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ROSCOE 19, LIVINGSTON MANOR
14
Roscoe takes clash of the Titans:
Part I
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — The drama
leading up to the final regular season game for both
the Livingston Manor Wildcats and the Roscoe Blue
Devils could not have been better scripted had it
been written for a movie. Not only were both teams
7-1 coming into this game on November 2, they came
in with a history of one of the fiercest rivalries
in area sports. Just six miles apart at the western
end of the county, these two schools have faced each
other many times in pitched battles throughout the
years. Whether it is football, soccer, basketball,
baseball or softball, there has always been a charge
in the air whenever they met. That said, nothing in
recent memory holds a candle to the intensity surrounding
this opening round of a season-ending pair of championship
games. Coach Fred Ahart of Roscoe remarked, “I
can’t recall a time in my 34 years of coaching
when we played the same team back to back for the
league and sectional titles.”
The fact that it was Livingston Manor’s
homecoming or that traffic in town was halted for
a pre-game parade seemed dwarfed by the magnitude
of the match-up. Despite the snow and cold, the sidelines
were packed with spectators. It seemed as if many
returned from ages past to witness this epic battle.
What they got was one of the best high school football
games in recent memory. It was a hard-hitting game
made even more powerful by fine sportsmanship, few
penalties and lack of injuries. In short, it lived
up to its billing. In the end there would be the agony
of defeat for one and the ecstasy of victory for the
other. As coach Scott Branning told his players, “there
is nothing in between.”
Both teams featured marquee playmakers.
For Livingston Manor, it was George Thomas, the junior
who recently surpassed 3000-yards rushing for his
career. For Roscoe, it was Brian Ballard, the elusive
runner who passed the 2000-yard rushing total and
who has eluded tacklers all year long.
Roscoe won the toss and elected to
receive but Manor’s defense was stoked for the
game. After Wildcat Remington Parker sacked Roscoe
quarterback Justin Bowers, Roscoe punted. George Thomas
took the ball 42 yards on his first carry but the
drive was eventually stalled on Roscoe’s 27-yard
line. An apparent first down pass to Patrick Branning
was spotted inches short of the first down marker.
Their defense held on again but Ballard’s punt
placed the Wildcats in poor field position. Unable
to move the ball the Wildcats punted giving Roscoe
the ball on the Manor 48. From here it was all Brian
Ballard who carried three straight times before bursting
out for the first of his two touchdowns. The point
after was good and Roscoe led 7-0.
That touchdown seemed to affect the
psyche of the Manor team. They looked out of sync
and seemed to lose their intensity during the remainder
of the first half. Unable to move the ball on offense,
Manor gave Roscoe the chance to add another score.
Just 22 seconds before halftime, Justin Bowers threw
a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dave Eggleton making the
score 13-0. The point after went wide and the teams
went into their respective locker rooms. This game
was far from over.
Football is a game of two halves and
the Manor team took the field in the second half,
determined to regain the momentum. They did. An inspired
offense featuring George Thomas and quarterback John
Henry Schleiermacher moved the ball down the field
culminating in a touchdown. The conversion attempt
failed and Roscoe still led 13-6. Both defenses played
extremely well but Manor seemed to get the break they
needed when they recovered a Roscoe fumble with 9:32
left in the game. A series of rumbling runs by Thomas
and a two-yard touchdown run by Schleiermacher brought
Manor back within a point. Thomas then somersaulted
his way into the end zone for the two-point conversion.
The Wildcat sidelines erupted.
The joy was short-lived. The tide shifted
on Roscoe’s next possession when Brian Ballard
broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run giving the
lead back to Roscoe 19-14. Manor had one more chance,
getting the ball back with just under five minutes
to go. Unfortunately, they had squandered time outs
earlier and had only one remaining. With third and
four on the Roscoe 22 yard line, Schleiermacher threw
a perfect touchdown pass to Patrick Branning but at
the last instant, Ballard came out of nowhere to bat
it away. It was the play of the game. He had been
positioned at defensive end and had made a bee
line for the ball way back in the secondary.
Roscoe held on to win 19-14 and the prediction of
the agony and the ecstasy rang true. While Roscoe
fans chanted “Dietz, Dietz, Dietz” in
reference to the sectional championship game next
Saturday, the Manor players looked stunned and dejected.
George Thomas ended up with 179 yards
rushing for Manor and Brian Ballard had 157 yards
for Roscoe.
Next Saturday’s game is bound
to have at least as much drama and then some. The
big title is on the line and another chapter in the
age-old rivalry between these two schools is about
to be written. The game will be played at Dietz stadium
in Kingson at 11:00 a.m.
LIBERTY 23, ELDRED 14
Yellowjackets
fall but wait ‘til next year…
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
LIBERTY, NY — Anyone who has
followed the Eldred Yellowjackets this season knows
that their won-loss column tells very little of the
story. Falling to Liberty this past Saturday, November
2, in a rematch of a game that Eldred won earlier
in overtime, finished Eldred’s season with a
record of 3-6. That record sheds no light on the great
heart, effort and progress of a young team that is
just coming into its own.
Eldred’s two fine running backs,
Vin Reilly and Kyle Schneider, each surpassed the
1000-yard plateau, something that is a first in Eldred
football history. They will both be back next year
as will the majority of the players. While other teams
in the league will suffer huge losses from graduation,
Eldred will not and the 2003 campaign ought to be
very promising to say the least.
Eldred nearly scored on its first possession.
Using a fullback option play, Vin Reilly tossed a
long pass to Devin Weyant giving the Yellowjackets
first and goal on the nine-yard line. On fourth down,
what seemed to be a touchdown by Kyle Schneider, was
ruled short by the back judge, giving the ball over
on downs to Liberty. It was all too reminiscent of
a key red zone attack that faltered against Tri-Valley.
When Liberty took the ball 99 yards on 10 plays and
scored on a run by Chris Kuznir, the parallel to the
game in Grahamsville was even more apparent. Liberty
got the two-point conversion in and led 8-0.
Eldred responded with a drive of its
own ending with a Vin Reilly touchdown. The two-point
conversion made it 8-8. Liberty returned the kickoff
all the way to the Eldred 6-yard line and scored soon
thereafter making it 14-8. Their fine kicker Joe Colacurcio
made it 17-8 with a field goal. In a seesaw battle,
Eldred responded with another score by Vin Reilly.
They missed the P.A.T. and the score stood at 17-14.
Eldred failed to recover its onside
kick and Liberty was able to mount a final scoring
attack, putting the game out of reach at 23-14. Vin
Reilly had 14 carries for 86 yards. Kyle Schneider
carried the ball 16 times for 106 yards. John Martin
had 11 tackles in his last game as an Eldred Yellowjacket.
Eldred’s
Kieran Pierce qualifies for states
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY — Kieran Pierce
finished ninth in the Sectional meet on Friday, November
1. His time of 18:02 in the Class D race qualified
him to run in the State meet to be held next weekend
at Sunken Meadow in Long Island. Catlan Sardina just
missed qualifying. He came in 14th place with a time
of 18:45. The Eldred girls’ results were as
follows: Cassandra Martin: 24th place-24:22, Nikki
Hammond: 27th place-28:18, and Megan Shafer: 28th
place-28:36. Coach Frank Schorling will have some
of his runners competing in indoor track and in spring
track. Nikki Hammond and Catlan Sardina will be competing
in indoor track this winter. Other Eldred runners
will move on to other sports.
Two Sullivan
West runners qualify for states
By
RICHARD A. ROSS
BEAR MOUNTAIN, NY — This has
been a great season for the Sullivan West cross country
team. Though the team as a whole did not qualify for
the states at the sectional meet held on Friday, November
1, Jamie Clifford and Ian Parnett did qualify as individuals
to run in the state meet to be held next weekend at
Sunken Meadow in Long Island. Jamie came in fourth
overall with a personal best time of 19:10. In the
boys’ race, Ian Parnett came in third with a
time of 16:10. Should either of them finish in the
top 10 or place in the top 65 best times, they could
move on to the Federation Meet which features the
top 400 runners in the state including Catholic schools,
NYC public schools and state schools. All runners
in that meet are mixed. In other words, there are
no subdivisions based on school size.
Coach George Shakelton was very pleased
with his young team’s efforts this year. Of
the seven girls competing for Sullivan West, six were
freshmen and one was a sophomore. Ian Parnett is a
junior. Coach Shakelton considers this year to be
a great learning experience for his runners. A number
of them have signed up for indoor track including
Kim Parks, Stephanie Clifford, Jessica Wagner, Amanda
Ward, Ian Parnett, Trevor Kresnar and Adam Nebzydoski.
These runners and others also compete in spring track.
Great runners are not seasonal athletes.
Rhinebeck won the Class C Sectional
title. Onteora came in second and Sullivan West was
third. The following are the times and places of the
Sullivan West team:
In the girls’ race:
4th place: Jamie Clifford-19:10
12th place: Amanda Ward-20:15 (Amanda
was among the qualifying leaders with 600 meters to
go and got a cramp. She made a great effort.)
14th place: Jessica Wagner-20:24
15th place: Moselle DiPane-20:25
23rd place: Stephanie Clifford-21:11
26th place: April Ackerman-21:31
28th place: Kim Parks-21:58
In the boys’ race:
3rd place: Ian Parnett-16:14
13th place: Brent Rose-18:16
21st place: Trevor Kresnar:18:16
53rd place: Adam Nebzydoski-23:07
Congratulations to Jamie and Ian, as
well as the rest of the Bulldog harriers.
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