LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY—Our lives are journeys forward, a search to establish one’s place in the world—a career, a family and a home to call our own. But we never forget our roots. Though our gaze is essentially forward in its view, we find ourselves at times also looking back. Back to where we came from. Back to the places and people who formed the bedrock of our lives. Part of that ritual each year are homecoming weekends on which pilgrims return, legions of alumni, many of them former athletes, drawn to the brightly lit fields on which many memories were made.

This year’s Sullivan West Homecoming Weekend featured a pair of senior-night soccer games and was capped off by the football homecoming game against Tri-Valley that featured yet another Bulldog triumph in a season for the ages. Halftime featured the crowning of the homecoming king and queen and the lauding of past gridiron greats who graduated in years ending in four or five. On October 14 the Sullivan West girls soccer team 2-13-1 (0-6 OCIAA) put up a valiant fight against the Tri-Valley Lady Bears 6-10 (2-4 OCIAA) but fell by the score of 2-0 on a pair of goals by T-V senior standout Caroline Martin. Neither team will vie in sectionals this year. Sullivan West seniors Carly Grishaber, Erika Latkowski and Daphne Muzuruk were honored before the game. All the Lady Bulldogs were called forth to present flowers to their loved ones before the fray, a clash dubbed by this writer as “Rough and Tumble,” for its physical intensity. Three nights later, the one-win, one-tie Bulldogs hosted the winless Monticello Panthers in a furious boys soccer fray, but fell 1-0 on a lone goal from Monticello’s Donovan Williams. Details of the epic game can be read in the story entitled, “The Power of One,” on www.sportsinsightsny.com.

Sullivan West boys soccer seniors Jiron Kevii, Tyler Burgos, Miguel Ramos, Ocean Thomas, Tyriek Wade, Dylan Rivera, Anthony Lupardo, Noah Bauer, Garrett Hermann and Hanrii Padu were lauded before the fray. Padu’s epic header, pictured above, was a one of his near misses that might have rendered a happier ending for the hardworking Bulldogs. On October 18 the Sullivan West football team hosted Tri-Valley for a crucial league game, which resulted in a 70-22 victory for the undefeated Dawgs 7-0, (2-0 OCIAA). T-V 3-4 (0-3 OCIAA) scored first on a 66-yard run by senior quarterback Justin Swarthout, but the Dawgs reeled off 55 unanswered points by 7:17 of the third quarter en route to the one-sided win. They led 42-6 at the half. Seventeen seniors form the nexus of this team, which will travel to Liberty on October 25 looking to secure a berth to play Millbrook for the Section IX Class C championship at Dietz Stadium on November 8. Liberty 5-2 (1-1 OCIAA) lost to Millbrook 5-2 (2-1 OCIAA) 42-6 and would need a win over Sullivan West by a margin of more than 21 points to oust the Dawgs from their title game appearance. Bulldog elder statesmen are Richard Shevak, Justin Diehl, Brian Stauch, Brandon Cabassa, Chris Mann, Mark Castro, Andrew Stabbert, Tyler Davis, Justin Dorman, Anthony Rydell, Sean Hart, Kevin Hart, James Rankin, Devin Creegan, Ronj Padu and Jack Rajlevski. The avalanche of scoring came via a trio of TDs from Kevin Puerschner, two from Austin Melchick and one each from Shevak, Stauch and Padu. During halftime Sean Hart and Daphne Muzuruk were crowned as the Homecoming King and Queen. Bill Moloney orchestrated the return of former football heroes from Jeff-Youngsville, Delaware Valley and Sullivan West. For their names and years as well as the details of the game, the royal court and the homecoming festivities, read “Roll Seven,” at www.sportsinsightsny.com. Eldred’s girls soccer team (10-2, 4-0 OCIAA) clinched the Division V title with a 2-0 win over Livingston Manor. Lynzee Kelty is Section IX’s leading scorer to date. She has accrued 51 points via 20 goals and 11 assists. Teammate Jordan Lepes is ranked fifth in Section IX, with 37 points via 17 goals and three assists. In Cross-County, runners from the Orange County League will vie at Bear Mountain on October 24 in the OCIAA League Championships. The Section IX Championships will be staged at Bear Mountain on October 31. For photos galore from Homecoming games as well as a panoply of other high school sports encounters, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

For albums of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com.