GRAHAMSVILLE — “And though I heard a wise man say, every dog will have his day, he never mentioned that these dog days get so long.”

Those telling lines from the song “Waiting In the Weeds” by the Eagles speak volumes about the Sullivan West Bulldogs’ overpowering 46-16 win over Tri-Valley, as well as the Bears having to endure what must have seemed like a succession of trying moments in a key division matchup, whose outcome may indeed have significant bearing on the postseason seedings.

Football is fertile ground for injuries and missteps by dint of turnovers and penalties. All of those would factor into the outcome of this much-anticipated clash.

As to the Dawgs having their day, and consequently, it being a very long one for the Bears, that dynamic was instantly unveiled after the Bears won the toss and elected to defer. SW sophomore Jacob Hubert returned Vanya Khodakovski’s deep kickoff 83 yards to the Bears’ eight-yard line. Sophomore Rally Cruz got it to the one and Hubert plunged it in with only 1:32 gone by in the opening stanza. The conversion run was stopped, but the gauntlet had been thrown down as the soon-to-be-evinced rabid Bulldogs were off to a 6-0 lead, a lead that would later burgeon to a monstrous 46-8 score before T-V senior Brian Kelly ripped off his second long TD run of the day, and bruising Dylan Poley added his second conversion to bring the final score to 46-16.

In between those bookends lay the heart of the matter and the key elements that turned the game totally in Sullivan West’s favor.

First and foremost was the injury to Bears’ junior quarterback Austin Hartman on the third play of T-V’s first series. Tackled by Sullivan West’s imposing defensive lineman Chris Campanelli, Hartman suffered an injury to his shoulder which prompted his exit from the game. He would return sporadically, though not as quarterback, a job handled bravely by Kelly.

Campanelli is the most dominating lineman in Section Nine Eight-Man football. Scheming to neutralize him is every coach’s wish, but doing so is quite another matter. On both sides of the ball, he is essentially unmanageable. Another key factor leading to T-V’s demise would be penalties, nine of them to be exact, for a total of 95 yards.

With ample trouble against Sullivan West’s aggressive defense, those setbacks only worsened the situation. Finally, those factors notwithstanding, the Westies proved to be better in virtually every facet of the game. They ran the ball consistently well, blocked and tackled with crisp verve and were it not for a couple of costly penalties in the red zone, the score could have been even more lopsided.

Sullivan West’s senior quarterback, Gavin Hauschild, had himself a day to remember. His rushing profile was 16/119 yards for a 7.4 yards per rush average. He ran for two touchdowns and threw for one to newbie Jakob Halloran. Rally Cruz, another sophomore, also stepped-up big time, filling in for senior Tarrell Spencer, who was sitting out and is now at the end of his concussion protocol. Cruz is a tough customer. He rushed for 81 yards on eight carries, averaging 10.4 yards per carry. SW scored again late in the first quarter on a two-yard run by Hauschild. Junior Jaymes Buddenhagen got the two-point conversion to give SW a 14-0 lead. That score held at the half.

T-V was set to receive the ball at the start of the third quarter, and needed a score to reset the tone of the game. A great run by Hartman, who had returned, gave the Bears a first down at the SW 35 but the defense stiffened and the Westies took over on downs. An option flip to Cruz led to a good run by Justin Grund, which he followed up with a 15-yard TD jaunt. Hauschild’s conversion pass to Halloran made it 22-0 with 6:39 remaining in the third quarter. A T-V fumble recovered by Nate Coy helped to set up Hauschild’s 20-yard TD run. Coy took it in for the conversion and the score swelled to 30-0 with 4:33 to go in the period.

The Bears got on the board as backup QB Kelly broke loose for a 55-yard scamper with 1:37 to go in the third. Poley barreled in for the conversion and the scoreboard now read 30-8.

However, the Dawgs weren’t done making their statement. A 15-yard pass to Halloran and a Hauschild conversion run made it 38-8.

Another T-V fumble recovered by the Bulldogs was enough for the coaching staff to remove most of their starters. Buddenhagen took over at QB. With 7:52 remaining in the game, senior Mike Roth took in from the five and Grund got the conversion to make it 46-8. Late in the game, Kelly broke loose again for T-V and ran 37 yards for the score. Poley broke through traffic for the conversion, and that would be it for scoring.

Sullivan West Coach Ron Bauer noted, “The kids played tough, old-fashioned football. Everybody contributed.” He had extra words of praise for Hauschild and the sophomores, who figure to be a big factor for the coming years. Assistant Coach Justin Diehl addressed the team with effusive praise, “That was one of the biggest wins of this program in recent years. This game meant so much to us. You showed you were the best team. I can’t tell you guys how proud I am. It’s been a long time. We won it, now we keep going until we hold up that Section 9 trophy.”

Tri-Valley coach Kevin Crudele was matter of fact. Asked about how he will get his team up for the league fray vs. Ellenville he noted, “We approach every game as if our record is 0-0.” Crudele knew that the injury to Hartman was key. “We know Chris Campanelli is a great player,” he noted, giving props to the SW big fella.

It’s back to the drawing board for both teams because they both understand that opponents like Roscoe, Fallsburg, Ellenville and Eldred are, to quote the Eagles, “Waiting in the Weeds.”

Stats

SW: Total offense 42 plays/291 yards; 6.9 yards per play. Passing: Hauschild 1/2/15 yards. 1 TD; Rushing 40/276/ 6.9 yards per rush. Hauschild 16/119 and 2 TD’s; Rally Cruz 8/81/ 10.4; Justin Grund 6/32/5.3; Jaymes Buddenhagen 5/27/ 5.4 Jacob Hubert 3/12 and 1 TD. Defense leading tacklers; Jakob Halloran 13.5; Hubert 5.5; Cruz 5.5. SW first downs 19. Third down conversions 4/9; Fourth Down conversions 2/4. Penalties 5/50.

T-V Total offense 276 yards on 48 plays, 5.8 yards per play. Passing 0/2. Rushing 46/278/ 6.0 yards per rush. Brian Kelly 24/203/8.5 with 2 TD’s Austin Hartman 8/36/4.8; Dylan Poley 11/33/3.0. Penalties 9/85. First downs 13. Third down conversions 2/5. Fourth down conversions 1/3.