Excellence extolled

Words of praise, gratitude and respect at football banquet define Sullivan West’s

sterling season

By RICHARD A. ROSS

CALLICOON, NY—“We did it with style, skills, respectfulness and most of all, we did it with dignity,” said senior Nick Mootz in his moving message of gratitude at the Sullivan West football banquet put on by the Gridiron Club at Villa Roma on December 7.

Mootz credited the fans, coaches, fellow players and the community, whose united efforts and energy created what the young cancer survivor referred to as a “family.” It was that bond of cohesion that gave rise to Sullivan West’s undefeated regular season and a commanding playoff win over Tri-Valley.

Mootz paid particular homage to head coach Ron Bauer, whom he described as a “fine coach and a fine man.” The stalwart athlete recalled Bauer’s reference to him at the fall sports awards as an inspiration to the team. “You were my inspiration,” said Mootz addressing Bauer. “You coached some of our fathers, and now you’ve coached me on the field and in life and I’m honored,” said Mootz.

Though the season, which the team hoped would see them go all the way, ended in a heart-rending yet valiant comeback effort against Ellenville in the Class C title game, looking back on all that happened, one can appreciate the indescribable effort that produced a rags-to-riches story.

Assistant coach Norm Bauer recalled how his first look at the team in August left him shaking his head and wondering if it had what it took to be successful. Bauer, who played college ball at Division III Wesley College and played fullback and linebacker for the Albany Conquest of the Arena Football League, recounted how the team worked relentlessly to marshal the requisites for success described by the legendary Lou Holtz, the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and the only coach to guide four different programs to the final top 20 rankings.

“It takes a lot to go undefeated and win a championship. It takes more than a great team, great coaches and a great program. It takes a little luck,” said Holtz recently.

But Bauer told the team early on that he didn’t believe in luck. “You have to make your own luck and for 99 percent of this season, you did just that.” Bauer knew that the team that stepped off the field at the end of the Ellenville game, a team that filled his heart with pride and his eyes with tears, had come far from those early rag-tag days of training camp. In his remarks, he cited every player and spoke about what he felt they had accomplished and what they still could achieve.

Bauer summed up the team’s hopes. “We wanted to get to states and we came a long way.” Bauer went on to note that having three linemen injured prior to the Ellenville game was a bad break. “That whole first half they took it to us,” he recalled. That said with over 700 teams beginning their quest in early autumn, to be one of the few playing for a title shows grit and resiliency.

“I was extremely proud,” said Bauer, who lauded players’ courage and skills. Bauer urged his young charges to “make the right decisions,” noting that making the wrong ones would make the hill much harder to climb. He challenged returning players to show determination in their off-season weight training. Bauer referenced next year’s team that will no doubt miss the fine play of seniors Brad Reimer, Mootz, Dan Figueroa, John Whittaker, Chris Wagner, Tyler Wagner, Vaughn Schlott and Mike Pomes. “You never have a down year. On any given day, if you want it more than the next guy, you’ll win. This year you wanted it more nine out of ten times.” He reminded parents to help their kids stay on track, and closed by thanking his fellow coaches Ron Bauer, Anthony Durkin and Kurt Buddenhagen, the parents, the press and, of course, the players.

Bauer called up those players chosen by Section Nine as Class C All-Stars: Reimer, Figueroa, Mootz, Mark Tesseyman and Whittaker as first team All-Stars; Tyler Wagner, who was hurt and missed the last few games, was accorded Honorable Mention, as were Austin Erlwein and Chris Wagner.

Reimer was Offensive Player of the Game in the Tri-Valley playoff and was named to the All-Section Nine team. He passed for 1300 yards and scored 39 TDs. To Bauer, he said, “You were a great leader. You took those knocks and bounced back.” Reimer noted that in life, it’s important to bounce back from adversity. Figueroa was the Defensive Player of the Game in the Class C title game. Bauer referenced him as one of the top receivers in Section Nine. Austin Erlwein received an award as the team’s Most Improved Player. Tesseyman was the Defensive Player of the game versus Tri-Valley. Chris Wagner led the team in sacks. Tyler Wagner was a great linebacker and Bauer felt that had he been able to play, the outcome against Ellenville might have been different.

Outgoing Gridiron president Bonnie Schlott thanked all of the coaches, parents and players for their support. The club gave T-shirts and gifts to all of the players and coaches as well as some others who had lucky numbers in a raffle drawing. Schlott and the Gridiron Club have done a remarkable job in supporting the efforts of the team, proving again the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

Visit riverreportersports.com for an album of photos from the dinner.