GRAHAMSVILLE — Sullivan West left little doubt as to who stands atop the 8-man division with a statement win over Tri-Valley on the road, defeating the defending champs 26-0 on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Both offenses started slow, with each team moving backwards on their first drive and punting it away.

After a second 3 and out by Tri-Valley, Sullivan West muffed the punt and fell on it at their own 21. Their offense returned to the field with urgency and immediately began moving the ball up the field.

After a few first downs, QB Adam Ernst found Alec Hubert for a 43-yard passing touchdown to take a 6-0 lead just six minutes into the game.

Tri-Valley fumbled the ensuing kick return and set the Bulldogs up at the 35 yard line. The Bears got a bit jumpy, with three encroachment penalties on the drive allowing the Bulldogs to move up the field efficiently.

After two false starts on first and goal, the Bulldogs needed 17 yards to get into the end zone, which they immediately got on a touchdown pass from Ernst to Evan Ebert to increase the lead to 12-0.

The Bears had a great kick return all the way to their own 48, but lost another fumble a few plays later to set Sullivan West up in Tri-Valley territory.

The Bulldogs drove down into the red zone, eventually setting up inside the 10-yard-line for anoher first and goal. This time, however, the Bears defense was ready, holding the Bulldogs for four straight plays and getting the ball back inside their own 10 after a turnover on downs.

Tri-Valley finally got their offense upfield with 5:12 left in the first half with their first 1st down of the afternoon.

Their offense stalled shortly after, and they punted back to the Bulldogs with 2:46 to play in the first half.

The Bulldogs drove back into the red zone before an interception sealed the first half.

The Bulldogs started the second half with the ball, driving back into the red zone before stalling their drive. Sullivan West lined up for a punt inside the Tri-Valley 30, but were unable to convert.

Tri-Valley’s next drive was immediately deflated as a safety gave Sullivan West an additional two points and the ball.

Tri-Valley had to kick the ball off three times as penalties on the first two pushed them back towards their own end zone.

With 3:44 to play in the third, Ernst threw for a third touchdown to increase the score to 20-0.

With 2:41 to play in the quarter, Sullivan West’s offense lined up on the TV 34 after another fumble, and began moving the ball down the field.

Ernst dropped back for a pass, it was deflected by the Tri-Valley cornerback but right into the hands of Jakob Halloran, who ran it in for the score to make it 26-0 with 25 seconds left in the third.

Tri-Valley tried to get their offense going in the fourth quarter, but were unable to find the end zone as they suffered a second shutout, this time at the hands of a division rival.

“We beat ourselves with turnovers, mistakes and penalties,” TV Coach Kevin Crudele said. “We’ll be back to work at 8 a.m. on Monday morning.”

Sullivan West, on the other hand, is drawing ever closer to a back-to-back division championship, with just Eldred standing in the way of the Bulldogs and an undefeated regular season.

“We have a good shot of going into the playoffs with a bye,” SW Coach Justin Diehl said. “The field conditions played a factor today, we had a short leash but there was more we wanted to do. Tri-Valley did a good job containing Rally Cruz, but it opened up our offense and allowed Adam [Ernst] to get four passing touchdowns. This team is gunna fight and be gritty, we’ve got a dawg mentality.”