LAKE HUNTINGTON – It was a cold and rainy Friday night, a classic setting for playoff football. The Sullivan West Bulldogs hosted the Pawling Tigers in Lake Huntington with the winner advancing to the Section IX Championship game.

These two teams met earlier in the season, with Pawling getting the better of the Bulldogs. The desire for revenge only added to Sullivan West’s commitment to coming out victorious and return to the championship game.

That commitment and desire materialized right from the start, when, on just the second play from scrimmage, Bulldog QB Jesse Milk connected with Dylan Lockwood on a 59-yard crossing route for the first score of the game. They followed this with a successful 2-point conversion run by Milk, taking a quick 8–0 lead.

  On the ensuing kickoff, Pawling’s Lucas Carrozza returned the ball to Sullivan West’s 35-yard line, but the Tigers could not take advantage of the good field position and punted the ball away on fourth down. 

That sequence would be the harbinger of what was to come; two of Pawling’s first pass attempts were knocked down at the line of scrimmage by alert Bulldog defensive linemen who were keeping their eyes on the ball. 

On Sullivan West’s next possession, they moved the ball to midfield but eventually saw their drive stopped after two incomplete passes. Pawling’s next possession was four-and-out, with them punting again. The Bulldog’s ferocious pass rush had forced the Tigers QB Mikey Covell to scramble and run the ball.

The Bulldog’s intensity was there on offense too, where on the next possession they methodically drove the ball down the field, scoring another TD on a pass to Lockwood. Though the 2-point conversion failed, they took a commanding 14-0 lead.

 Sullivan West’s defensive held again on Pawling’s next possession, not letting them get their passing game on track and forcing them to punt. 

But the Tigers were playing hard also and forced the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs, with Pawling getting the ball back on their own 37-yard line.

The weather started to be a factor as the constant drizzle made the field slippery and the ball wet. 

Pawling was clearly affected by the conditions, as they relied heavily on a strong passing attack. The Tigers struggled with snaps from the shotgun, putting the ball on the ground multiple times and allowing the swarming Bulldog defense to to overtake them for a loss.

The conditions didn’t affect the Sullivan West squad though, as they were able to utilize their strong running attack as well as a few passes. The Bulldogs came right down and scored on another TD pass to Lockwood, which was set up 2 plays earlier by a 33-yard connection between Milk and Lockwood. 

With the 2-point run by Milk, Sullivan West looked like they would take a 22-0 lead into the locker room at half time.

 But Lucas Carrazzo of the Tigers stepped up, on what would be the last play from scrimmage of the half. Carazzo took a broken hook-and ladder play and made a tremendous individual effort on a scrambling 67-yard run down the sidelines for Pawling’s first score of the game. 

Although they didn’t connect on their 2-point try, they managed to get on the board before the half, bringing the margin to 22-6.

With the start of the second half, the Tigers looked to capture the momentum from their earlier score before the half but had to punt the ball back to Sullivan West. 

Alec Hubert received the punt and ran it all the way to the 2-yard line where on the next play Jesse Milk ran it in for the touchdown. With the 2-point conversion good, the Bulldogs took a 30-6 lead.

After that last score and due to the wet field conditions, the Bulldogs had put a damper on Pawling’s fighting spirit. Sullivan West dominated on defense and controlled the clock on offense with its running game.

A highlight for many of the fans and players was when the Bulldog’s reliable kicker, Sam Lieberman stepped onto the field for a defensive series and responded with a defended pass, a tackle, and an interception.

  Sullivan West coach Justin Diehl commented, “We had a good feeling about playing on our home field, we knew they hadn’t played on natural grass the whole season, and it showed, all the rain made it hard on them.

“But we played clean football, we executed, got off to a good start, we had no turnovers, we played almost perfect football, on both sides of the line. It was great to get Sam out there and for him to contribute the way he did. He’s one of those glue guys, and we love him. 

“Now we just need to go out and do it again next week,” Diehl said

Coach Ron Bauer continued, “We played good, hard-nosed, tough football. We controlled the line on both offense and defense; all our linemen did a great job. We kept the ball away from them, especially in the first quarter, and we got to their quarterback, just a really good, all-around effort. Now we get ready for next week.”