Sports spotlight

By RICHARD A. ROSS

Stats, records and milestones

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — In a colossal David and Goliath tale, tiny Class D Eldred’s boys vanquished four larger county school teams in a cross-country meet at Liberty on September 22. With no dual meets scheduled this season against schools of its size, Eldred did what many, including this writer, deemed unlikely: knocked off teams from schools that dwarf it in numbers.

In another remarkable feat, Liberty’s girls defeated John S. Burke 3-2 in soccer for their first win over the Lady Eagles in 11 years. Liberty got two goals from Selena Vargas and one from Nicole Snyder. In another stunning effort, they tied S.S. Seward 0-0. Liberty’s record is now 3-1-2.

Another story in girls soccer was Sullivan West’s 3-2 win over powerful James I. O’Neill, with goals from Gabby Humlkeker, Katrina Graby and Angela DiSanto. The win propelled the Ladies of the West to the top of Division IV. The Lady Bulldogs (5-2) were ranked 14th among Class B teams in the state by the New York State Sportswriters Association as of September 22. Tri-Valley (6-2) was ranked ninth in Class C prior to their 2-0 loss to S.S. Seward.

Sullivan West’s football team suffered its first loss of the season to unbeaten Ellenville by the score of 22-12. Four SW turnovers spelled the difference in a game that was a rematch of last year’s championship, won by Ellenville 34-20. Eldred smashed Class C visitor Spackenkill 40-21 to remain undefeated at 4-0. Meanwhile, Liberty got its first win of the season, downing Tri-Valley 41-6 behind a big night from Brandon Tompkins.

Boys soccer

Liberty (4-2-2) downed Tri-Valley (1-5) by the score of 3-1 with two goals from Ryan Harnish and one from Ben Grisafe. Later in the week, the Indians lost to S.S. Seward 5-1 and slipped to 4-3-2.

Football stat leaders: Eldred’s Ian Halloran is second among Section 9 rushers with 52/553 with eight touchdowns. LMR’s Troy Correa is third with 37/532 and five TDs. Sullivan West’s Ryan Alsdorf tops Section Nine in scoring with 60 points (ten TDs).