TRR photo by Richard A. Ross Sullivan West’s Nick Mootz makes headway in the second half as Ellenville’s Jacob Coutant (10) hones in for a tackle. Mootz scored two of the Bulldogs’ three TDs in the losing effort as Ellenville won the Class C championship 34-20.

Football

‘C’ change

Ellenville’s overwhelming first half shocks valiant Sullivan West

By RICHARD A. ROSS

KINGSTON, NY—Give the Devils their due.

The Ellenville Blue Devils, that is, whose stunning 34-20 Class C title win on November 8 over the previously unbeaten, state-ranked Bulldogs shocked those who expected Sullivan West to recapture the trophy it lost to Tri-Valley a year ago.

How the Blue Devils made the powerful Westies, their ninth consecutive and most sought-after victim on the way to their trident triumph, is a story unto itself.

So, too, is Sullivan West’s valiant second-half comeback attempt, another mark of character for a team perfect until this loss.

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Football

Chester wins annual Class D share wars and wrests title from Eldred

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MIDDLETOWN, NY—The best rivalries in sports live on and on. Unbounded by the demarcation of years and unaltered by changing faces, they endure with a life of their own.

In the annals of recent Section Nine football history, no rivalry has been stronger than that shared by Eldred and Chester in the anything but small world of Class D football.

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Cross Country

Stately race

By RICHARD A. ROSS

KINGS PARK, NY —Sullivan County’s top boy and girl cross-country runners made their case for statewide recognition with fine performances at the NYS Cross Country Championships held at Sunken Meadow Park on November 8.

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