Football

Night moves

Stoked Tri-Valley gets second straight league victory; damps Liberty’s Homecoming hopes for much-needed first win

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LIBERTY, NY — Desperate times call for desperate measures as Liberty and Tri-Valley approached their September 26 league fray with a sense of urgency as the Class C wars continued to heat up in week four.

While the Bears buried Pine Plains last weekend in a league game to start their northward turn, Liberty suffered a devastating defeat in Chester’s Enchanted Forest. Miscues and poor execution were the Indians’ undoing.

Though it was a non-league loss, Liberty missed out on a key first win prior to their Pride Weekend neighborhood brawl with Tri-Valley in a game both teams had circled on their calendars as far more than noteworthy.

The transfer of Dustin VanLieu back to Tri-Valley this fall, while his brother Ryan remained with the Indians, once augured a brother-against-brother subtext. But with Ryan’s injury against Delhi, that plot line faded, though its resonance lurked in the background.

Liberty coach Jim O’Connor reminded his players what they already knew so well: “This is your night.” Tri-Valley coach John Rusin knew that his team was heading into a potential maelstrom on Liberty’s Pride Weekend Homecoming game. The Indians were desperate for a win and a stoked home crowd would make for a hostile environment. Then the weather added its impact.

“We knew they were going to come out fired up and we just hoped to get the ball first, control the clock, move the ball well and get a score first. That was one of our main goals,” said Rusin.

Tri-Valley received to start the game and Rusin figured that the Indians would be geared for an early running attack. Instead, VanLieu, armed with a dry ball, used play action to launch a 40-yard pass to Matt Bogorad to the Indians’ 25.

Three plays later, Dan Byrne carried it six yards in for the Bears’ first strike. Logan Ackerley kicked the PAT and Liberty looked stunned to be down with only 1:35 gone in the game.

Byrne’s return to action was huge. After hurting his back in what appeared to be a possible season-ending injury against Ellenville two weeks prior, the gritty junior returned to practice this past Monday and played in this key fray with undue force. Big games call for big players and big plays. Tri-Valley evinced both by night’s end.

“I’m glad we’re injury-free and coming away with a win,” Rusin said. Tri-Valley’s stint of five straight league games continues next at home against Millbrook. “They’ve got a big running attack, which we’ll have to plan for,” said Rusin, who noted that in the first two losses of the season his team didn’t tackle well.

They’ll have to tackle well to stop Nick Finger and Darnell Cummings. The Bears are now 2-2 (2-2 OCIAA). Millbrook is 3-1 (1-1 OCIAA).

O’Connor addressed his downhearted team. “We had opportunities, but we didn’t execute well enough. Did we do some things well tonight? Yes, we did, but if we want to win ball games we’re going to have to become more aggressive. I’m proud of you guys. We still have four league games left. We’re not out of this yet, but we will be if we don’t get better,” he told his squad.

O’Connor praised Tri-Valley. “They came out stoked and hit first.” He knows that this year’s 0-4 start (0-2 OCIAA) is nothing like those in the days when Liberty was 1-17 over its first couple of seasons. “We’ve got to get that first win. That’s what’s killing us right now,” he concluded.

Stat line

Tri-Valley rushing: Dan Byrne 20/107 and a TD; Dustin VanLieu 15/36; Jesse Boncek 13/48; Matt Bogorad 5/50 with a TD and a conversion; Pete DeMilia 2/10; Bob Fiedler 1/1; total rushing 57/250; Passing: VanLieu 1/6/50 with one interception.

Liberty rushing: Brandon Tompkins 6/10 and a TD; Chris Lake 6/6; Connor Hinton 6/23; Steve Hewlett ½; Total 19/47. Passing: Chris Lake 4/14/73 with four interceptions; Tompkins 1/1/39. Total passing 5/15/112. Liberty’s total offense 153 yards.

Liberty will travel to Ellenville next week for another league fray.

Visit www.riverreportersports.com for an album of photos.

Highlights from there

Liberty’s first series featured a nine-yard pass to Jordan Merklin. A draw play to get the first down came up short and Liberty punted. The opening series was a preview of coming attractions.

The Bears advanced quickly, though an incomplete pass intended for Bobby Beale was nearly picked off by Liberty’s Ivan Rivera. Turnovers played a key role in this game. Tri-Valley picked off four of Chris Lake’s passes and recovered a fumble, winning the turnover battle 5-1.

Byrne and Jesse Boncek helped advance the chains and Matt Bogorad scored on a 22-yard run with 3:01 left in the first quarter. He then carried in the two-point conversion and the Bears now led 15-0.

Tompkins had a huge kickoff return to the Tri-Valley 35. A 28-yard pass from Lake to Merklin set up Liberty’s first score. Tompkins bulled his way into the endzone with seven seconds left in the first quarter. Nelson Saravia’s PAT failed and the score stood at 15-6.

Liberty stopped Tri-Valley’s as Rivera picked off a VanLieu pass at the one. “We shot ourselves in the foot on that one,” Rusin would later lament. The Bears didn’t get the safety but did force a punt. Tri-Valley blew another chance on an incomplete fourth down pass intended for Dan Killian.

A VanLieu interception gave Liberty one more shot in the first half but failed to score.

Lake got a first down near midfield and Tompkins broke it into Bears’ territory. On the next play Ackerley sacked Lake and the Indians had to punt.

At their own 19, the Bears ate up the clock but failed to score. The drive lasted into the start of the fourth quarter and ended with an incomplete pass intended for Brendan Moore.

Tri-Valley’s defensive end Kirk Daroci zoned in on a Lake’s passes with 11:41 to go returned it 25 yards for the score. The PAT run failed but Tri-Valley led 21-6.

A great run by Liberty’s Connor Hinton had the Liberty sideline pulling for a victory. A halfback option play had Tompkins toss a 39-yarder to Rivera and the Indians were whooping it up, but then Lake got picked off again, this time by Andrew Yager, and the air went out of the Indians’ balloon.

The Indians would get another big pass to Hinton before VanLieu would get interception number four. The classy Bears opted to not pile it on as they took a knee to run out the final seconds.