SULLIVAN COUNTY — There’s a lot to look forward to this weekend as it will be the first time that all seven football teams in the county will be in action. Last week’s winners included Sullivan West (via LM/R forfeit), Monticello over Liberty, and Fallsburg over Tri-Valley. 

Eldred was on a bye-week after winning their opening week matchup 34-0. 

As teams prepare for their games tonight and tomorrow, let’s take a look at what we might expect to see:

Friday Night Lights

Sullivan West at Rondout Valley, 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs won a convincing contest in Week 1, defeating Onteora 44-16 on the road.

They were scheduled to host Livingston Manor/Roscoe in Week 2, but the Wildcats needed an additional week to get their young team enough practices, so the Bulldogs won via forfeit.

Now in Week 3, Sullivan West will be back on the road as they take on Rondout Valley.

This game has a lot of question marks, as Rondout comes into the game at 1-2. The Ganders lost a non-league matchup 45-0 against Moravia on September 2 while the other teams were scrimmaging.

In their next matchup they visited Pawling to take on the Tigers and lost 16-0. Pawling has been a long-standing powerhouse in the 8-man division. In their next game, Rondout visited Millbrook/Webutuck, who Eldred defeated handily in Week 1.

Rondout followed suit, defeating Millbrook 46-26 and earning their first win of the season.

Now, the Ganders will take on Sullivan West, and the Bulldogs will look to stay hot after an improptu bye week.

Fallsburg at Eldred, 7 p.m.

It might be too early to tell, but this game is shaping up to be the game of the weekend.

Both Eldred and Fallsburg started out in 8-man and struggled as they tried to find their footing. 

Last season, both schools started to find success and both have started this year undefeated.

In Fallsburg’s first two games this year they’ve defeated Ellenville and the defending 8-Man Champion Tri-Valley Bears.

The convincing 48-24 victory over Ellenville was 48-8 in the third quarter, but two late Ellenville touchdowns made the score a bit less lopsided.

Against Tri-Valley, Fallsburg had a similar onslaught offensively, scoring 34 points in the first half and riding a 20-point lead to the final whistle.

Eldred won their first and only game of the season via shutout as they took on Millbrook/Webutuck and won 34-0.

Both of these teams seem to be coming into their success with a mix of young talent and veteran leadership, and it should be an exciting matchup as both schools are looking to make a playoff run this season.

Saturday Showdowns

Liberty at Saugerties, 1 p.m.

The Liberty RedHawks are off to a slow start this season, being outscored 89-12 through their first three games.

For their fourth game, they will be taking on Saugerties, a 2-1 team that has a 70-48 point differential.

After losing to Marlboro in Week 1, the Sawyers have defeated New Paltz and Red Hook.

Liberty will have their hands full this weekend as they look to get into the win column coming off a loss to Monticello.

Warwick at Monticello, 1 p.m.

The Panthers got their first win of the season last Saturday in a non-league matchup against Liberty. They’re looking to follow that up as they host the Warwick Wildcats tomorrow afternoon.

Warwick is off to a 2-1 start, with both their wins coming at home this season. They’ve outscored opponents 53-34 and both schools are looking to grab a division win.

Tri-Valley at Livingston Manor/Roscoe, 7 p.m.

The Bears and Wildcats are scheduled to play Saturday night under the lights with both teams looking for their first win.

Tri-Valley, the defending 8-man champs, are off to a slow start after graduating a majority of their starters last year.

Livingston Manor, on the other hand, was barely able to field a team this season. With lower numbers, and a handful of freshmen with no varsity experience, the Wildcats seem focused on staying healthy and getting up to speed this year.

Tri-Valley has shown improvement through just eight quarters of football this season, after a season-opening shutout loss to Pine Plains, the Bears scored 20 against Fallsburg and controlled the time of possession for the entire third quarter.

The Bears will look to get their first win of the year after the slow start, and the Wildcats will look to make a statement in their first game in Livingston Manor jerseys in over a decade.