Football

To everything there is a season

Dobbs Ferry, the perennial powerhouse, ends gallant Bulldog season

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MAHOPAC, NY - In the oft-quoted words from Ecclesiastes, it is noted, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun… a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance… a time to lose and a time to seek”…

After a late-season surge that catapulted Sullivan West to its third consecutive Section Nine title with an exuberant win over Tri-Valley, the Bulldogs’ season ended with a 48-18 defeat, its second consecutive first-round loss to powerful Dobbs Ferry, last year’s state runner-up and this year’s number-one ranked team in Class C.

Those two season-ending losses followed a brutal defeat to Rye in 2004 that put an end to another fine Bulldog season.

Losing can quickly erase the joys of winning, a feeling Sullivan West players, coaches and fans were just getting used to in the latter part of this season. But against Dobbs Ferry, the Dawgs ran into something they aspire one day to create, a multi-talented team steeped in the abiding belief that they are the best in their class.

On the back of the sweatshirts worn by Dobbs Ferry coaches are imprinted the words, “Tradition never graduates.” For the Dobbs Ferry Eagles, that tradition is defined by winning. Coming into the New York State Class C quarterfinal against Sullivan West, the Eagles had won an uncanny 69 of their last 72 games.

Following their victory over the Bulldogs on November 10, those numbers now read 70 out of 73 and counting. But extending their unbeaten season to a mark of 10-0 did not satisfy the Eagles, whose 2005 record of 11-1 record and finish as the state runner-up to Section Four’s Sydney simply didn’t cut it.

Unlike Dobbs Ferry that fully expected to win this game, Sullivan West, which suffered a crushing 26-0 defeat to the Eagles in last year’s first- round game, only hoped to be victorious. The Bulldogs looked to marshal their battered forces and pull off the kind of upset that Rutgers had stunned the college football world with the night before with their come-from-behind upset over third-ranked Louisville.

Riding a four-game winning streak that had yielded them league and sectional titles, the Bulldogs had paid a heavy price with a spate of injuries and the loss of dynamic receiver Brad Reimer. But tough players like seniors Bryan Schmidt and Matt Swendsen, who still bore injuries from the recent frays, laced up their cleats in a valiant attempt to extend their high school careers and their team’s season.

With little time to heal after the tough title game against Tri-Valley, the Bulldogs were looking to deliver a knockout punch against heavily favored Dobbs Ferry, which would require flawless execution, unrelenting desire and a lion’s share of luck.

But with the loss of star tight end Justin Alsdorf on the third play, and two quick touchdowns of 18 yards and 70 yards by the game’s offensive MVP Eagle Frank Scattaretico, the Bulldogs were immediately in a 15-0 hole.

Alsdorf, one of the hardest working players on the team, sat morosely on the sideline, nursing a knee that had been rent asunder on a hit far away from the play on the other side of the field.

Only 11 days prior, he had celebrated his 17th birthday with an acceptance from Maritime College where he hopes to play football. Now immobilized and powerless to help his team, Alsdorf refused to leave the sideline, determined to provide moral support for his buddies who faced a team that was ravenously hungry to get back to the state final.

That hunger to reach the Carrier Dome, to finish what they hadn’t accomplished last year, was very much on the mind of Dobbs Ferry first-year head coach Chris Wagner, his staff and young speedy team as they entered this year’s rematch with the Bulldogs.

Wagner and his staff had attended two Sullivan West games and diligently broken down the film. That preparation enabled the Eagles coaches to correctly anticipate the play each time the Bulldogs came to the line of scrimmage. Dobbs Ferry shut down Sullivan West in the first half, limiting them to 11 rushing yards and six points scored on a last second 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jim Moloney to John Figueroa.

Dobbs Ferry added to its 15-0 lead with a six-yard touchdown run by Matt Higbie, a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown by Kadeem Scott and a 53-yard touchdown run by Robert Alexander. With PATs by Matt Goldweber, the Eagles headed into halftime with a 35-6 lead.

Coming into the game, Wagner hoped to combine his 31 years of prior coaching experience with all he had absorbed from the extraordinary winning tradition begun by Dobbs Ferry legend Skip Violante and Violante’s successor, Jim Mackenzie, who died last spring.

It was a tough defeat for the Bulldogs, who had only a few days to soak in the afterglow of success following their stalwart Section Nine title win over Tri-Valley. After suffering the loss of yet another player in John Lynch to a damaged ankle early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs recharged themselves at halftime and resolved to play with more intensity.

Dobbs Ferry was mistaken if they thought these Dawgs had no bite left. In the second half, the Dawgs did what no other team has done to Dobbs Ferry: they scored twice with a pair of touchdown passes of 51 and 15 yards from quarterback Jim Moloney to Jason Leewe. The Eagles had recorded five shutouts this season and never yielded more than one score in any of their games, yielding only 32 points to opponents in nine games. It was the first time a Section Nine team had even scored on Dobbs Ferry in the last five years.

While the Eagles were held down in the second half by a revitalized Sullivan West squad, they were not shut out. They tallied on a three-yard run by Devonte Brailsford. His six-yard carry set up his touchdown run. That made it 42-6 with 9:53 left in the third quarter after Goldweber’s PAT sailed through the uprights.

A 52-yard run by Scattaretico made it 48-12 at the start of the fourth quarter, followed by the first of Moloney’s two second-half touchdown heaves.

While Moloney did strike gold on three of his tosses, he was intercepted by Scott and Trevor Saunders. He was also sacked several times but got back up. Though he is slight of built, he is stout of heart.

Chris Scaperrotta picked off a fullback option pass thrown by Leewe in the third quarter.

Moloney hit Leewe with his final touchdown pass with just 21 seconds remaining in the game.

Sullivan West coach Ron Bauer told his team, “I’ll take the blame for the first half. We didn’t play tough enough, but you guys played much better in the second half.”

“You young guys will get your turn, but you need to start hitting those weights,” he told them. “I’ll be in the school at 6:00 a.m. and you guys should start within a month.” Looking back over the season, Bauer said, “I’m really proud of you. You came a lot further than expected.”

Wagner emphasized the power of a winning tradition at Dobbs Ferry. “These kids have had brothers and other family members who played for this team. Many of these players have looked forward to playing for this team since they were little kids. They see the tradition of excellence and they want to be a part of it. This team is all business once the season starts. They are focused and very serious.”

Wagner, who came to Dobbs Ferry most recently from Westhill, CT, is thankful for the opportunity and grateful for the help of the people who formerly steered this fine team.

Team captain Ryan Fleming was named the Defensive MVP of the game.

Stat Line:

Dobbs Ferry total passing: four-for-four or 182 yards, including quarterback Tim Gardner’s three-for-three for 164 yards and three TDs. Trevor Saunders was one-for-one for 18 yards

Sullivan West passing: Moloney, seven-for-20 for 124 yards with three TDs and two interceptions.

Dobbs Ferry receiving: Frank Scattaretico, three-for-three TD catches for 182 yards.

Sullivan West receiving: Leewe, two catches for 66 yards and two TDs; Jon Figueroa, one TD catch for 43 yards; Donald Cooper, three-for-14 yards.

Dobbs Ferry total rushing: 32 carries for 217 yards. Devonte Brailsford was the Eagles’ leading rusher with eight carries for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Sullivan West rushing: 23 carries for 26 yards. Will Schlott had five carries for 14 yards.

Sullivan West finishes its season at 6-5. Coach Ron Bauer nailed down his Section Nine leading 11th title this year with the Class C win over Tri-Valley.

Dobbs Ferry (10-0) will take on Section Seven’s Ausable Valley at noon on November 18 at Dietz Stadium.