reilly had 21 carries. Both are approaching one thousand
yards for the season. They hope to go over that mark
next week at Liberty. Roscoe plays at Livingston Manor
next week in a marquee match up.
As for Eldred’s defense, Todd
Walter had two sacks and recovered a fumble. John
Martin and Weyant led the defense with seven tackles
each.
“I am so proud of you boys. You played
one heck of a game,” Coach Frank Kean told his players
after the game.
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Contributed photo by Lisa Rose
Sullivan West Cross Country team at
Bear Mountain for the O.C.I.A.A. League meet. First
row: Coach George Shakelton, Coach George Rose, Ian
Parnett, Trevor Kreznar. Back Row: Kim Parks, Vanessa
Houghtaling, Stephanie Clifford, Ashley Relyea, Jamie
Clifford, Amanda Ward, April Ackerman. Not pictured:
Moselle DiPane, Adam Nebzydoski, and Jessica Wagner. (Click for larger image)
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Sullivan West
girls’ cross country gains division crown
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY — The Sullivan
West girls cross country team tested themselves in
their league and came home with the Class C title.
Out of a dense field of 125 runners,
Jamie Clifford led the Sullivan West girls on October
25, placing 24th with a time of 19:36. She was followed
by: Amanda Ward- 35th -20:16, Jessica Wagner-36th-20:22,
April Ackerman-38th-20:31, Moselle DiPane-40th-20:34,
Stephanie Clifford-44th-20:44 and Kim Parks-72nd-22:56.
Though she ran in the JV race, Vanessa Houghtaling
did very well with a time of 22:08. Coach Shakelton
has to choose seven runners to compete in the varsity
race on Friday.
The Bulldogs edged out Tri-Valley for
Class C title and finished fifth place overall behind
Class A and B schools Warwick, Monroe-Woodbury, Washingtonville,
and Cornwall.
Recognition from the Orange County
Interscholastic Athletic Association was the first
leg of the Bulldogs’ quest for after-season
glory. The next step will be competing at the sectional
meet held at Bear Mountain on Friday, November 2.
In order to reach the states as a team,
Sullivan West will have to beat Rhinebeck, which ran
exceptionally in a Mid-Hudson League meet held on
Friday, October 25. Rhinebeck is currently ranked
ahead of Sullivan West in the state standings.
If the Bulldogs do not qualify for
states as a team, individual runners can still go
to states based on their times.
Though the boys lacked sufficient numbers
to run as a team, the top three runners did quite
well at the league meet on Friday. Out of a field
of 117 runners, Ian Parnett finished 11th at 16:11,
Brent Rose came in 34th at 17:08 and Trevor Kreznar
came in 56th at 18:00.
Last weekly
soccer roundup
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
Eldred girls defeat manor 3-2
ELDRED, NY — In a game that would
turn out to be a seesaw battle on October 22, Arielle
Parker of Livingston Manor scored the first goal.
Eldred answered with a goal by Jenna Fredericks with
an assist from Jenny Haas. The half ended in a 1-1
tie. The second half began much the same as the first
with another score by Parker giving Manor the lead.
Eldred came back again with a hard kick by Jenny Haas
from 25-yards out that went right in. Now with the
score tied, Jenna Fredericks came right at Manor’s
goalie and scored with an assist from Jenny Haas.
Manor goalie Jennifer Irwin had eight saves while
Eldred’s goalie Allison Schombs had 19 saves.
Eldred’s record improved to 3-3 league and 5-7
overall.
Eldred girls fall to chapel
field 3-0
PINE BUSH, NY — Chapel Field’s
defense proved unshakeable in the game played on October
16. The first half featured strong defense. The only
goal was scored by Chapel Field’s Meghan Klussman.
She scored another goal in the second
half followed by a goal by Alexandra Gonzalez. Chapel
Field’s goalie Julie Shaper recorded five saves
while Allison Schombs of Eldred had 15. Chapel Field’s
record is 4-1-1 league and 7-4-2 overall. Eldred’s
record is now 3-4 league and 6-8 overall.
Eldred teams advance to sectionals
Eldred boys defeat Coleman
2-0
HURLEY, NY — Devin Weyant and
Jeremy Harris each scored a goal as Eldred defeated
John A. Coleman Catholic in a quarterfinal match on
October 28. Eldred advanced to the semifinals to play
top-seeded S.S. Seward.
Chapel Field girls oust Eldred
1-0
PINEBUSH, NY — Rachel McLean
took a pass from Amanda Schweiger six-yards out and
scored the only goal in the game played on October
28. Chapel Field’s goalie Julie Schaper had
six saves. Allision Schombs of Eldred had 17 saves.
Chapel Field advanced to play top-seeded S.S. Seward
in Middletown.
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