LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — Riveting, heart-stopping and monumental. Those three words chosen from this writer’s extensive lexicon of adjectives aptly sum up Sullivan West’s 20-12 league win over rival Millbrook on October 4. Indeed, the story I penned on www.sportsinsightsny.com, entitled “May the Fourth Be with You,” references not just the date, but also the fact that the Bulldogs, who trailed 12-0 at the half to the mighty Blazers, a team that pummeled them 51-14 a year ago, rallied on fourth down with 40.4 seconds remaining in the game to pull off the epic victory.

In that hallowed moment, senior quarterback Richard Shevak found fellow senior Brian Stauch on a square out route and connected with him for the winning touchdown. Ronj Padu’s two-point conversion run and Stauch’s second interception of the night, which came on a Millbrook desperation Hail Mary pass, cemented the iconic victory for the 5-0 (1-0 ) Bulldogs who now need just one more win over either Tri-Valley or Liberty to reach the Section IX Class C title game. There, at Dietz Stadium on November 8, if I don’t miss my guess, they’re apt to find Millbrook for the rematch that will have far greater resonance than this regular-season fray. For the Bulldogs, who won by a forfeit the week before (after Rensselaer pulled out due to the loss of their quarterback against Cambridge), this game loomed immensely large. But in the first half, it seemed as if Millbrook was more attuned to the mission of asserting its supremacy. The Blazers dominated the first six minutes with an offensive drive that netted their first score and added another just before the half via runs from senior Michael DoCarmo and the fleet feet of sophomore Delvin Wood. And the Dawgs? They never advanced the ball across midfield. That said, their stalwart defense, which would by night’s end force a quintet of turnovers, held the rapacious Blazers, who had averaged 51.75 points per game (and 21 over their first quarter onslaughts), to a paltry 12 points in the first half and zip in the second. As the third quarter progressed, the Bulldogs found their moxie fueled again by more Dawgs-induced Millbrook miscues. Stauch’s first interception nixed a Millbrook drive in the third quarter and paved the way for Ronj Padu’s 10-yard TD with 1:39 to go in the stanza. The point-after-touchdown (PAT) run was stopped, but the Dawgs had halved the gap at 12-6. Two Millbrook interceptions thwarted Sullivan West attempts to tie or take the lead, but again it was the impressive defense that prevented Millbrook from capitalizing on the turnovers. Ultimately it was another Millbrook fumble that set up Andrew Stabbert’s game-tying five-yard run with 7:47 to go in the game. The PAT attempt failed, but yet another Millbrook fumble induced by the Bulldogs’ brutalizing defense would augur the final denouement. But as noted, it came down to a fourth down, that very pivotal do-or-die chance that the Blazers had converted in the first half to their advantage, for the Dawgs to have the last word. Individuals’ heroics aside, a subject on which I could hold forth for pages, this was a huge team effort. Sullivan West hosts Class B Highland on October 10 for a non-league tilt. The Huskies beat Millbrook a week prior on a late field goal. Tri-Valley faces its first league quest as it travels to Millbrook on October 10. Liberty 4-1 (0-0 OCIAA) bested Spackenkill 20-18 in a non-league game. They host Section I dynamo Tuckahoe on October 11. Livingston Manor 3-2 downed Pauling 47-20. They host Chester 3-2 (2-0 OCIAA) in what could be a preview of the Section IX, Class D title game. Eldred 2-3 (2-2 OCIAA) lost to previously winless Pine Plains 20-0 in a league fray. Eldred hosts Pawling this week. Finally, Monticello 2-3 (0-2 OCIAA) was trounced by undefeated Cornwall 60-6. They travel to Port Jervis looking for their first league win. For albums of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com.