Football

Hallow-win

Unbeaten Sullivan West advances to championship with overwhelming playoff win over Tri-Valley

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MIDDLETOWN, NY — Reigning Class C champion Tri-Valley hoped to play a Halloween trick by upsetting unbeaten Sullivan West in a Class C playoff on October 31.

But the Bulldogs reached into their grab bag of football skills, speed and nearly flawless execution and emerged with the treat of paying back the Bears, who beat them in 2007.

Transforming the tantalizing beauty of Faller Field into a ghastly scene for their staging of fright night, the Bulldogs unleashed big play after big play against the banged up Bears, who lost quarterback Dustin VanLieu to a re-injured ankle at the worst possible time. The Westies were even more overpowering than they were a week prior when they beat the Bears 34-0.

The win by the Carolina Blue juggernaut was a prerequisite to its mission of reclaiming the Class C title, its third crown in the past four years. Sullivan West now seeks to complete a bookends season that began with a 41-19 win over Ellenville, with a final win over the impressive Blue Devils, who crushed Millbrook 56-13 in the other semifinal.

When it comes to football weaponry, Sullivan West is loaded beyond measure. With Brad Reimer at quarterback, the Dawgs have one of Section Nine’s elite players. But Tri-Valley believed it had seen enough of Reimer and the spread offense last week to scheme against them.

Studying for a test is one thing; passing it is another.

Reimer would break loose for three first-half running touchdowns in this fray and by the time he exited in the third quarter, he’d have thrown for another. Sullivan West got explosive running from Dan Figueroa, who returned a Weston Currey kickoff 79 yards for a TD, and hard-hitting running from Nick Mootz, who scored on two jaunty runs.

The Bears won the toss and elected to receive. Their agenda: ball control and extended scoring drives aimed at keeping Reimer and that lethal offense off the field.

With VanLieu back at QB, the Bears hoped they could do just that. Turnovers had plagued the champs of late so they vowed to take better care of the ball. That said, the Bears fumbled on the opening kickoff but recovered it. It was an ominous sign.

The Bulldogs’ defense hit hard and the Bears’ first series ended with a punt. The Westerners got it at their own 45 and Figueroa ran for a couple of needed first downs. Reimer helped with a gallop to the sidelines. Following a big Mootz carry, Reimer juked left and right, dusting off would-be tacklers for a 16-yard score at 5:58. Artie Norden’s PAT was blocked by Pete DeMilia but the Dawgs had the early 6-0 lead.

The Bears parlayed a fourth-down option pitch into Bulldog territory. After an incomplete pass to Brendan Moore, VanLieu fumbled but recovered. An offsides penalty and a rapacious Sullivan West defense ended this Bears’ drive, too.

The Bears got to Reimer a couple of times, but a 38-yard run by Mootz made it 12-0 at 2:14 of the first quarter as the two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Bears needed a score. As Dan Byrne took a pitch from VanLieu and galloped to the SW 29, the first quarter ended.

Three plays later, DeMilia ran it in from the 16 and the game tightened at 12-6 as the PAT sailed wide left. That Bears’ scoring drive was hard-won and showed grit.

But Tri-Valley’s joy was short-lived, as Figueroa broke through on the ensuing kickoff for a 79-yard score. An incomplete pass on the conversion left the score at 18-6, but you could already sense the outcome.

Norden’s kickoff carried to the 22 and the Dawgs’ defense became even more menacing.

After the Bears went three and out, Andrew Yager recovered a rare Reimer fumble. Then, VanLieu fumbled it back and Chris Wagner recovered it. Mootz electrified Bulldog fans with a 60-yard jaunt to make it 24-6 at 4:58 of the second quarter.

Norden’s PAT went through and the score burgeoned to 25-6.

It was beginning to feel like Prom Night for Sullivan West, while it was more akin to Friday the 13th, not the 31st, for the Bears.

Despite the Herculean efforts of running backs Jesse Boncek, Byrne, DeMilia and Matt Bogorad, the Bears couldn’t get on track. To make matters worse, VanLieu went down with an ankle injury and Brendan Moore had to take over at QB.

A flanker screen got Figueroa to the Bears’ 25. Reimer danced his way into the end zone with a 25-yard sidestep at 2:58. Figueroa plunged in for the conversion. The Dawgs led 33-6 at the half, as Tri-Valley ran out of time trying to get a score.

The Dawgs received to start the second half but neither team scored on its first series. Getting the ball at the 50 following a punt, the Dawgs made short work of the beautiful turf as Reimer hid Eric Leewe with a 30-yard pass and Norden’s PAT made it 40-6 at 4:45 of the third quarter.

That would be it for Reimer on offense. His incredible day, which featured 124 yards on just eight carries in addition to the scoring, won him the game’s Offensive MVP plaque. Ryan Alsdorf would come on along with a host of other second stringers for the remainder of Bulldogs’ offensive downs.

Mark Tesseyman, on his way toward earning the Defensive MVP plaque, picked up a fumble by Byrne. Alsdorf showed his running jukes before Mootz ran it in from the six to make it 46-6 at 2:47.

That would be it for the scoring.

A downcast Tri-Valley team huddled with coach John Rusin at the far corner of the field. Ending at 4-5, especially in this fashion, was not what they had envisioned.

“You have to play a pretty perfect football game to beat a team like that. They’re very well-rounded, they have a lot of weapons and they are extremely well-coached and well-disciplined. We did not tackle well enough today or control the clock the way we wanted to. When Dustin went down, that hurt us. Give Sullivan West credit. They had a big day today,” said Rusin, who agreed that Figueroa’s kickoff return was a huge turning point, as were fumbles.

Rusin noted that despite the loss of so many talented players to graduation last year, this year’s crew found a way to the playoffs.

Sullivan West coach Ron Bauer chalked up the victory to a number of big plays and the fact that his defense really rose to the occasion.

Sullivan West is now 9-0. The Bulldogs will play Ellenville for the Class C title at 3:00 p.m. at Dietz Stadium on November 8.

Visit riverreportersports.com for more details from this game and an album of photos.