Football

Determined Dawgs down improving Indians

By RICHARD A. ROSS

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — After suffering tough losses last week, both Liberty and Sullivan West went back to the drawing board and practiced intensively. Both teams are a work in progress and deserve admiration and respect for their efforts no matter what the final outcome of the season may be. Having said that, neither Liberty nor Sullivan West wanted to be 0-2 at the end of week two.

Liberty’s coach Jim O’Connor noted before the game that his kids responded well following their loss to Highland on opening day. They showed up en-masse to practice on Labor Day. Sullivan West’s practice routine after last week’s debacle at the hands of dominating Delhi was grueling.

Welcome to football, a sport where passion matters and last week’s game is ancient history. Teams learn quickly that only drive, experience and hard work bear the fruit of improvement and on any given Friday or Saturday, perhaps a victory.

The Bulldogs won the toss but elected to defer. Liberty soon discovered that running on Sullivan West was a daunting task. A high snap over the head of punter Trevor Tompkins gave Sullivan West the ball on the Indian’s 11-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Jim Erlwein took the ball in on a five-yard run. Brett Youmans’ PAT was good and Sullivan West was feeling it. Youmans, who was ineligible last week, provided a tangible spark to the team with his intensive play and fire. That enthusiasm spilled over a bit at the outset with overzealousness that resulted in a facemask penalty. But Youmans soon got his emotions in check and went on to have a big game.

Following that penalty, Liberty had the ball at the Bulldog 40. but Steve Daley put an end to that advance with an interception of a pass from Corey VanKeuren. Big runs by Daley and Erlwein had Sullivan West knocking at the door. Quarterback Jim Moloney swept around left end on a keeper and galloped 11-yards to make the score 13-0. Yeomans missed the PAT.

Liberty had a huge completion from VanKeuren to Mike Sarno called back as the officials ruled it an illegal forward pass. Instead of having the ball deep in Bulldog territory, the line of scrimmage was Liberty’s 16.

A 21-yard jaunt by Erlwein followed by a 23-yard run by Yeomans got the ball to the Liberty one. Daley plunged over the goal line and the score went to 20-0 with Yeomans’ PAT.

Liberty continued to try the air attack. A nice pass on a second down and 15 play sailed ahead to John Snyder, but Sullivan West’s solid defense and hard tackling stymied Liberty. Sullivan West came up short on its next possession and Liberty did the same. The Indians nearly had a big break as André Brand intercepted a Moloney pass, but Brand was ruled for a facemask penalty that gave the Bulldogs a first down instead.

On the next play, Moloney fired a strike to Jason Leewe for a 30-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs took a 27-0 lead into the locker room. The bad news was that they lost Erlwein to a turned ankle. The big back sat out the rest of the game. His status remains day-to-day.

In the second half, both teams struggled to get anything done on offense. Sullivan West soon removed Yeomans and Moloney, and their replacements turned the ball over twice on fumbles. Liberty continued to play hard and showed major improvement over last week. Pete Panagakos had a couple of nice catches, Joe Ruiz came in and spelled a banged up VanKeuren on several series. VanKeuren returned to gut it out.

“This team played hard. They showed a lot of improvement and a lot of heart out there today. I’ve got nothing but respect for them,” said coach O’Connor.

The stat line reads as follows:

For Sullivan West, Erlwein had 61 yards on six carries, including a five-yard TD; Yeomans had eight carries for 83 yards and three of four PAT’s; Daley had eight carries for 41 yards including a one-yard TD; Leewe had a 30-yard reception/TD; Moloney had an 11-yard TD and completed two for seven passes for 78 yards and a TD.

Liberty’s David Brown rushed for six yards; Snyder rushed for 12 yards; Tompkins rushed for 12 yards; and VanKeuren rushed for two yards. VanKeuren completed four-for-fourteen passes for 89 yards and one interception. Joe Ruiz was one-for-two on passing for 42 yards. Tomkins averaged 28.4 yards per kick. Brown’s kickoff returns amounted to 65 yards.

Liberty will face John S. Burke Catholic at home on September 17 and then travel to Spackenkill on September 23.

The Bulldogs travel to Class D Walton on September 17 and then on to Highland on Friday, September 23. Rivalry between Sullivan West and Highland continues on apace. Two years ago in football, the Huskies knocked Sullivan West out of a chance to go to Dietz Stadium. Sullivan West returned the favor in basketball that winter by eliminating Highland in the 2004 Section Nine semi-finals. Success over Highland continued last year with a big win over the Huskies in football and another playoff elimination of Highland in the 2005 Sectional semi-finals in basketball. Though Sullivan West is no longer a Class B rival for the Huskies, you can be sure they circled this date on their calendars.