Dawgs’ hard hitting haunts Huskies

Bulldogs build reputation as heavy hitters

By RICHARD A. ROSS

HIGHLAND, NY — With hit after hit and tackle after tackle, Sullivan West is recreating itself in it own image. While not yet on the level of last year’s inimitable doomsday defense, the Bulldogs are quickly emerging as a force to be reckoned with. After getting steamrolled in the season opener against Delhi, Sullivan West reincarnated into a team that takes it to its opponents with unequaled force.

The September 23 game between Class C Sullivan West and Class B Highland had a sense of urgency. Highland was coming off of two tough losses—an overtime 20-13 heartbreaker to Red Hook and a one- point loss to O’Neill. For their part, the Bulldogs played their best game of the year last week against Walton and lost by two points in a game they felt they actually won. Both teams were 1-2 coming into this fray.

Highland received the opening kickoff, but the Bulldogs’ hard hitting, which shocked Walton, soon shook Highland. On the second play from scrimmage, the Huskies fumbled the ball and Sullivan West’s Brian Hubbert recovered it at the Huskies’ 28. But a quick Bulldog score was not in the cards. After reviewing videotape of the Sullivan West-Walton game, Highland was well prepared for Sullivan West’s use of the shotgun, a formation which the Bulldogs unveiled in that game. Instead of going to straight-man coverage, they used a defender underneath and help on either side.

Consequently, Dawgs’ quarterback Jim Moloney struggled early on to find an open receiver in the tight coverage. After losing yardage on a run, the Bulldogs punted. Highland fumbled again on its second possession but recovered the ball. Tough Bulldog defense forced a three and out.

The first half featured a back-and-forth-defensive effort by both teams. Highland squandered big scoring opportunities when Sullivan West’s secondary coverage lapsed, but Huskies dropped long key passes that would have resulted in scores.

For its part, Sullivan West seemed inclined to shoot itself in the foot with penalties. As the first quarter wound down, the Bulldogs had a first and 10 at the Highland 15. A penalty for 12 men on the field and another flag thrown for a chop block pushed them back to the 42.

The second quarter continued in similar fashion. Highland could not move the ball, and Sullivan West’s passing attack faltered on long-yardage situations. Then Sullivan West made the adjustment to move away from the shotgun and to deploy a power I formation. It was a good move as Steve Daley began to make headway as the Bulldogs discovered they could run up the middle.

Meanwhile Bulldog punter Brett Youmans got off great kick-after-great-kick, pinning the Huskies deep in their own territory. Another Highland fumble actually gave the Huskies a first down as the ball was advanced on the recovery. On the very next play, quarterback Ryan Devoe nearly connected with David Baker on a potential touchdown strike. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the ball was dropped. Highland was soon to lose Baker, who suffered a sprained thumb. Highland coach Carl Relyea noticed that Brown was carrying the ball in his left hand and Matt Prince replaced him. After failing to connect with Baker, the Huskies punted and Sullivan West went to work.

Daley ripped off an 11-yard run, followed with a nine-yard trek. Great second and third efforts by Yeomans got the ball to the nine. The key play of the game followed suit. With the ball at the one-yard line, Highland appeared to strip the ball from Moloney for a key turnover, but Moloney was whistled downed by contact. With a third and three Daley took the ball in and Sullivan West led 6-0 with 18.4 seconds left in the half. Yeoman’s PAT was wide right.

The second half bore an eerie resemblance to the first half for the first two series. Sullivan West did get a first down on its initial series but ended up punting. Then Highland suffered a case of déjà vu when Prince fumbled the ball over to the Bulldogs. That golden opportunity was nearly squandered by a Bulldog motion penalty. Going back to the shotgun, Moloney threw a 20-yard pass in traffic to wide receiver Paul Pitz, who hauled in the ball with two men on him. It was a huge play that brought the ball to the Highland eight. After a couple of short runs, the Bulldogs were facing a fourth and goal at the four. Coach Ron Bauer called a timeout, and a number of Bulldog fans avidly screamed for a field goal attempt.

To his credit, Bauer, who has often been characterized as too conservative, decided to go for the touchdown. Youmans rumbled in and Sullivan West took a 13-0 with Yeoman’s PAT splitting the uprights.

On the Huskies’ next possession, Highland got a huge reception from M.J. Pampanella, who took the ball to the Sullivan West 40. But the Bulldogs defense came up big. Pitz intercepted Devoe’s next pass giving the Bulldogs the ball on their own 40. Pitz, who was on his way to becoming this writer’s choice for game MVP, hauled in another Moloney 20-yarder and the Dawgs were on the march again. Daley advanced on a draw play and a barreling run by Jim Erlwein got a first down at the Huskies’ 15. Still not mistake-free, the Bulldogs incurred a holding penalty that took them back to the 25. Undaunted by the setback, Erlwein made a great reception on a swing pass and rambled forward. Yeomans got it to the eleven, when another powerful run by Erlwein advanced the ball to the two. Erlwein scored on a dive play and Sullivan West led 20-0 with 11:30 left in the game.

Highlands’ lone score was set up by a nice run by Romaine Simons. A tremendous sack of Devoe by Erwein was countered by a big 30-yard jaunt by Devoe on a bootleg. The Huskies scored on a dive play by Prince with 6:34 left in the game. That 20-7 score stood up the rest of the way, advancing Sullivan West to a 2-2 record as Highland fell to 1-3.

“We had a couple of big plays in the first half and we didn’t capitalize on them,” said Huskies coach Relyea. “We had wide-open receivers and should have scored. On that crucial play at the one, we were 10 yards down the field when the whistle blew the play dead,” he said, referring to the stripped ball in which the officials ruled Sullivan West to still be in possession of the ball.

“We played them well when they were in the shotgun. We saw how Walton tried to play them man-to-man and we went to some help underneath and to the outside. Pitz made a heck of a catch with two defenders on him. Once they went to their power running attack, they began to wear us down,” Relyea said. “We’ll be ready for next week. It’s Highland versus Marlboro and that rivalry means it doesn’t matter what happened the week before.”

Bauer noted, “We played great defense and caused a lot of fumbles. We made a couple of mistakes in the secondary when we didn’t cover well, but Erlwein, Yeomans and Daley really helped us on offense. They block really well for one another and Pitz had a tremendous game.”

Sullivan West stats: Erlwein had seven carries for 18 yards; Daley had 19 carries for 82 yards; Yeomans had 8 carries for 32 yards; Will Schlott had 1 carry for 5 yards; Jason Leewe had 2 carries for ten yards; and Moloney had 4 carries for 5 yards. Pitz made 2 catches for 40 yards; Yeomans hauled in 4 catches for 42 yards; and Erlwein made 4 catches for 76 yards. Moloney completed 10 out of 19 passes for 158 yards. On defense, Erlwein had two sacks and six assists. Hubbert recorded 10 assists, two fumble recoveries and one sack.

Sullivan West will travel to Millbrook next weekend.