ELDRED — The Yellowjackets reached the post season for the first time since 2009, and after a bye week as the No. 1 seed, had a rematch with the Sullivan West Bulldogs with a trip to the Section IX 8-Man Championship on the line.

Sullivan West, who handily defeated Pine Plains in the first round, was raring to go, ready to avenge their loss to Eldred earlier this season.

Eldred kicked the ball to Sullivan West to start the game, and after a brief delay due to lighting issues, the teams were ready to begin.

The Bulldogs started around midfield after falling on an onside kick from Eldred, and the team methodically made their way down the field on their opening drive. SW Adam Ernst barreled into the end zone for a Bulldogs’ touchdown to make it 6-0 with 7:45 to play in the first.

Eldred’s first drive started at their own 45, but an early fumble returned the ball to SW, and the Bulldogs were forced to punt on their next drive.

The two defenses stood strong for a while, exchanging punts and another forced fumble by SW after a big Eldred game kept the score 6-0 by the end of the first quarter.

Starting off the second, Sullivan West drove deep into Eldred territory, but ultimately turned the ball over on downs.

Eldred, backed up near their own end zone, failed to make much forward progress and were forced to punt back to Sullivan West.

The Bulldogs’ special teams unit blocked the punt and started their next drive at the Eldred 18. Ernst ran for his second touchdown of the evening, with Alec Hubert adding the 2-point conversion to make it 14-0 with 3:38 to play in the first half.

Eldred’s offense hit the field with time winding down in the first half and took to the air to carve their way up the field. With six seconds left in the second quarter, Eldred punched in a score to make it 14-6.

Sullivan West returned the ensuing kickoff to the house for a touchdown, but it was called back by a facemask penalty as the two teams went into the half separated by just one score.

Eldred started the third quarter with the ball at their own 29, and the Yellowjackets picked up where they left off. They quickly moved across midfield and into the SW red zone after a big run by Quarterback Koen McGill. McGill connected with Trai Kaufmann to make it 14-12, and James Deyermond punched in the two-point conversion to tie it at 14 apiece.

Sullivan West’s next drive was methodical, moving up the field in chunks en route to another Ernst rushing touchdown, his third of the night as the Bulldogs regained the lead with 3:23 to play in the third. Ernst punched in the conversion as well to make it 22-14.

Eldred got down to the Sullivan West goal line on their next drive, but a fumble gave Sullivan West the ball back with 99 yards to go. 

The Bulldogs punted to their own 37, but Eldred’s offense was unable to capitalize and they turned it over back to the Bulldogs.

With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Sullivan West’s Alec Hubert broke free for a long catch and run touchdown, making it 28-14 with 5:39 to play in the game.

Eldred had a big kickoff return down to the Sullivan West 28 yard line, but turned the ball over on downs with 3:07. 

Sullivan West punted it back to Eldred, who made their way down near the goal line again but were unable to score, turning the ball over again and allowing Sullivan West to run out the clock on the win.

“Hats off to Sullivan West,” Eldred Coach Sean McAveney said. “They came out with some new stuff and it took us a while to adjust. We left too many touchdowns on the field today, and you can’t make those kinds of mistakes against a really good team like Sullivan West.” 

“A lot of credit to Sean and the Eldred team,” Sullivan West Coach Justin Diehl said. “What they’ve done this year is incredible. It’s a good feeling getting back to the Championship for the second straight year and the third time in four years. We’ve got to stay focused. We have a lot of great players and on Monday it’s right back to the grind stone after we celebrate tonight.”

The Bulldogs will be headed to O’Neill for a championship rematch against Pawling, who defeated Ellenville in the other semifinal matchup.