LIVINGSTON MANOR –– 

The Rockland Wolves honored their senior football players on Saturday before their game against the Sullivan West Bulldogs. They expressed their thanks for helping the program during the transition to becoming the new central district.

Seniors Adam Rivera Patrick Gorr,  Marc Nieves, and Kareem Wall were honored on the field with their families in front of the cheering home crowd before the game.

The game on the field also reflected the growing pains of this period for the Rockland team, who has been beset by injuries over the past couple of weeks. The Wolves played hard for the whole game, making strides toward the end of the game. The final score was 65–0, illustrating what a dominant football team Sullivan West is. 

 Bulldog coach Justin Diehl observed, “Their program is getting on their feet, their modified team is doing well so we’re all hoping they can build it into something over the next few years.”

That shared commitment to building the program up could be seen on the field where on a couple of occasions Rockland head coach Rich Hill kept the team out on the field during time outs and do some coaching in real time. 

Coach Hill explained, “We’re a young team, not a lot of playing experience. Today’s game, even though it’s hard to lose, is providing valuable experience to these kids, their learning how to figure things out. Success will be slow in coming, but we’re doing some good things. There’s always going to be challenges; not having enough guys etc., but we have to maintain that positive mentality.”

From coach Diehl’s perspective, “We were able to get our second and third stringers out there to get some valuable reps, so we have no complaints. Now we turn our focus to playing a very good Eldred team next week.”

The success of the Sullivan West football program serves as an example of what the Rockland team is striving for.