Ellenville Varsity Football played an away game at Tri-Valley last Saturday. The Blue Devils started their season with the remnants of tropical storm "Ernesto" in the air; the wind was blowing and the rain was flying. Although the Blue Devils had high hopes for a victory they lost, with a score of 21-0.

Defense was the order of the day. Defense is what kept Tri-Valley off the scoreboard in the first half and what got them on the scoreboard in the second half.

In the first half Tri-Valley drove the ball inside the Ellenville twenty yard line three times and three times the Blue Devils' defense - led by Valley Central transfer Leonard Armstrong (10 tackles), Antonio Bell (11 tackles), and Jason Lutz (9 tackles) - turned them away.

As for Ellenville's offense, it had some good moments including a third and long halfback pitch and pass for twenty yards to keep one drive alive. Quarterback Steven Coutant and running backs Ethan Beck, Joseph Logan, and Armstrong led the offense. Both Logan and Beck had over 60 yards rushing while Armstrong contributed 40. But Ellenville was never able to put together a sustained drive. The only serious attempt came at the end of the first half. Ellenville drove to the Tri-Valley twenty-two yard line with a pass from Coutant to Pedro Rivera. Ellenville had one second left on the clock to get off one last play but were unable to connect for a score.

When the second half began it seemed possible that the game could end with no score as both teams continued to play outstanding defense. Tri-Valley started the half with the ball but was stopped in its tracks by a strong Ellenville defense. When Ellenville took over on offense, they moved down the field and into Tri-Valley territory.

Then Coutant rolled to his right and was hit, causing the ball to pop loose. A Tri-Valley defender picked up the ball and ran 55 yards for a touchdown. Tri-Valley then kicked the extra point and was on top 7-0. The Blue Devils were not shaken by this score and brought the ball to the Tri-Valley 45 on the ensuing kick return. After a 10 yard run by Logan, Ellenville seemed on the move. But the Tri-Valley defense rallied and held, forcing the Devils to punt.

A high snap led to an abandoned kick attempt and a scramble by the kicker, Armstrong was tackled, leaving Tri-Valley in great field position. Tri-Valley took advantage of their opportunity and drove down the field for a touchdown making the score 14-0.

In the fourth quarter, time was running short for the Blue Devils. With nine minutes to go Ellenville put together their best offensive effort of the day, and drove the ball forty yards down the field to the Tri-Valley 26-yard line. That was when Tri-Valley slammed the door closed for good.

With Coutant working from the shotgun, he was looking for receiver Andrew Hyatt who he found earlier in the day for a 20-yard gain. However, this time Hyatt was covered by three Tri-Valley players. Trying to make something happen, Coutant threw the pass into triple coverage and was intercepted. The ball was returned to the Ellenville 45-yard line. At that point, Tri-Valley started grinding out the clock and methodically drove the ball down the field culminating in a 12-yard rushing touchdown which brought the score to its final 21-0. On Ellenville's ensuing possession, the Blue Devils were unable to move the ball. When Tri-Valley regained possession with under a minute to play, they took a knee to run out the time.

Ellenville plays at Spackenkill next week.

COMMENTS about this article (0 )