JEFFERSONVILLE – “It’s coming on, the end of August. Another summer’s promise almost gone.” So intone the lyrics of the Eagles song “Waiting in the Weeds.” And yes, summer is waning but fall looms up ahead and with that change of season comes the exciting advent of fall sports. Leading off the fall practice schedule as always was football which took to the field this past Saturday, two days prior to the start of the other fall sports. 

It goes without saying that whatever takes place on the football field this fall will be closely related to the quality of preparation that went into the preseason. As Sullivan West offensive coordinator Justin Diehl told his assembled warriors in the middle of a Monday evening practice session, “These are the most important two weeks. What you build here, the attitude you develop and the strength you muster even when you’re tired will have results, especially in the fourth quarters this season.” With six seniors in the fold and a bevy of talent on hand, the Bulldogs still consider themselves to be in a rebuilding mode.

Losing standout lineman Chris Campanelli will warrant a major change in blocking and overall line strategy that the coaching staff is already implementing. This first week of fall practice follows on the heels of seven-on-seven competitions in Warwick and Cortland. While the team was winless at Warwick, subsequent energetic practices brought about a greater effort and a stronger resolve that led to success at Cortland. Ranked 10th out of 26 teams, the Bulldogs vanquished seventh-ranked Chenango Forks before losing to state semifinalist Waverly in the quarterfinals of the state championship of the seven-on-sevens.

“We moved the ball up and down the field on them, but we just couldn’t get it in the endzone. We beat really good teams and we lost to really good teams up there. It was a great experience,” noted Diehl. “The offseason was good. We had a steady attendance of 16-20 guys nearly every day.” The Bulldogs face a tough schedule as they vie to defend their Division Championship.

They open at home against Pine Plains before traveling to Pawling in week two. The middle part of the schedule features league battles vs. Fallsburg and Eldred. Then they encounter Ellenville, Roscoe and Tri-Valley to finish out at home. The Bulldogs have already circled the Ellenville game on the calendar as a key focus. According to Diehl, almost all the teams have gotten better since last year.

Sullivan West will feature Jaymes Buddenhagen at quarterback this year calling signals in place of graduated star QB Gavin Hauschild who will be playing at Massachusetts Maritime this fall.  Other senior veterans include Andrew Hubert, Max Ebert, Rodney Wilson, Dillan Hanslmaeier and Nate Coy. They will be bolstered by key returning veterans  Jacob Hubert, Rally Cruz, Jakob Halloran, William and John Roycroft, Caden Allen, Cameron Sullivan, Sebastian Berman, Austin Nystrom, Gary Milk, Peter Norton, Liam Cavanaugh, Allyn Walter and John Bernas. Filling out the roster are Alec Hubert, Michael Casiano, Evan Ebert, Adam Ernst, Reece Hendrickson, Jason Rodriguez, Matthew Rutledge and Robert Vongerichten.

The Bulldogs will host a four-team scrimmage on September 3 with Eldred, Roscoe and Spackenkill participating. As for right now, it’s about getting guys in shape and learning the ins and outs of our offense. Sullivan West coaching staff is headed up by Ron Bauer. Diehl will run the offense, while Ronj Padu will return as defensive coordinator. Shane Cruz will oversee special teams.

The staff works well as a cohesive unit and Sullivan West figures to be right in the mix to compete for a Section IX title. Given the intensity and enthusiasm of their practices, coupled with their impressive performance up at Cortland, expect the Bulldogs to be a force to be reckoned with again.