HIGHLAND FALLS – In a rematch of last year’s Section IX 8-Man Championship on Friday, the Sullivan West Bulldogs (8-1, 2-1) got the best of the Pawling Tigers (8-1, 5-0), 46-14, to win their second straight Section title. 

Sullivan West dominated the line of scrimmage all game and picked up clutch tackles to never allow the Tigers to get much going offensively. However, after hoisting the championship trophy, their own Assistant Coach Justin Diehl was able to elude the pressure and avoid getting soaked by the Gatorade bath. Gary Milk was able to track down Diehl and pick up another tackle, but the Offensive Coordinator got out of the way of the attempted douse.

Assistant Coach Ronj Padu also mostly avoided an attempted celebratory bath in the cool Fall air. 

While the Bulldogs had to make a second-half comeback in last year’s title game, it was a lot less stressful of a win this time, as they took the lead early and never looked back. 

After having to punt on their first drive, Sullivan West quickly got the ball back and started at midfield following a Pawling punt. Senior quarterback Adam Ernst found an open receiver downfield in the form of senior Evan Ebert, who caught the pass and sprinted to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. Ernst threw it back to Ebert for the two-point conversion to make it 8-0, just over six minutes into the game.  

The Bulldogs forced another punt, but Pawling picked off an Ernst pass intended for running back Alec Hubert on their next drive. The defense, however, picked up the offense and forced a three-and-out.

The punt by Pawling went down to the 8-yard-line, but that didn’t matter for Hubert and the Bulldogs’ offense. The senior running back caught a screen pass and ran it for a 92-yard house call, weaving his way in and out of traffic. With under two minutes to go in the opening quarter, Sullivan West was up 14-0 as the two-point try failed. 

“Best player in the section,” Assistant Coach Pete Johnston said of Hubert after the play.

The Bulldogs forced a fumble on the next Pawling drive but were not able to do much with the turnover as the Tigers forced a turnover on downs in the opening minutes of the second quarter. On a third-and-long at midfield for Pawling, John Bernas IV came up with a big sack of the quarterback to force a punt. 

After having to punt again themselves, the Bulldogs would force another three-and-out and get the ball back with a chance to score again before halftime. Hubert got them down to the 10 on a few tough runs. But with the clock ticking down to the half, Pawling picked off Ernst again with five seconds to go. 

At halftime, Sullivan West led 14-0 which would be as close as the game would be again. 

After deferring the opening kickoff, the Bulldogs started the second half with the ball at their own 44. A couple of big runs by Hubert and a catch by Todd Walter got them down to the 6-yard line. Ernst then ran it in on a QB keeper for the score before finding Seamus Johnston on the two-point try, and it was 22-0. 

Following the two teams trading turnovers on downs, the Bulldogs got the ball back close to midfield and Hubert did his thing again as he ran to the endzone for another score. Hubert’s two touchdowns earned him Offensive MVP honors. 

“He’s a tough kid, a really tough ballplayer,” said Head Coach Ron Bauer, who is approaching his 60th year of coaching. 

Seamus Johnston came down with a one-handed catch for the two-point conversion and it was 30-0 with under a minute remaining in the third quarter. Following another Pawling punt to open the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs quickly found paydirt once again as Walter caught a pass from Ernst and ran it in, breaking the ankles of defenders on the way. 

With hopes of a shutout looming for Sullivan West, Pawling finally broke through with a big touchdown catch and run by junior Marc Kuhlmann. While there was disappointment on the sidelines for allowing the long score and not finishing off the shutout, the Bulldogs still had the bigger task at hand. 

With the score 38-8, Sullivan West went right back down the field and answered. Freshman running back Paul Nunnari came into the game and if you didn’t pay attention, you might have thought Hubert was still in. The freshman had a big run down into the red zone and then caught a pass from Jesse Milk - in the game at quarterback - and ran it in for a score. 

There were just over four minutes to go in the game and at this point, Pawling was just trying to take something positive away in their final drive. They did just that, as sophomore Lucas Carrozza came down with a touchdown catch.

Sullivan West got the ball back with 1:33 left and knelt three times as the celebrations commenced. With Hubert winning Offensive MVP honors, it was Jesse Milk who was awarded the Defensive MVP. Only a sophomore, the younger Milk seemed to be in on every defensive play and got to the ball carrier.

“[Jesse Milk] played a great game,” Coach Bauer said. “I was pleased with our defense, they played well. We knew they could run, we knew how to try and contain the quarterback and they contained it very well. 

Coach Bauer said that it was their goal to get back to the Section IX Championship and win again.

“The kids really fired up and worked hard,” Bauer said. “They put a lot of work into it. On Tuesday, we were out there practicing and it was colder than anything. They stayed right out there and practiced, they’re tough that way.” 

Coach Diehl said that he was at a loss for words as he tried to explain the game. 

“We really expected this to be a lot closer of a game,” Diehl said. “Our boys just came out and they never let off the gas. It was pedal to the metal, the whole time. There are so many people in the community here, so that’s always awesome to see, even an hour and 45 minutes say. It’s great to see our crowd staying strong and traveling far.”

Diehl noted that this is the only time that any team has ever won back-to-back Sectional Championships.

“All of our starters really had a hell of a game, it was not just one person,” Diehl said. “It was everybody doing their job and it was a great team effort. Great to be back-to-back.”

The Bulldogs, now with an overall record of 9-1, will be getting a Regional rematch against Section IV Wild Card Moravia (8-2, 7-1) on Friday at 6 p.m., returning to James I. O’Neill High School. 

The two teams met up in the Regionals last year as well, with the 2023 Section IV Champion Moravia prevailing, 44-0.

Moravia fell to Trumansburg (8-1, 6-1), 34-12, in the Section IV 8-Man Championship, to set them up with a matchup against the Bulldogs. 

“Hopefully we get a chance to avenge our Regional loss to Moravia,” said Diehl. “That would be a good feeling.”