Football

It’s a dog eat Dawg world again

Delhi demolishes Sullivan West in battle of the Bulldogs for second straight year

By RICHARD A. ROSS

DELHI, NY - History repeated itself at the Sullivan West season opener against their namesakes, the Delhi Bulldogs. It wasn’t quite as bad as last year’s 62-6 lashing, but this year’s 58-13 loss to Delhi was a severe wake up call.

Sullivan West coaches and players can only hope that the team’s woeful performance arouses the kind of passion that fueled a dramatic turnaround that ended in a Section 9 Class C title last year.

Though Delhi has now dropped down to Class D by virtue of its diminishing numbers, the Bulldogs of Delaware Academy loom large in every other aspect. After losing only two games in 2005, both to eventual champion Sidney, Delhi returned 13 seniors and eight juniors to this year’s fray, including dominant running backs Nate Rockefeller and Brenton Hood, and quarterback Pat O’Connell. Rockefeller and Hood accounted for over 2,000 yards on the ground last season, with an average of over seven yards per carry.

Even Sullivan West’s 2005 menacing tacklers like Brian Hubbert, Jim Erlwein and Steve Daley had trouble containing Delhi’s running attack. This year, with that trio now gone, Delhi ran wild against Sullivan West’s defense.

Delhi punished Sullivan West on both sides of the ball, blowing the Westies off the line of scrimmage and opening up cavernous holes for their running backs to dash through.

Nothing fancy, Delhi used the same plays over and over to spring Rockefeller, who carried 22 times for 192 yards, and Hood, who toted the pigskin 16 times for 133 yards.

Other Delhi backs got into the act and added yardage to the onslaught.

Sullivan West’s offense was totally immobilized. The Westies didn’t have a first down in the first half and only managed to move the ball against Delhi’s second string.

Delhi scored on its first possession after forcing their counterparts to go three and out. Rockefeller and Hood ripped off chunks of yardage in a drive that began on the Sullivan West 45 and ended with a one-yard plunge by Rockefeller at 7:32 of the first quarter. An option pitch to Chad Rockefeller gave them the two-point conversion and Delhi took an 8-0 lead.

The scenario repeated itself again and again. Sullivan West got negligible yardage and Delhi took over and rode the two backs to paydirt. Rockefeller had his second TD on an eight-yard romp as the first quarter ended. Chad Rockefeller got the pitch on the same option conversion and Delhi led 16-0 with 11:13 to go in the first half.

Sullivan West’s offensive series were abruptly cut short by Delhi’s swarming defense. Hood ran for a 21-yard score with 10:31 to go in the first half and for the third straight time, Chad Rockefeller got the pitch for two points as Delhi surged to a 24-0 lead at the half. It might have been more, but Sullivan West’s Brad Reimer intercepted a pass from quarterback Pat O’Connell to contain the damage.

Delhi received to start the second half and had their worst field position at their own 18 after an illegal block on the return. No matter. It only took six plays, ending with a 50-yard gallop by Nate Rockefeller, to push the score to 30-0. The option pitch was fumbled on the conversion attempt. Rockefeller added his third touchdown on Delhi’s next series on a 10-yard run. The conversion failed again and Delhi led 36-0 with 4:53 to go in the third quarter.

Failing to move the ball on the ground or on third-down passing attempts, Bulldog quarterback Jim Moloney showed his prowess as he completed a pair of 30-yard passes to John Figueroa and Donald Cooper to get the ball down to the Delhi three. Will Schlott scored on a two-yard dive and Moloney kicked the PAT to get the Dawgs on the board with 4:19 to go in the third quarter.

For Sullivan West, it was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dull afternoon.

Delhi now led 36-7. The Dawgs tried an onside kick, but Moloney only booted the ball five yards. Delhi took over with a short field. Four plays later, Delhi scored on a two-yard run by James Card and used the same conversion play to Chad Rockefeller to take a 44-7 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Chad Rockefeller’s 10-yard TD made it 52-7 with the two-point conversion.

Reimer fumbled the kickoff on the two and Delhi immediately capitalized with their final score, a two-yard run by Trent Kathmann. The Bulldogs stuffed the extra-point run.

The Bulldogs managed a second scoring strike with nice runs by Schlott and Dan Figueroa. Moloney completed a pass to Figueroa at the eight and hit Reimer on a slant to make it 58-13. Dan Figueroa broke loose on the final play of the game and was heading for the goal line when he was shoved out of bounds as time expired.

To the great chagrin of the Sullivan West coaches, the fundamentals of blocking and running pass routes looked hopelessly inept. The Westies lacked any fire and Delhi easily rolled over them. This week’s practice is apt to be grueling.

Next week, Delhi (1-0) travels to Tri-Valley (1-0). The Bears downed Ellenville 31-0 in their season opener in Grahamsville. Sullivan West will host Walton under the lights in Lake Huntington on September 8. Walton lost to Unatego 30-8 on September 1.

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of game photos.