Football

C-D burner

Class C Sullivan West lights up Class D Eldred in non-league neighboring schools mismatch

By RICHARD A. ROSS

ELDRED, NY — Ever since David slew Goliath, people have yearned for an instant replay. Little guy beats big guy in dramatic fashion. The allure never gets old.

It also hardly ever happens.

As such, a hoped for headline-grabbing upset was not in the cards for Class D Eldred as it fell to Class C behemoth Sullivan West 48-19 on October 11. It was a rarely played football tilt between the neighboring school districts.

What impelled schedule makers to conjure up this match defies explanation. Although each school has enjoyed great success in its own class over recent years, their disparate size difference puts them in different ponds and that is exactly where they should swim.

Years ago, schools played others in their region regardless of size. Every once in a while, a small fish would gobble up a big one, much to the delight of fans who harbor great fondness for any underdog.

In 1954, tiny Milan High School with its 161 students, 75 of which were boys, pulled off a stunning 32-30 upset over powerful Muncie Central in the Indiana State Basketball Finals. Mayhem reigned supreme at the Butler Fieldhouse that day and 32 years later the movie “Hoosiers” drew record audiences to watch an entertaining adaptation of Milan’s storied run. In the movie, the underdog team was dubbed Hickory, not Milan.

This year’s ascension of perennial doormat Tampa Bay to the American League Championship Series carries with it fervent hopes for a sports enactment of “The Mouse that Roared.”

Such hope dies hard.

So, perhaps, for some Eldred fans, who lined the hill, just such a notion of an upset might have whispered alluringly to their imaginations, although their logic would certainly have dictated otherwise. And, undoubtedly, those hopes rose as Eldred held Sullivan West on its first possession. But after that first noble stand, the Yellow Jackets found it impossible to contain the air and ground attack, which Sullivan West has been unleashing on all comers this fall.

Make no mistake: Eldred is for real.

The Yellow Jackets will be quick to shake off this loss to its larger neighbor as it steels itself for its real agenda, a division deciding game at Chester on October 17.

But on this day, the team had all it could handle.

Eldred seemed bound and determined to deploy squib kicks in the hope of recovering one and riding that achievement to a quick score. Although it never came to pass, Eldred persisted in trying.

On the opening kickoff booter, Bobby Warden, who is one of the better kickers in the county, was called upon to send a short one skittering through the Westies.

Sullivan West’s Mark Schwartz recovered it and the Dawgs got a short field, starting at their own 36.

Sullivan West’s first series faltered and a short punt gave Eldred good field position at its own 41. With Cody Conklin’s 14-yard advance, the Jackets’ offense improved its lot, but the tough Bulldog defense stiffened and, on fourth down, a sack by Gabe Lagrutta gave the Bulldogs the ball back on their own 38.

On a third and nine, quarterback Brad Reimer scampered 12 yards to the 26. A subsequent roll out netted eight more. Having had enough of such prelims, Reimer ran the final 17 for his first touchdown at 6:44 of the first quarter. Artie Norden booted the PAT and the Dawgs led 7-0.

In his first kickoff return, Eldred’s Ian Halloran dodged and wove his way to the SW 45. Each team was called for a penalty on the return. After marking off yardage, Eldred began, instead, at its own 30.

Sullivan West soon found out that it was flag day, not nearly Columbus Day, as it was called for encroachment. After Nick Mootz stopped Joey Counts in his tracks and Mark Tesseyman did the same to Conklin, Eldred punted.

Reimer opened the next series with a 10-yard pass to Dan Figueroa, a tune up for the 65 yarder he heaved to him for the Dawgs’ second score. Norden’s PAT made it 14-0 with 2:33 to go in the first.

Sullivan West’s defense greeted Eldred ball carriers in gang-tackling fashion. After QB Bryan Henry was hit by Mike Schmidt, Henry missed on a screen pass intended for Christian Martinez.

A punt put Sullivan West at midfield. A completion to Austin Erlwein was called back on a block in the back, as the officials continued to salute the flag. Another Reimer completion to Erlwein was nixed as officials ruled an illegal man downfield. On the next play, Reimer threw a 30-yard TD to Erlwein, 11 seconds into the second quarter. Norden made it three for three and the Dawgs led 21-0.

At the outset, Eldred coach Frank Kean had made it clear that if the game got one-sided he was going to play his junior varsity kids and save his varsity troops for Chester. This past week, Eldred’s jayvee, which has a fair number of varsity players as well, beat SW’s jayvee 8-0.

Halloran had a fine return to the SW 46 and Henry’s advance was helped by a facemask penalty against the West-enders. After Martinez broke through the middle to the five, Henry ran it in from there at 9:50 to make it 21-7 after Warden’s PAT.

That was seven more than Chester managed last week against the Bulldogs.

Another squib kick made Sullivan West’s work easier. A block in the back didn’t. On the next play, Reimer, who could have fiddled while Rome burned, sent a “Hail Mary” aloft that was hauled in by Erlwein at the Eldred 25. Two plays later, Mootz carried it in from the 12 to make it 28-7 with Norden’s PAT at 8:30.

Halloran ran it back and Henry uncorked a pass to a wide-open Charles Wolff, who ran to the Westies’ 22. A facemask penalty on the Bulldogs put Eldred at the 11. Two plays later, Henry ran it in from the one to make it 28-13. His pass to Counts for the conversion was incomplete.

Another squib kick was recovered by Schwartz at the Eldred 46. Offensive coordinator Kurt Buddenhagen called a post-rail pattern for Norden, who hauled in a 54-yard Reimer strike to make it 35-13 after he punctuated it with a PAT at 6:05.

Jeremy DeGori’s onsides kick didn’t go 10 yards, but Eldred went three and out. On the first play of the series, Eldred tacklers, who had been overrunning some of Sullivan West’s plays, had Nick Mootz stopped cold, but he broke loose on a great second effort for nine yards. Kean fumed at his team’s poor tackling.

Reimer completed a pass to Figueroa to the Eldred 35 and then again on a crossing pattern to the six. Reimer ran it in from there to make it 42-13 with Norden’s PAT with 1:33 remaining in the half.

Kean, visibly miffed by the burgeoning score, inserted freshman QB Jordan Tice. Bauer countered with sophomore Ryan Alsdorf. Each team gave its youngsters playing time in the second half.

Each team scored a TD in the fourth quarter. Rabii broke loose on a 62-yard run for the Dawgs with 2:45 remaining, shortly after Chris Murphy intercepted a pass by Tice. The Bulldogs led 48-13.

Wolff galloped 51 yards, setting up a one-yard TD by Shawn Berger to make it 48-19 as the PAT failed.

Sullivan West improved to 6-0, while Eldred fell to 3-2. Reimer’s five TDs (two rushing and three throwing) gave him 30 points on the day. Millbrook’s Nick Finger had only six in the Blazers’ 52-7 loss to Ellenvillle. Finger leads Section Nine with 124 points. Reimer closed the gap with 108.

Eldred will watch film of Chester’s 50-12 league win over LMR and review this game to prepare for Friday’s key division fray with the Hambletonians.

Sullivan West will travel to Spackenkill on October 17 for a league game.

Visit riverreportersports.com for more stats, details and an album of photos from the game.