LAKE HUNTINGTON – It was a beautiful, cool September Friday night for football under the lights as the Sullivan West Bulldogs hosted Pawling. The Bulldogs battled through a scoreless opening quarter, but turnovers helped Pawling pull away in the second half for a 46-14 victory.

Neither team found the end zone in the first quarter, although both came close. Sullivan West marched to the Pawling 13-yard line before pressure on a fourth-down pass forced an incompletion. Pawling responded with a run-heavy drive of its own, ending the quarter in scoring range with the game still tied 0-0.

Pawling broke through early in the second, punching the ball in from nine yards out and adding the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.

The Bulldogs answered behind several tough runs from quarterback Jesse Milk. On one unusual play, Milk appeared to be tackled, but with no whistle blown, he got back to his feet and continued downfield to put Sullivan West in scoring range. The drive ultimately stalled on fourth down.

Sullivan West’s defense continued fighting, highlighted by a big sack from Todd Walter that forced Pawling into fourth down. Pawling kept the drive alive with a fake punt and eventually scored with 20 seconds remaining in the half to make it 16-0.

The Bulldogs answered almost immediately with a deep pass that brought them within 10 yards of the end zone before halftime.

The game changed quickly in the third quarter. After Sullivan West forced an early Pawling punt, the Bulldogs threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Pawling then intercepted another pass and converted the turnover into another score and two-point conversion for a 30-0 advantage.

Pawling’s defense continued to make big plays, jumping  in front of a lateral on a Sullivan West trick play returning it for another touchdown. The conversion made it 38-0, and another interception later in the quarter again put Pawling in scoring position.

Pawling scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 46-0, but the Bulldogs continued battling.

Sullivan West drove to the Pawling 30 before Milk kept the ball up the middle and ran it in for the Bulldogs’ first touchdown. The two-point conversion made it 46-8 with about three minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs recovered a fumble late and followed it with a deep completion that helped set up another touchdown. Sullivan West’s final score came with only 20 seconds remaining, however, and Pawling left with the 46-14 victory.

“I think the boys fought hard, but we definitely can execute a lot better,” Sullivan West coach Justin Diehl said. “We definitely didn’t do our jobs as we should’ve, and I definitely have to take a hit myself with the play calling. We’ll go back to the drawing board and turn around to play Eldred next week. The boys know what we have to do. It all comes down to execution.”