Liberty Independent – Dustin Foertsch

Day and Night Quarterfinal Drama: Left panel top to bottom: Fallsburg boys erupt in joy following their 58-41 win over Tri-Valley that advances the Comets to a semifinal road clash against Pine Plains. Rakkir Watson dribbles the ball up the floor as Tri-Valley's James Pugh looks for a steal. Michael Robinson is poetry in motion as he swishes a pair of free throws: Right side: Tri-Valley girls enjoy the moment as their fans laud them with applause following their 68-54 win over Fallsburg. Falsburg's Sheryl Pinder looks to drive the ball up the floor as Celia Garcia sets a pick. Sabrena Smith looks to defend. Tri-Valley's Katlynn Greffrath hits the game's biggest shot with 3.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter off a double screen play drawn up by Coach John Tenbus. The lead burgeoned to 13 at the buzzer and the shot proved to be the dagger in the heart to the courageous Lady Comets.

FALLSBURG AND GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—There is no way to describe the sea of emotions that swirl through players and coaches standing on the precipice of uncertainty before a do-or-die sectional encounter.

Nerves aside, the most salient current that courses through each and every one is the desire to win and advance. To even ponder the end of one’s long season of trials and efforts is unthinkable. And so invariably, the intensity of play evinced in sectional games is characteristically beyond the pale and incredibly dramatic.

Game changers: Fallsburg's Braiden DeGraw, left, fires in two of his game-high 16 points. Tri-Valley's Caroline Martin and Katlynn Greffrath tie up Fallsburg's Celia Garcia to garner an extra possession.

With the arduous regular season behind them and the wonderful accomplishments of being one of the 30 Section Nine teams about to enter the frenzied fray from which only one will be left standing in each of the five Classes of teams, the agenda of the moment is to exert the last full measure of skill, devotion and effort, coupled with unselfish teamwork and indomitable will, in order to earn the privilege to play again.

To marshal a victory under such circumstances is to cross the Great Divide, that unchartered field of battle from which only one of the two teams engaged will emerge unscathed. Victory is akin to imbibing The Nectar of the Gods; defeat is disheartening beyond measure.

Despite the canon of countless games of this ilk that I have borne witness to and tried to recreate afterwards with all of the words I can summon to approximate their dramatic unfolding, it is always new, always fresh and always special.

That Fallsburg and Tri-Valley would come to engage in a rare day-night double header of boys and girls quarterfinal clashes in a home and away rare two-act enterprise, made February 25 memorable and historic for the two schools and the communities they represent.

As neighboring rivals who had played each other twice during the regular season, this third and most important clash would pack the gyms with fervid fans bent on providing unbridled spirit to further the cause of their beloved teams.

Michael Robinson looms large to the left, while Katlynn Greffrath and Celia Garcia vie intensely for a ball on the right.

The Fallsburg boys and Tri-Valley girls had won both prior encounters with their rivals. On several occasions the oft-quoted adage of “It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season,” was advanced by fans from both sides as they pondered the impending outcome of the most important 32 minutes of the season to date.

By night’s end that maxim would be proven false as the Fallsburg boys used their speed, unselfish teamwork and impeccable skills to marshal a 58-41 win over Tri-Valley.

Heading into the nightcap, the Lady Comets with their cadre of seniors vowed to rectify the flaws that had twice barred their hoped-for victories against the Lady Bears.

To their credit, the Lady Comets put forth their best effort of the season, particularly in the first half but nonetheless fell short of the mark as the defending champion Lady Bears triumphed 68-54.

Each game had its own unique script, its requisite heroes and defining plays. Tough as it is for the 12-7 Tri-Valley boys team and the 10-9 Fallsburg Lady Comets to see their seasons end, particularly for the seniors who summoned their all in the quest, both squads made enormous strides this season and both have much to be proud of. Much more needs to be said on this subject and will be forthcoming as this narrative unfolds.

To the victors belong the spoils and in this case the 14-5 Comets earn the right to test their mettle against number-one seeded Pine Plains on the road. “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best,” and so for a squad comprised of mostly seniors looking to go out on the most positive of notes, there is no bigger stage than the impending semifinal on February 28.

Should they unveil the kind of play they evinced in this quarterfinal, they have the weaponry and the will to ground the Bombers and emblazon a stunning chapter in Fallsburg’s once-storied hardwood history. All of this from a school that rendered a stultifying 0-20 record just a few years back. This is Fallsburg’s third consecutive year making a sectional run and they hope that the adage which claims that the “Third time pays for all,” will come to fruition.

For the 17-1 Tri-Valley Lady Bears, the challenge of playing Tuxedo for the third time in what amounts to the all-important rubber match is what Coach John Tenbus and his team have envisioned and worked assiduously towards all year long.

The recent deflating loss to the Lady Tornadoes, coupled with the fact that it was Tuxedo that defeated Tri-Valley in the 2009 finals only adds fuel to the fire, though the cast of players is entirely different from that fray and John Tenbus was only the assistant coach that night two years ago.

The Coaches: Tri-Valley's Brian Tingley, Fallsburg's Pete Dworetsky, Fallsburg's Daniel Redmond and Tri-Valley's John Tenbus

Since his ascendance to the helm, his team now comprised mostly of youngsters, has authored an uncanny 35-3 record.

That Tenbus guided his team to a Section Nine Class C title in his first year made him the 2011 Coach of the Year in this writer’s estimation, though that view was not shared by other print maven pundits.

Rarely do I make such pronouncements about Most Valuable Players or Coaches of the Year as they are often subjective judgments that invite criticism. When I do, I stand by them with all of the weight and credibility of my award-winning journalistic career.

With the graduation of Jakki Pugh, “The Eternal Flame,” many pundits figured that the Lady Bears would be a far easier mark. But great teamwork, the coach’s wizardry and his demands for rigorous conditioning have combined with his players’ talent level and competitive spirit which is second to none.

All of which makes Tri-Valley’s success story an ongoing one. To wit, one might recall Mark Twain’s famous words as they apply to the 2012 Lady Bears,“Rumors of my own death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Vanquishing feisty Fallsburg brings the Lady Bears to the next Great Divide, the wide semifinal chasm, and crossing that one will be its greatest challenge to date.

While etiquette asserts “Ladies first,” the chronology of the day warrants the opposite:

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

Tri-Valley senior Greg Swarthout goes up for a shot as Fallsburg's Rakkir Watson looks to not foul him in the process.

When Tri-Valley lost to Fallsburg on February 15, T-V Coach Brian Tingley carefully assessed the 75-62 defeat in terms of what his team needed to do toin order to reverse the dynamics. “They scored 51 of their 75 points off fast breaks and second chance opportunities. We’ve got to get three guys back on defense,” he averred prior to this sectional encounter.

Fallsburg’s speedy transition games had also fueled its January 61-39 “Transit Authority” win and Tingley was bent on slowing the streaking Comets down.

Relentless defense, patience and timely shooting would be key in authoring the upset Tingley felt his team was in a position to record and for the first quarter at least, the plan was working. A few tweaks including the personnel and method of inbounding the ball were part of Tingley’s thoughtful script.

For his part, Fallsburg Coach Pete Dworetsky wasn’t about to take Tri-Valley lightly. “It’s all about today,” he averred prior to the game hinting at a few new wrinkles but mostly the same strategy. Dworetsky fully understands the mantra, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Amidst the posting of the colors from the Fallsburg Police Department Honor Guard and the sonorous rendition of the National Anthem sung by Fallsburg principal Mike Williams, the special proceedings got underway.

Tri-Valley’s Conor Walsh and Fallsburg’s Michael Robinson got set for the tip as the winter sun streamed in through the windows bathing the floor in an unusual suffusion of natural light. Fallsburg controlled the tip but committed a turnover on its first possession which fueled a T-V drawing of first blood as Cody Exner sent the ball across the lane to a charging James Pugh.

Unfazed, Robinson slid the ball into Braiden DeGraw who tied it up forthwith. On its next set, Pugh kicked it out to Steve McInerney and T-V reclaimed the early lead. Back-to-back shots from DeGraw and Robinson changed that early landscape. Both teams were rebounding well but Rakkir Watson added to the lead with a floater.

Members of the Fallsburg Police Department present colors prior to the game.

Pugh countered with a three to make it a 9-8 Tri-Valley. Dworetsky fumed at the missed coverage that had given him the open look. His admonitions to his team would prove efficacious as it was the only trey Tri-Valley would register in the game.

The decibel level in the gym was steadily rising. Another T-V bucket preceded Fallsburg’s miffing on a trio of offensive put backs before DeGraw was fouled by Walsh and hit both. Then a steal by Jimmy Bertholf and his subsequent lay up put Fallsburg back on top. They’d never trail again.

With 1:53 remaining Robinson hit two from the stripe to make it 14-11. Sam Didinsky’s trey from the corner made it 17-11. Bertholf fouled Jesus Lozada on an attempted three. Lozada hit all three from the line as the quarter would close with Fallsburg leading 17-14. Each team had turned it over three times.

The Bears inbounded to start the second quarter as Lozada scored on a put back. Russell Corley kissed it off the glass to widen the lead to 19-16. Fallsburg got a crisp pass from Corley to Dustin Foertsch for two more.

Fallsburg’s cheerleaders used time outs to amp up the crowd. The Bears’ cheerleaders were not present as a number of them were at the indoor track state qualifier.

Action continued as the Comets built a six point lead before Walsh cut it back down with a great backdoor cut and bucket with 4:19. DeGraw slashed the lane for two more enroute to his game-high 16 points.

Robinson made it 27-18 as he rose up strong. T-V’s Alex Brown got an easy bucket as Fallsburg miffed on its weak side help. When the dust settled at the half, Fallsburg led 30-20. Pugh had seven of T-V’s first half points, while DeGraw authored a third of Fallsburg’s first half points with ten.

Fallsburg inbounded and Corley took it straight to the rim. Exner answered. Corley muscled great position under the boards and scored again. Tri-Valley looked a bit stressed as it failed to inbound the ball in the allotted five seconds. DeGraw’s turn around jumper had the Comets’ fans in a tizzy as the lead burgeoned to 36-25.

In this critical nexus of the game, Tri-Valley needed to get stops and show patience. It did neither well enough to forestall a 10-5 Fallsburg run to close out the stanza affording the Comets a 46-30 lead after three.

In the third quarter Fallsburg got scoring from six players living out Dworetsky’s precept of “It’s not who scores, it’s that we score.” Corley led the way with six of his eventual eight points. Watson, Didinsky and DeGraw each contributed a bucket as did Daniel Justiniano.

Tri-Valley countered with ten points as it got three from Pugh to go along with two apiece from Swarthout, Exner and Shatik Smith. Walsh hit one of two from the line.

With a comfortable lead in place, Fallsburg played out the string in the fourth quarter, its play not nearly as crisp as it had been prior to that. Even so they still outscored T-V 12-11 in the final stanza to evince the 58-41 victory.

In addition to DeGraw’s 16, Fallsburg got ten from Robinson and Watson. They shot 11-for-19 from the line for a lukewarm 58%. Pugh led the Bears with 13, while Smith had ten. The Bears were 12-for-20 from the stripe for 60%. Turning the ball over 14 times fulfilled one of Tingley’s ongoing goals. Fallsburg had 18 turnovers in the game.

Tingley summed things up thusly: “I thought we moved the ball well and gave them some things they weren’t expecting in the first quarter and we stayed with them. Defensively we played okay. We held them in the 50’s but offensively we got a little stagnant in the second quarter in particular. We only scored six points. It’s hard to come back when you have a drought like that,” he averred.

“We wanted to really go to the basket today but instead we settled for the one shot though we did get more paint looks today especially in the first half.” In terms of the agenda of getting guys back quickly on defense, Tingley felt his team did a good job until the end when Fallsburg was getting a lot of quick stuff as it felt it could gamble on defense given its large lead.

Tingley credited Fallsburg’s play. “They looked good,” he noted while positing the idea that he felt they might have a tough time with Pine Plains.

In terms of the 12-7 season overview, Tingley smiled. “At the beginning of the season James Pugh said, so we’ve gotta beat three and I thought Oh My God, if we only get four wins. I wanted a lot more. We had to get those early ones because I knew we were inexperienced. We could get good by the end of the season but it would take us awhile to get there. We couldn’t afford to throw away games early in the year and expect to make it up later,” he posited.

“We’ve got a lot of people returning next year and those returnees have played a lot. We would play ten guys pretty regularly. For the most part we got everybody in every game. This year the juniors and sophomores got a lot of minutes.”

Looking ahead to the summer Tingley said, “We usually try to get into something. If Liberty has something we’re going there but if they don’t maybe we’ll start something. We usually put together a team to go down to play some games in Seward,” he added.

Dworetsky credited his team’s unselfish play and the rewards that have come from such. “These kids have worked way too hard the last couple of years to just walk away. We knew Tri-Valley coming in here was going to be tough but we executed really well. Once or twice we tried to force it down the lane and we had one possession on defense that I wasn’t thrilled with (the open three),” he offered.

Turning to thoughts of Pine Plains, Dworetsky feels his team will be ready to execute its game plan. “We have one goal in mind and that’s to be playing at New Paltz on Friday.” Dworetsky is counting on his team’s defense to put enough pressure on the Bombers so that “good things can happen.”

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

Tri-Valley's Caroline Martin shoots over Fallsburg's Kelsey Moody.

With only 48 hours between their last highly emotional encounter won by Tri-Valley 70-45 which assured the Lady Bears of home court and a share of the Division V title and a snow storm cancelling school to boot, Fallsburg got permission to use its gym for a practice Coach Daniel Redmond knew his team needed if it was going to alter the existing dynamic with the Lady Bears.

Two 25-point losses that involved melt downs, turnovers and as he saw it, squandered opportunities to pull off upsets, had Redmond and his all-important seniors vowing that enough was enough.

This time, they’d come with a new attitude and seek to avoid the miscues that could fuel another Tri-Valley “track meet.”

For senior starters Sheryl Pinder, Shanice Mack and Celia Garcia in particular, this was the biggest game of their careers and they were determined to pull out all stops to garner the win.

Junior transfer Nyasia Blakney looked calm and confident. Behind her 23-point flurry two days prior, she intended to do her part to secure the victory.

As the teams took their warm ups, Redmond paced anxiously up and down. Tri-Valley Coach John Tenbus expressed his usual nervousness but managed to be adept at not showing it. He was confident that his defense could hold the Lady Comets’ lethal weapons l Pinder and Blakney sufficiently in check to win.

But to do that his girls would have to take care of the basketball, use their quickness and stamina to wear Fallsburg down, make key shots to offset the expected runs and for heaven’s sake, make free throws, something which has been a bugaboo all year long.

Each team looked to establish the tone. Fallsburg hoped to unnerve Tri-Valley with a strong start, something they were about to unveil with a rain of threes in the first quarter as Celia Garcia buried a pair and Pinder hit her first of two taking advantage of Tri-Valley’s failure to close on perimeter shooters.

With teams that feature bigs like Mack, Blakney and Kelsey Moody, the expectation is that they will try to deploy their height advantage inside to score in the paint, get the lion’s share of rebounds and block shots.

Guarding Sheryl Pinder does not mean stopping her. Pinder had 29 points in the final game of her illustrious high school career.

The last thing Tri-Valley expected was a powerful Fallsburg perimeter arsenal but over the course of the night as the Lady Bears did what was necessary to see that diminished, Tri-Valley’s speed, its relentless defensive verve and its more diversified offensive balance would prove effective to marshal the 68-54 win that would advance them one step closer to their avowed purpose…”Not just defending the championship, but pursuing another.”

Moody and Tri-Valley senior Erin Smith got set for the tip as the “Red Sea” of Tri-Valley fans made their presence felt on one side of the gym while diagonally opposite, a large host of Comets fans including the victorious boys team and their coach looked forward to a Fallsburg sweep.

The Comets controlled the tip but promptly turned it off, an inauspicious sign for Redmond who was no longer masking his emotions. Tri-Valley junior Mareena DiMilia scored from the wing for that all-important first bucket.

When T-V sophomore Katlynn Greffrath was fouled and went to the line, a hush fell over the crowd. That silence soon turned to a roar as she hit two-for-two from the stripe for the 4-0 lead. Erin Smith scored and hit one from the stripe as well for the 7-0 lead and nearly built on that behind a Greffrath steal but T-V couldn’t convert the points off the turnover.

Pinder blanked on a chance to put the Lady Comets on the board as the Comets cheerleaders barked, “You’ve got to get loud.”

With Tri-Valley leading 8-0, Garcia finally broke the drought with a trey. Erin Smith showed her senior leadership as she ambled through the lane to make it 10-3. By night’s end she’d share a team-high accrual of 15 points with Caroline Martin but Smith was even more important with her aggressive play, rebounding and indomitable will to prevail.

Despite its height advantage, Fallsburg was ineffective in boxing out. Proof in point was made as diminutive Sabrena Smith scored on a third put back attempt surrounded by infinitely taller Lady Comets for the 12-6 lead.

After a palming call on Garcia gave the ball right back to the Lady Bears, Sabrena Smith ripped through the lane uncontested to score again. Greffrath had a steal but travelled with 3:03 remaining. Tri-Valley was getting steals as Caroline Martin heisted a Fallsburg inbounds pass but the Lady Bears weren’t converting those into points.

At the other end of the floor Garcia pulled up for her second three to make it 14-9. Fallsburg got to the line behind a foul by Erin Smith but the first of two lane violations on the night nixed the free throw by Blakney.

The battle of the fans: Tri-Valley (top) and Fallsburg (below)

Martin dished it to Erin Smith in the post for the 16-9 lead but lethal Pinder would close the quarter with five straight points including a trey and a layup off a Tri-Valley turnover as the Comets closed within two at 16-14 as the first quarter ended.

Tenbus calmly reorganized his troops during the periods, while Redmond extolled his girls and encouraged them to build on what they were doing. Getting close to Tri-Valley was nothing new; surpassing them was another matter.

The Lady Bears began the quarter with two points from Nicole Bradley who had come in to give Erin Smith a breather. Fallsburg then threw it away as Redmond implored his team to play defense.

Martin missed a shot but a Tri-Valley rebound re-routed the ball to her at the top of the key as the freshman hit her first big shot of the game for the 20-14 lead.

Fallsburg was squandering trips with missed shots and then lost a rebound to Martin who came up with the ball seemingly out of nowhere.

Martin raced up the floor with Greffrath on the opposite side. At the last second she dished it to Greffrath who scored to the tumultuous cheers of the Red Sea horde with 2:14 to go. Fallsburg converted a three point play behind a made free throw and a Moody put back of a miss from the stripe to cut the lead to 22-19. Martin came up huge again as she canned a three.

Every time Fallsburg closed the gap, Tri-Valley would widen it back. All of this was consuming energy but Tri-Valley’s conditioning advantage was its ace in the hole. Blakney hit one from the top of the key to cut it to four at 25-21 with 5:06. Each team travelled before Garcia picked up her second foul. Fallsburg was over the limit and Greffrath stepped up for a one-and-one.

She hit both to make it 27-21 and Garcia was flagged for travelling again. After a T-V miss Moody threw it away. Cumulatively, these unforced turnovers were taking their toll. Sensing the need to elevate her game even further, Pinder hit her second three to make it 27-24. Blakney fouled Erin with 3:28 but she missed both.

Caroline Martin looks to pass while Nyasia Blakney guards her closely. Below, Blakney fires in two of her ten points. Martin ended up with 15. In the previous game just two days prior both led all scorers with 23 points.

Pinder looked to tie it with a three but the ball caught nothing but air. Coming up the floor with a chance to close within one or to tie, Fallsburg was suddenly looking the other way as Martin had stolen the ball and scored for the 29-24 advantage.

Flustered, Fallsburg committed a backcourt violation as Redmond fumed and called in his troops for an emotional talking to. Tie ups were affording alternating possession arrows as players from both squads looked to wrest the ball from each other.

With 1:09 to go and closing the gap, Fallsburg had possession of the rock, Greffrath got a key steal and was fouled before the shot. Greffrath hit both from the stripe to make it 31-27 with 52.4 seconds. Blakney and Pinder both missed close in. Tri-Valley had the last word of the half with a lay up to carry the 33-27 lead into the half.

Tenbus schooled his team on the importance of the first minutes of the third quarter. They had withstood Fallsburg’s runs and would look to rectify the issues with the Lady Comets’ open threes as 15 of Fallsburg’s 27 points had come from long range.

Fallsburg would never score from out there again for the rest of the night.

Blakney opened the second half with a floater from below the key to cut it to four. A missed three by Martin was rectified by an alert Greffrath who grabbed the ball and put it through the cylinder. Time and time again, Tri-Valley answered Fallsburg’s bids to draw close.

Tri-Valley led by six which soon became nine as Sabrena Smith slashed the lane and hit a free throw. Pinder hit an off-balance shot to make it 38-31 and a Moody offensive put back cut it back to six. Again the Lady Bears counterpunched with two more points.

Ominously, Erin Smith picked up her fourth foul and had to come out as Mack went to the line and hit one before a lane violation nixed another. Bradley came in for Smith as the score hovered at 40-34. Martin drove the lane to widen the gulf to eight with 3:55 to go. Pinder countered with a bucket but missed the accompanying free throw.

Martin pushed it right back to eight with a pair of made free throws. Was this the same team that had looked clueless from the stripe?

How sweet it is: Mareena DiMilia and Katlynn Greffrath enjoy a victory hug. They hope they'll be more occasions for such this season before all is said and done.

With 3:20 to Tri-Valley poured it on as the red-hot Martin dished a nifty pass to a scoring Bradley. Blakney cut it to six again but a runner by Greffrath provided yet another answer. Tri-Valley led 46-42 with 1:17 as the game remained tight.

Greffrath hit one of two from the stripe but Bradley put back the missed second one to push the lead back to seven with 1:07. With 44.2 seconds to go Greffrath travelled.

Pinder picked up her third foul as Sabrena Smith scored and hit a free throw. Martin came up with a huge steal with nine seconds remaining. The Lady Bears were in possession with 3.1 remaining as Tenbus called a time out and set up a double screen looking to free Greffrath on the right wing beyond the arc.

The play worked like a charm as the Wizard of Wonderland’s strategy had designed it so that the deft sophomore had just enough space to bury the trey. It was the dagger for Fallsburg as it gave T-V a 55-42 lead heading into the final quarter.

Despite the gulf, Pinder would refuse to quit. More than anything else, the talented guard who has come to define Fallsburg girls basketball would uncork her final effort though it would prove to be too little; too late.

Pinder would score all 12 of Fallsburg’s points in the final frame, nearly equaling the Tri-Valley team output of 13. It was a noble effort from a player who deserves the highest regard.

Tri-Valley continued its fine free throw shooting down the stretch as the Lady Bears iced five of six from the stripe in the fourth quarter enroute to an 18-for-27 (66.6%) high water mark as Erin Smith hit three of four and Martin was two for two in the stanza. Back to back steals and buckets from Sabrena Smith sent the crowd into delirium. DiMilia added a bucket for good measure. Sabrena Smith stalled the final possession until the end.

When the final buzzer sounded the Lady Bears hugged one another with boundless joy while the tearful Lady Comets made a quick exit to the locker room to try and reckon with the impact of this season-ending shock.

Pinder held her head up high and listened as this writer extolled her play and her career. “I want to thank my teammates. I thought we gave 100 percent out there. I played my best game and tried to give it my all,” she said.

Pinder ended with a game-high 29 points for the 10-9 Lady Comets. Blakney had ten and Garcia had nine via her trio of treys. Fallsburg shot seven-for-16 from the line for 43.7%. Martin and Erin Smith led 17-1 Tri-Valley with 15 points apiece. Greffrath had 14 and Sabrena Smith had 12.

The Lady Bears will look to return to the finals via a hoped-for home win over Tuxedo on February 28. The Lady Tornadoes bested Rhinebeck 40-31, while #1 seeded John A. Coleman Catholic bested #8 Pine Plains 58-38. They will play #4 Millbrook which bested #5 Chester 59-35.

Tenbus agreed that free throws were huge and that Fallsburg came into this game with its best effort. “Sheryl being a senior was going to do everything she possibly could to keep her team in it and try to win. She played a heck of a game tonight and Garcia did two. They were the two players we were manning in our triangle and two the whole game and they did a good job of screening for each other.”

Tenbus went on to say, “We stepped back as opposed to edging out to try and force them back so we could recover. They knocked down quite a few and those shots were big.” Talking about Greffrath’s miracle shot at the end of the third that really was the defining play of the game, Tenbus noted, “We were in our four high set and we set two double screens for her. The outside girl goes to screen the big block and the girl on the elbow holds the guard in and Katlynn loops and we hope she gets a good look. I said Katlynn, you’re tired, make sure you put a little more on it and did she ever.”

Tenbus said that he had told his girls, “The most important part of the game are those minutes right after halftime. You’ve got to take advantage of those minutes and we did a great job and got it up to 13. At halftime I told them we’ve got to be a little bit more patient on offense. We’ve got to look for the best shot, not necessarily the first shot. Defensively, this is why we run in practice so we can stay in shape and continue,” he noted.

“A lot of the other team we play get tired and when they do they lose their focus and start making mental and physical mistakes and that’s when we try and turn it up a notch,” he averred.

Tenbus lauded subs Bradley and Sarah Schneyer. That’s what we need. They all know their role as far as what they should do.” Tenbus looks forward to playing Tuxedo. “Hopefully we’ll play better this time. We’re on a nice roll at the end of the season with a couple of good wins against Eldred and Fallsburg. That carried over here and momentum at this point is huge.”

Tenbus extolled Erin Smith’s play and her assertion at trying to get to the basket. “That was huge because when they’re playing their 3-2 and we’re working the ball around, the middle is wide open and I give Erin a lot of credit because she turned and looked at the basket right away.” Fallsburg went from a 3-2 to a 2-3 and added in a man defense. We stayed with the triangle and two quite a bit and just went man-to-man the rest of the time.”

“Fallsburg is a talented team. One of their girls is always going to put up big numbers whether its Sheryl or Blakney, Garcia or Moody. You kind of pick your battles.”

A despondent Redmond emerged from the locker room where he had tried to console his team. “I’m very happy with the progress we made in the last two days. That was a totally different team that we had out there tonight. I thought the last game we played lethargically. This game I felt we put everything on the line and I have to give a lot of thanks to my seniors. They put forth their best effort and just came up a little short.”

Redmond felt his team’s biggest dilemma was its inability to box out. “I’ve been trying to teach the girls not just to jump for the ball but you’ve got to put your body on somebody,” he noted.
Redmond also acknowledged that fatigue became a factor towards the end. “They make it into a track meet which I thought we slowed down the first two and half quarters as we slowed down the tempo and played the way we wanted to play. We kept the game close until they did one of their patented runs.

All the credit goes to Coach Tenbus and his team. They’re not 17-1 for no reason but I felt like the progress we made from the first time we played them to the second time and tonight was tremendous. We had the game..a few points here and there where we could tie the game but we didn’t take advantage of it.”

As to Pinder, Redmond said, “She told me at the beginning of the day that she wanted to leave it all out there and she proved that to me. I told her that I needed her leadership and she put the team on her back and we ran as she ran. She pretty much kept us in the game. I really thank my seniors for all their contributions and all I can wish is that we’ll come back next year. We have a lot of work in front of us but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

The team was hurting after the loss. That sting will last for awhile but for them to come into a hostile gym I think it’s a credit to how hard they worked and how hard they practiced,” Redmond concluded.

For albums of photos from both games, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Transit Authority

Fallsburg Rides Its Fiery Defense and Speed To Marshal An Authoritative League Win Over Visiting Tri-Valley; Rakkir Watson Excels At Both Ends Of The Floor With Game-High16 points and Commanding Defense

Fallsburg 61, Tri-Valley 39

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Two trains running trying to reach the sectional roundhouse as Fallsburg's express bypasses Tri-Valley (Clockwise): Tri-Valley's James Pugh gets a layup after stealing the ball. T-V's Rodney Jester scores over Fallsburg's Jarrett Madison, Michael Robinson elevates for two of his 15 points on the night. Comet cheerleaders soar in spirit and style. Tri-Valley's Conor Walsh is surrounded by Fallsburg's Rakkir Watson and Dustin Foertsch. Dustin Foertsch scores two of his eventual ten points in the game. Rakkir Watson posts two as he rises above Greg Swarthout. Watson led all scorers with 16 points and played great pressure defense.

FALLSBURG, NY—All aboard for the Fallsburg express which bypasses teams as it races through the season. Tougher than tough on their home floor, the Fallsburg Comets streaked by Tri-Valley on January 12, another Division V opponent that entered their station seeking to derail them.

Like the Eldred Yellow Jackets a few days prior, the Bears were unsuccessful in slowing down the hurtling Comets who, when they get up to full speed, are a blazing juggernaut.

Fallsburg's Braiden DeGraw looms large as he looks to block a shot by Tri-Valley's James Pugh. He was successful on several such attempts and scored eight points including a pair of treys. Pugh did his share of damage too as he led the Bears with 11 points.

Newton’s first law of motion applies to the current Fallsburg phenomena:

“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”

To date, out of the eight games they’ve played, Fallsburg has denied opponents’ successful application of force to stop its forward motion. The exception being an overtime loss to S.S. Seward and a prior early season loss to Walton.

The Seward defeat was a wakeup call for the Comets who would love to end this season as the Number One train in Division V. But after their heart-rending overtime loss down at Seward, they currently display the Number Two light as they rumble along towards Grand Central Station also known as the Section Nine Playoffs.

Intent on staying on track, Fallsburg was respectful and wary of gritty Tri-Valley.

Two years ago the Bears nearly knocked Fallsburg off its sectional-bound track when Dean Winters hit a last second trey on the Comets home floor. Scouting Tri-Valley as it dispensed with Tuxedo, Fallsburg Coach Pete Dworetsky saw the Bears perimeter lethality against the Tornadoes’ zone.

Man-to-man it was going to be for the Comets. But to maintain that agenda they’d have to be quick and get good rotating help. Fueling that, they’d need good rebounding, shot blocking and players who could pick pockets to set up easy transition buckets at the other end of the floor.

Tri-VAlley senior Greg Swarthout had great success early on including this slash to the rim. He scored six of his ten points in the first quarter affording the Bears the early lead.

Fallsburg, at least in this encounter with the Bears, proved they had all of the above going as they did against Eldred a few days prior. On the offensive end, they feature an arsenal of weaponry with great depth. Mention Fallsburg and it’s Michael Robinson that is the first player everyone mentions and rightfully so.

Robinson is the heart of Fallsburg’s engine but there are other cylinders clicking too and when those pistons are firing in synch, it’s poetry in motion.

Rakkir Watson, Braiden DeGraw, Dustin Foertsch, Sam Didinsky, Russell Corley and Jim Bertholf are integral parts of the Fallsburg machine, abetted at times by the insertion of Jarrett Madison and Austin Halchak who can keep things running.

Tri-Valley is talented too and before all is said and done, the Bears look to pick up speed and catapult themselves into the sectional roundhouse.

A coming fray at Eldred will be key to that agenda as will rematches with Tuxedo. The Bears will also look to pay Fallsburg back when they visit them later this season but for Coach Brian Tingley, it’s one game at a time and getting five Division V wins onboard by the end of the regular season line means a green light for admission to the big dance, something the Bears missed out on a year ago.

They’ve got the shooters to do it in James Pugh, Greg Swarthout, Shatik Smith, Jesus Lozada, Conor Walsh, Cody Exner, Dave Donovan and Rodney Jester. With size from Alex Brown, Steve McInerney and Devin Donnelley, they have the potential for a tough inside presence as well.

Defensively, the Bears played admirably in this game. Rather it was their poor shooting that derailed them, in particular a horrendous four-for-18 from the charity stripe for a nightmarish 22 percent. When you lose by 22 points as the Bears did in this 61-39 affair, blanking on 14 freebies proves to be a toxic pill.

Fallsburg’s got off to a slow start after Robinson controlled the opening tip against Pugh. Robinson missed on his first two attempts, traveling on the second of these. Blanks by Watson and Corley preceded a Pugh bucket as the Bears drew first blood at 5:41.

Corley answered with an underhanded scoop to tie it up but Greg Swarthout took advantage of Fallsburg’s initial laxity on defense to slash the lane for two. Corley drew an offensive foul as the Comets continued to look more like a local than an express.

You've heard of the Reuben Sandwich, how about the Smith Sandwich? Here Shatik Smith is hemmed in by Rakkir Watson and Jim Bertholf as the ball is about to come loose into Watson's hands for an easy transition bucket the other way.

Swarthout cut through for another deuce before Watson answered to cut the Bears’ margin to 6-4. Tingley looked on with rapt attention as his team was executing the game plan to a ‘t’, while Dworetsky did not like what he was watching in these early minutes. Substitutions were imminent including a sit down for Robinson for reasons he chose not to share.

DeGraw got a block of Pugh but the Comets traveled. He blocked Pugh again on the next possession. Swarthout penetrated uncontested again for the 8-4 lead but the Comets soon proved they could withstand a few early jabs as they counterpunched with an 8-2 run to close the first quarter leading 12-10. In the quarter they got four each from Watson, Foertsch and Corley. The Comets assumed the lead at 1:39 of the first quarter.

Defensive pressure was working for the Bears as Bertholf and Watson sandwiched guard Shatik Smith causing the Watson steal and layup.

Once the Comets bypassed Tri-Valley, they never trailed again.

The Comets cheerleaders stepped to the floor to add their spirit. The largely home crowd was feeling the vibe.

Robinson returned to start the second quarter and quickly scored. McInerney hit one of two from the stripe before incurring the Bears’ fourth team foul as the score remained 14-11 with 5:11 to go. Watson hit a trey to make it 17-11. At times the Comets tried to a look a bit too fancy and it cost them. After a steal, Bertholf threw away a no-look pass when the Comets had numbers for an easy layup.

Other times players looked to ram through traffic instead of making the extra pass resulting in travelling violations. Simply put, Fallsburg still has plenty of work to do to tune up for the blistering pace of the sectionals. Two more league wins will get them a berth but merely getting there this year for this senior laden squad is far from the main agenda.

Robinson profited from another steal to take it to the rim as the Comets raced further ahead with a DeGraw trey that made it 22-13 with the throttle still not pushed all the way. Six more points would be forthcoming as Fallsburg used its 17-7 switchback to take a 29-17 lead into the half.

Tri-Valley's Cody Exner is a potentially lethal three-point shooter but on this night his trey's were off. He had some open looks like this one but found the Fallsburg rim unwelcoming. Look for him to light it up on the Bears' home floor in the rematch.

Here’s the second quarter summary: Fallsburg got six from Robinson and Watson, two from Foertsch and three from DeGraw. Tri-Valley got two each from Swarthout, Jester and Pugh and one from McInerney.

Tri-Valley had its best performance in the third quarter as they outscored Fallsburg 14-13 to cut the deficit to 11 at 42-31. In that stanza it was a balanced attack that abetted the Bears with four from Pugh, two each from Swarthout, Donovan and Walsh. Jesus Lozada hit one of two from the stripe.

Tri-Valley’s third quarter featured six points from Swarthout, a bucket from Pugh and two made free throws from Jester. The Comets countered with five from DeGraw that included his second trey, four from Watson, two from Foertsch and a pair of made free throws from Corley.

Fallsburg pushed the throttle all the way up in the fourth quarter as they created a T-V train wreck by outscoring them 19-8. The Bears showed signs of fatique with errant shots while Fallsburg looked fresh from substituting as incoming players fed right into the speedy mix.

Robinson scored eight of his eventual 15 in the final frame including a trio of made free throws.Buckets from Foertsch, Watson and Didinsky coupled with three points from Madison and one point from Halchak. Tri-Valley went 0-for-eight from the stripe in the stanza and managed only lone buckets from Exner, Lozada, Smith and Donnelley.

Pugh led the Bears with 11, while Swarthout had 10 by night’s end.

The buzzer that sounded the 61-39 Comets’ win advanced Fallsburg’s record to 6-2 (3-1 OCIAA), while Tri-valley fell to 4-5 (2-2 OCIAA). The Bears won the turnover battle, committing 15 to Fallsburg’s 20, 11 of which came in the second half. The Comets were an impressive 12-for-15 from the line for a lofty 80 percent. That accuracy would have propelled them to a win at Seward but that night they had a dreadful time from the line.

Tingley summed things up this way in terms of his team’s early success. “We did well with Michael in there as we got out to an 8-4 lead. Oddly when he went to the bench, that’s when they tied it up. I suspect we’ll have a different game the next time we play them. We had only one three point shot for the many we took. We don’t usually shoot that poorly,” he averred.

Loud and proud: Fallsburg cheerleaders let you know how they adore their team.

“In addition I was telling the boys we were four-from-18 from the line. Even if had 70 percent of those it’s kind of a different game. Fallsburg never took their foot off the pedal at the end and we had our subs in there and were still kind of staying with them. I think Steve did a good job on Michael. Our defense played okay. Sometimes when they drove through we tried not to let the usual suspects hurt us and we played them tough.”

He went on to say, “We talked about this game being a measuring stick at about halfway through the season. We’re putting this 61-39 score on the board and we’ll try to improve that the next time we see them at our place. Rebound-wise in the first quarter we were a machine. We didn’t give up the second and third shots just to keep it close.

Our Eldred game is big since that would get us back to .500 overall and 3-2 in the league. Then you’d need two more wins in five more games,” he posited.

Needless to say Dworetsky was pleased with the with the victory. “We didn’t pick up full court pressure right away and that contributed to Tri-Valley’s early run. Once we picked up our full court pressure game our intensity takes over. Braiden and Rakkir played great defense tonight and Dustin had another great game. They bring more and more defensive pressure. Tonight we only gave up one three. That was a huge focus in practice yesterday, not giving up the open look.”

He went on to say that he felt that the Bears weren’t comfortable even when they had open looks. “Defense is our focus. We can shoot the ball all day but if we can’t stop people…..like I said we’ll go as far as our defense will take us.

I thought Rakkir brought great pressure up top and he didn’t allow shooters to get any time. Pugh lit us up last year but we made them work very hard.”

Fallsburg travels to Tuxedo and then hosts Chester on January 20. “We can’t sleep on anybody,” said Dworetsky.

Sleeping will have to be reserved for late at night as each of these fine teams looks to stay bright-eyed and fresh for the coming challenges of the ensuing weeks. I fully expect both to be in the sectionals when all is said and done and we all know that once you’re in, anything can happen and it usually does.

For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Blazing Comets

Fallsburg Throttles Eldred With Commanding Rebounding Edge and Defensive Pressure; Michael Robinson Leads All Scorers With 18 Points Including An Authoritative Dunk In Division V Clash

Fallsburg 81, Eldred 50

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Scenes from Fallsburg's blazin' win over Eldred (clockwise): Eldred's P.J. Collins floats in two of his nine points on the night. Fallsburg's Michael Robinson brings the crowd to its feet with an authoritative third quarter dunk. Fallsburg's Dustin Foertsch scores two of his ten points on the night. Eldred's Brian Hazen dribbles the ball into the paint. He ended up with eight points. Fallsburg's Rakkir Watson elevates to score.Fallsburg's Sam Didinsky fires in a three-pointer, one of two he canned in the third quarter. He ended up with 14 points on the night.

FALLSBURG, NY- There are few sights as impressive in the night sky as a blazing comet, an icy body which can be seen when it is close enough to the sun. Comets often have tails and their appearance has historically created quite a stir. Most noteworthy of these is Halley’s Comet named for astronomer Edmond Halley who charted the comet’s history in 1705 and predicted its return approximately every 75 years.

The appearance of comets was once thought to be a bad omen. In 1910 rumors circulated that the earth’s passage through the comet’s tail might poison millions. It was an ominous preamble to the first World War. The comet last appeared in 1986 the year of the Challenger disaster. It’s scheduled to make its next return midyear in 2061.

Locally, the Fallsburg Comets showed their blazing aura and proved to be a bad omen for Eldred on January 9 as they lit up the Yellow Jackets with blinding speed, celestial rebounding and defensive pressure. From the get-go, Eldred seemed dazzled by the Comets’ glaring edge on the boards and their capacity to render mayhem on the Yellow Jacket guards who turned the ball over 12 times in the first half.

The return of senior Russell Corley makes the Blazing Comets even brighter. In his second game back from a hiatus that resulted from a football injury, Corley lit it up with 15 points and a bevy of steals.

Fallsburg was already on fire from its stultifying 60-53 overtime loss down at Seward, a game they lost on the free throw line with an earth-bound dearth of accuracy from the stripe, while Seward made its free throws in OT to outscore Fallsburg 7-0 in the extra stanza.

Inflamed by the loss, the Comets decided they had a new tale to tell and thus they turned their icy presence on Eldred much to the delight of the packed house in the Fallsburg gym.

Fallsburg has no one to match Eldred’s P.J Collins in size but 6-8 Collins is Eldred’s sole tall presence.

Credit the Comets with keeping Collins at bay. He accrued a pair of early fouls and had to sit out much of the latter part of the first half. But even with his return, his contribution of nine points on the night was nowhere nearly enough to offset his counterpart Michael Robinson who scored 18.

Defensively, both players blocked shots but Fallsburg took a commanding lead on the offensive an defensive glass affording them two, three and even four shot attempt sequences. Robinson’s antics were impressive, in particular his dunk and subsequent alley oops set up by teammates who beamed the ball off the backboard for his put backs.

But the Comets would get a trio of other players in double figures including 15 from Russell Corley who was returning to play only his second game after a long hiatus from a football injury. Corley and Sam Didinsky provided an extra spark for the sizzling Comets. The latter was key in effecting steals and converting them into lay ups and hoisting up a pair of treys, the last thing Eldred wanted to see given the burgeoning deficit they were already privy to.

Trying to provide an answer to early troubles, Eldred Coach J.J. Gass advises his team during a time out. Savvy coaches like Gass are quick to determine what's working and what's not. It's another matter to get the players on the floor to adjust their game. Eldred is very tough on its own floor in the Bee Hive and no doubt the Yellow Jackets look forward to paying Fallsburg back in the rematch down in Green land.

Collins controlled the opening tip but early turnover woes soon manifested themselves for the ‘Jackets. One such early turnover afforded Corley the game’s first points. He’d score six points in the first quarter to go along with six from Robinson and a baseline beauty from Jarrett Madison to put the Comets in the 14-4 driver’s seat by the end of the frame.

Eldred didn’t score until there was 2:59 remaining in the quarter as Nick Dilles hit a jumper from the top of the key. Zak Dilles hit a pair of free throws for the only other Eldred points.

Fallsburg poured in 19 more in the second frame to Eldred’s 12 as Corley netted five, Robinson, Didinsky and Dustin Foertsch had four apiece and Daniel Justiniano added a bucket for good measure. Eldred countered with four from sophomore Bray Curreri and Brian Hazen, three from Nick Dilles and one point from Zak Dilles. Fallsburg led 33-16 at the half.

Despite the lead, Fallsburg had not evinced its best play. Nine turnovers, missed shots and a few mental lapses had coach Pete Dworetsky a bit miffed. In tight games, such miscues can cost a team a game or come playoff time, end its season. As for Eldred Coach J.J Gass, the agenda was to try and get his team to take better care of the ball on offense and to extend its defense past the first touch of Fallsburg’s possessions.

During the break the Comets Cheerleaders graced the floor with the same verve and skill they had deployed at the Monticello Cheerleading Competiton two days prior. The crowd was loving it.

Senior experience vs.sophomore girt: Fallsburg's Michael Robinson looks to take Eldred's Bray Curreri off the dribble. There's much to be learned from playing against some of the best players and Curreri is well on his way. But guarding Robinson is no small task. He's got great instincts, size and determination.

The third quarter proved to be an even worse omen for Eldred as they were bewitched by the Comets who blazed through the gym enroute to scoring 24 points to Eldred’s 17. Didinsky was the prime mover in this onslaught with his pair of treys and steals. He amassed ten points in the frame. He was abetted by four each from Watson, Foertsch and Robinson. The latter had the crowd in a tizzy with his thunderus dunk that afforded the Comets a 47-23 lead midway through the period. Russell Corley would add two points to the conflagration.

Eldred answered the bell valiantly with its best showing of the night. Curreri had six points in the frame, Collins had five. Hazen added four including a beauty of a floater, Zak Dilles and Matt Bisland each had two points. Fallsburg led 57-33 at the end of the third quarter after a Foertsch steal and bucket as time expired.

Corley netted the first points of the fourth quarter as the Comets flirted with a thirty point margin of victory. Corley dished it to Jim Bertholf to edge it closer to that milestone. After a bucket by Eldred’s Nick Stymacks, Fallsburg’s Jarrett Madison hit the first of two of his treys to push Fallsburg to a 64-37 lead. Robinson ‘s alley-oop posted two more. As Dworetsky sought to insert subs to gain valuable minutes, Eldred’s scoring improved dramatically. In the fourth quarter Curreri netted eight including a pair of treys, Nick Dilles had four, Stymack had two and Chris Fredericks had one. Fallsburg’s fourth quarter production came via six from Madison, four each from Bertholf, Robison and Austin Halchak, along with two from Foertsch and Suede Taylor.

Robinson led all scorers with 18 on the night. Corley had 15 and Didinsky scored 14. Foetsch added ten to the cause. The Comets shot five-for-ten for 50% from the line. The Yellow Jackets were 10-for-22 for 45%. Curreri led the charge with 14 points while Collins had nine.

Fallsburg's cheerleaders are not a mere accent to the game. They are an integral part of the atmosphere and spirit of the school's milieu. In addition, they possess great skills, strength, flexibility and style. As noted in the recent post about their appearance at the Monticello Cheerleading Competiton, cheerleading is a sport in every sense of the word. Lady Comets: you rock!

Fallsburg improved to 5-2 (2-1 OCIAA) adding to their victory over Chester. They now brace themselves for a home league clash with Tri-Valley on January 12. Eldred fell to 4-3 (1-2 OCIAA) and must now must face Seward on the road for its next league encounter.

Gass talked about the disparity of rebounds. “P.J. is our only big kid. They’re bigger and more athletic than us but we need to be more disciplined and box out on defense to get rebounds. If you give them three or four shots every time down eventually they’ll make one. Their guards are very quick and able to put the ball pressure on and we could never get by them,” he noted.

Eldred beat Tuxedo for its lone league win but lost to Chester prior to this encounter. “Right now we need to work on defensive boards and not turning the ball over. Our half court defense is pretty strong, especially initially but our offense gives up just as many points as our defense by turning the ball over. Tonight if we were able to clear out that first shot we might have had a closer game,” he averred.

“We’ll be in there at the end. I feel like we can make sectionals but I don’t foresee us being a one or two seed. Once you get in you never know.”

Dworetsky said the game at Seward was disappointing but felt it was another eye-opener for his squad. “On the road it’s going to be tough no matter what. Tonight we put good pressure on the ball but we’d have a nice basket and then give up an easy one in transition. I thought we shared the ball well offensively but we still have a long way to go. I’m happy with the intensity and their effort,” he noted.

Asked to comment on the fine play of Didinsky, Dworetsky promptly replied:

“Sam is a lightning rod. He’s really matured. He’s a total team guy. He just cares about helping his team,” said Dworetsky who knows his team has depth. Our goal is to play consistent good defense. We’ll go as far as our defense can take us.” Looking forward two days hence, Dworetsky noted, “Tri-Valley is tough. They took one from us here a couple of years ago and nearly knocked us out of sectionals,” he recalled.

“We have to be prepared for everyone’s best effort every night and to avoid looking past anyone.”

Watching this senior-laden Comets squad go through the paces, one realizes that like their namesake, things run in cycles And this is their time. Back when the seniors were freshman, Fallsburg was 0-20 at its nadir (low point), far away from its current ascendancy. Will this year’s Blazing Comet tale define its zenith? Time will tell.

For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Sudden Impact

Tri-Valley/Fallsburg Boys Soccer Game Terminated After Frightening Second Period Collision Of Players; Girls Game Postponed As Well Due To Safety Concerns; Fallsburg’s Arturo Perez Okay After Night’s Stay At CRMC; Hunter Kennedy Treated And Released From Hospital

Fallsburg 2, Tri-Valley 0

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

A night of great soccer would change into a night of gloomy concern after a scary midfield collision between Fallsburg sophomore Arturo Perez featured in earlier action in the top left photo and Tri-Valley's Hunter Kennedy pictured next to Perez, again earlier in the game in the top photo at right as they observe a scramble in front of the T-V goal. Perez was seriously hurt and had to be transported by ambulance to CRMC where he remained overnight. He' and Kennedy are both okay. Bottom left: Sam Didinsky beats T-V keeper Mike Devault for the game's first goal. Another close encounter of the cerebral kind: Didinsky and Tom Monforte nearly bang heads as Patrick McHugh looks on.

GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—It only takes a second for life to suddenly shift from the routine to the starkly dramatic.

The dramatic faces of comedy and tragedy mirror life's starkly contrasting emotions.

Ask drivers or passengers who have ever been in accidents. One minute they were just going along and then out of nowhere comes that unforgettable moment of a collision, that terrifying sound of metal on metal and then the aftermath….

Lives can be changed or even lost in the space of a nanosecond and we rarely see it coming.

As I write this piece that can’t help but focus on the terrifying on the field collision between Fallsburg sophomore Arturo Perez and Tri-Valley senior Hunter Kennedy, I am reminded just how precious life is, how fragile we are.

In the blink of an eye the focus on this chilly night shifted without warning from a compelling soccer game between rivals teams to the grave concerns about what could have been a potentially life-threatening injury.

Before recounting what occurred, it is of paramount importance to report that both boys are okay.

Perez was assiduously attended to by the Grahamsville EMS team and covered with a cascade of donated jackets, sweatshirts and sweaters from concerned fans to prevent him from going into shock.

Fallsburg senior keeper Dustin Foertsch making one of his powerful punts. Foertsch and teammate Daniel Justiniano went to the hospital to look in on Arturo Perez.. The team is literally a band of brothers.

This transpired just moments following the head-to-head collision with the much larger Kennedy as the two boys raced with all the verve of their youth and determination for a ball that veered towards the near sideline, literally a few feet from my fixed attention, not to mention far too close to be photographed by my nearly 300mm zoom lens. .

Kennedy was clearly shaken up, but soon able to get up on his own power apply an ice pack to his aching head and looked over by EMS staff, before heading off to the hospital with his mom to be further checked out.

By stark contrast, Perez had fallen instantly to the field and immediately went into convulsions which then morphed into an even more frightening state of motionless as coaches and other personnel rushed to his aid.

As is the case with volunteer ambulance services in rural areas, it took awhile for the ambulance to arrive. Meanwhile Coach Herb Foertsch knelt over Perez, holding his hand and reassuring him that help was on the way.

The EMS team methodically assessed Perez’s vital signs, checking his pupils for dilation and rendering his neck and head motionless for the ensuing transfer to a backboard beforeh is trip to Catskill Regional Medical Center.

The collision had occurred in an area of the field partially darkened by a stubborn set of lights that had kept going out during the game. There was still sufficient light for the game to be played in but officials had already decided during the halftime that if any others had gone out they were going to call the game and the subsequent girls game slated to follow.

Tri-Valley's Anthony Beale nearly gets one by Dustin Foertsch. Operative word here: nearly.

The incident occurred with 18:55 remaining in the second period. Fallsburg led 2-0 at that juncture but the game was clearly no longer the focus at this point; only the safety and well-being of the injured players and by extension, the two teams who awaited news about their condition and what was to happen next.

Foertsch never thought twice about what he needed to do. He accompanied Perez to the hospital in the ambulance. Devoted to his players whom he regards as his own children just like he does his son Dustin who is the team’s keeper, he sped off in the ambulance, leaving things in the hands of his able assistant coach Mike St. Lawrence.

The latter expressed his reservations to the officials about putting his team back out there on the partially darkened field and told them that Fallsburg Athletic Director Tim Bult was on his way and that the decision would rest with him and the Tri-Valley Athletic Director as to whether the game should be resumed.

By now it was getting later and later and the girls game slated to start at 8:00 would have been delayed by more than a half-hour at the least. Bult conferred with Tri-Valley Athletic Director Derek Adams, the coaches and the officials and after a lengthy confab, the game was called.

“Safety is our principal concern, “ stated Bult who noted that the game was official having passed its halfway mark and that the girls game would be rescheduled as quickly as they could agree on a viable date/time.

Foertsch’s wife Winnie, who diligently photographs Fallsburg sports of every ilk and variety was visibly shaken by the scene. Like her husband, she is immeasurably close to her son’s teammates. She messaged me early the next morning to let me know the boys were okay and that Dustin Foertsch and Danny Justiniano had gone to the hospital to be on hand for their teammate.

Such brotherhood is part and parcel of teams like Fallsburg where the bond of playing together forges abiding friendship and love. Perez is the younger brother of the now –graduated Victor Perez. The family ties speak for themselves and by family I am referring to the entire team connection.

While Tri-Valley (1-13, 0-9 OCIAA) is no longer in contention for a playoff berth, Fallsburg now 4-7 (2-5 OCIAA) needed to win every remaining game including this one, two against Eldred and one versus Chester to return to the sectionals where it has had its share of success as well as drama over the past two years.

The Bears kicked off to start the game but Fallsburg went right on the attack. Tri-Valley had trouble clearing the ball in the early going as Sam Didinsky turned it back as did Austin Halchak as the Comets pressed their cause.

Fallsburg drew first blood with 4:37 gone by on a goal by Didinsky for the 1-0 lead.

Fallsburg's Victor Martinez and Tri-Valley's Dan Lederman vie for a ball near the sideline.

Tri-Valley looked to counter as the ball was sent ahead to a charging Tyler Greffrath. Fallsburg knocked it out and on a throw in by Dan Lederman the Bears tried to take advantage of the short field in front of Foertsch to make something happen.

Fallsburg’s Alan Sierra prevented that with a rapid rush up the far side. T-V kicked it back in but Justiniano was there to reverse it again as the back-and-forth parry continued. Mike Devault made a save on a Fallsburg shot attempt. Devault stopped a Didinsky shot as the fiery Comet held the sides of his head in disappointment.

Much of the play continued in the midfield with great intensity, a foreshadowing of the second half catharsis but there would be no more scoring in the period as the teams came off the field with the Comets holding the narrow 1-0 lead.

The Comets would add to that with a goal by José Rubio on an assist from Didinsky at 24:17. The Bears had a couple of chances to get it by Foertsch including shots by Greffrath and Anthony Beale but the dominant keeper wasn’t going to be beaten on this night.

With the second period now more than half gone, the pace intensified as the Bears tried to break through. It was then that the aforementioned collision occurred and everything came to a halt.

Clearly the game stats were the last thing on my mind so I am unable to report on the minutiae including shots on goal, saves etc. Once the decision to call the game was rendered, Fallsburg’s 2-0 victory went into the books. The fans and the girls teams exited the field. The Tri-Valley girls who were hoping to clinch a playoff berth with a win over Fallsburg will now have to wait for that potential chance.

Good Golly Ms. Volley

Fallsburg senior volleyball players are honored on Senior Recognition Night: Left to right (players and coaches names only not including their representatives (sorry!) Coach Carlye Hyde, Shanice Mack, Isabel Mejia, Alexis McCarthy, Nicolle Freeman and Marie Countryman.

Fallsburg senior volleyball players had were honored on Senior Recognition Night prior to their 3-1 victory over Liberty. T-V seniors include Marie Countryman, Nicolle Freeman, Alexis McCarthy, Isabel Mejiaa and Shanice Mack. The girls posed for photos with their loved ones prior to the game in the ceremony overseen by Athletic Director Tim Bult and Coach Carlye Hyde.

The Lady Indians won the opening set 25-19 but the Lady Comets came back to win the subsequent three sets by the scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-20 to garner their third win and a season sweep of the Lady Indians. Fallsburg’s other win came against S.S. Seward.

Top Performers:

Fallsburg: Melissa Melko 7 aces, 19 service points, 4 digs; Shanice Mack 5 aces, 10 service points, 5 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs; Isabel Mejia 3 aces, 5 service points, 3 kills, 4 digs.

Liberty: Tea Williams 4 aces, 10 service points, 3 assists, 5 kills, 4 blocks; Cortney Sawyer 2 aces, 9 service points, 3 assists, 6 kills, 2 digs; Kristen Siegel 4 service points, 5 assists.

Records: Fallsburg 3-15; Liberty 1-16.

For albums of photos from the volleyball and soccer games visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

Night And Day

Lady Monties Complete Season Sweep of Sullivan West Under The Lights As Purcell Returns To Action With A Hat Trick; Fallsburg Boys Garner First League Win Of The Season With Crisp Performance Vs. Tri-Valley

Boys: Fallsburg 4, Tri-Valley 1

Girls: Monticello 5, Sullivan West 2

By RICHARD A. ROSS

rross@sportsinsightsny.com

Two games for the price of one (Clockwise) Monticello's Mara Resnick and Sullivan West's Amanda Rosenberger vie for a ball in the heated encounter between the Cats and Dawgs in their rematch. Fallsburg keeper Dustin Foertsch goes airborne in one of his graceful patented saves. Tri-Valley's Christian Reynolds and Fallsburg's Felix Martinez angle for control. Monticello's Annie Purcell, center leads the advance with teammate Kerissa Bennett as Sullivan West's Jasmine Davis follows close by.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY—One sporting event a day is more than enough for a photojournalist who takes hundreds of photos, stays up into the night processing and uploading them and then devotes his mornings to telling compelling stories which range far beyond a laundry list of game details.

So imagine trying to reckon with two soccer games in one day; something I am down for at least one more time before this season is out when I travel to Tri-Valley to watch the boys and girls sequentially take on Fallsburg under the lights on October 20.

Just such a double dip was on tap on October 11 as I scurried around trying to catch up with four teams I haven’t seen nearly enough of this fall.

Fallsburg's Alan Sierra and Tri-Valley's Tyler Greffrath look to wrest control of the ball.

Two games supplied two compelling stories which I will combine in this post. Oddly enough for all of the talent on display among the teams who took their verve to the pitch, not one currently sports a winning record and were the season to end today, which thankfully it won’t, neither the Fallsburg or Tri-Valley boys nor the Sullivan West or Monticello girls would be in sectionals.

By season’s end that is apt to change but time will tell.

Fiery Comets Look To Make Headway As Second Half Of The Season Begins With A Win

I began my sojourn in Fallsburg to watch the Comets try to regain some swagger on their home pitch. The schedule for the first half of the season has been brutal , availing Coach Herb Foertsch’s squad nary a league win against four league defeats prior to this tilt with the Bears. With Tuxedo and Seward currently sitting atop of Division V, the Comets are glad to have most of those trials in the rearview mirror as they now turn their attention to T-V, Eldred and a rematch with Chester to try and parlay a series of league wins into a return to sectionals where they feel they can make some serious noise.

Fallsburg had posted a couple of non-league wins affording them a better record than Tri-Valley whose only victory came against Chapel Field. The Bears had already come up on the wrong side of six league games coming into this one and hoped to turn it around with a win over their traditional rival.

But from the opening kickoff it soon became apparent that the Comets would get the better part of the play as keeper Dustin Foertsch had time to daydream with his long range view of the ball which resided principally in the Tri-Valley end of the field.

Fallsburg’s sophomore midfielder Arturo Perez fired the Comets’ first shot on goal only 53 seconds in as Tri-Valley keeper Mike Devault went north into the upper left hand corner to snare it. The Comets held the ball in the T-V end as they set up for the first of seven first half corner kicks. A direct kick by Perez was snared by Devault as Coach Foertsch yelled encouragement to his team to keep the pressure on.

Talented and quick, Tri-Valley's Josue Ramos is tough to defend.

Offensively Tri-Valley was trying to use its speed up front coupled with the deft ball skills of Josue Ramos to get something going. Fallsburg was successful in repulsing rare runs as Kyle Miller, Austin Halchak and Daniel Justiniano were key in sending it quickly back.

At 6:30 the Comets nearly scored as Perez sent a nice cross to forward José Rubio which went just a bit wide. Tri-Valley was whistled for holding in the box but Perez missed on the PK try at 9:11. Halchak blasted one over the top as the Comets kept on coming.. At 11:40 in Felix Martinez turned the ball upfield and drove in an unassisted goal for the 1-0 lead.

Martinez was abetted by an assist from Rubio for his second goal at 17:00 in for the 2-0 edge. The Comets nearly got another one soon thereafter as Devault came out of the goal but Patrick McHugh’s heads up play averted that contingency.

As the first half wound down T-V’s Tom Monforte sent a blast over the top of the crossbar. Another Monforte shot was saved by Foertsch who punted it mightily back into the T-V end where Martinez took a feed from Rubio and sent it over the top of the cage. T-V’s Anthony Beale had a great run up the side and a shot by Zach Nilsen was saved by Foertsch as the half ended.

T-V Coach Jason Closs provided me with the second half scoring as I had to leave to get back for the Suliivan West-Monticello girls game under the lights.

Tri-Valley scored on a cross from Zach Nilsen to Tyler Greffrath who headed the ball into the goal 15:00 minutes into the second half. Fallsburg scored their final goal with under 8 minutes to play in the second half on a penalty kick by A. Halchak following a penalty on a TV player for holding inside the 18. Hope this helps. The other Comets’ score came via Rubio with an assist from Sam Didinsky.

Foertsch had five saves for the Comets; Devault had ten for the Bears. Fallsburg improved to 3-5-0 (1-4-0 OCIAA)l, while Tri-Valley fell to 1-10-0 (0-7-0 OCIAA).

Questionable Call Opens The Floodgates As Monticello Breaks A 2-2 Deadlock With A Trio Of Unasnwered Goals

The Sullivan West Lady Bulldogs gather around Coach Mike Ellmauer at the start of the game.

The night rippled with excitement as the Sullivan West players gathered with their parents prior to the rematch with Monticello. Adorned in their painted shirts that read “No Goals Fo’ You,” the Lady Bulldogs looked to defend their home pitch under the lights and to come out with fire, something they severely lacked in their 3-0 loss to the Lady Panthers two weeks prior.

During the latter moments of that game, Monticello junior Annie Purcell had sustained a concussion and had missed the intervening games. On this night she was back at it and it was clear from the get go that there was no rust from her enforced hiatus.

Reckoning with Purcell had been very much on the mind of Sullivan West Coach Mike Ellmauer as he implored his players to mark her like, “white on rice.” But Purcell’s ball skills, rendered razor sharp by her year-round play on Quickstrike FC would net her a hat trick in the Lady Monties 5-2 win.

That said, it would be amiss to infer from that score that this one a one-sided affair. In fact, it was anything but. It would be more apt to describe this non-league clash as toe-to-toe encounter which had seen each team grab the momentum leading to a 2-2 tie as the Lady Westies tied it up on a PK by Emma Seidl at 26:15 of the second half..

The game took a dramatic turn when an official whistled Sullivan West’s Amanda Rosenberger for a dangerous kick even though there was no one within ten yards of her in any direction.

Iconic match up: Sullivan West's Amanda Rosenberger looks to stymie Monticello's Annie Purcell as the latter turns the ball. Purcell returned from a concussion-induced hiatus to score a trio of goals in the win.

The event would signal a change in momentum in the second half as the Lady Panthers would add three goals for the 5-2 victory. After the game, Ellmauer cited the call as key in the outcome. “That was an awful call. How do you call a dangerous play when the nearest person is more than ten yards away? This has been our modus operandi all year with calls like this from local officials,”Ellmauer went on to say, while not taking anything away from Monticello, a team he noted is far better than their record would indicate.

More on the post-game commentary erelong but first here is the game chronology.

After honoring all of its players including seniors Stephanie Hauschild, Amanda Rosenberger, Emaa Seidl, Alika Simon, Kristina Sumfleth, Kassie Thelman and Giselle Vega, the Lady Bulldogs got set to go to work.

The Lady Westies kicked off but the Lady Monties got control of the initial parry. Seidl sent it deep ahead to Rosenberger but as she would all night long, Monticello defender Laurie Schoonmaker quickly reversed it. Soon Purcell was weaving in and out. Heather Miller’s advance resulted in an offsides call.

Monticello held it in as the two teams continued to strongly contest for the ball. The Lady Panthers pressed the attack with Kerissa Bennett, Jordan Fredell, Purcell and Mara Resnick but the Lady Bulldogs were making their own runs as Rosenberger just missed a nice cross looking to draw first blood.

After a handball call gave the Lady Bulldogs the ball, the Lady Monties held in and Purcell missed a wide-open net at 30:49. Purcell rocked one off the crossbar and Resnick missed on the rebound. Purcell had a shot just under 26 minutes as Jordan Parsons made a sliding save.

Quickly the action reverted to the Monticello end as the Lady Bulldogs looked to break through with a couple of nice chances. Defense was sharp for both squads who appeared to be very evenly matched.

At 16:48 Bennett nearly got one in. Resnick’s shot was blocked by Parsons. The Lady Monties were getting a steady advance up the far sideline but having trouble getting the needed cross in front at times.

Carly Grishaber takes an assist from Cassidy Sauer to score the first goal of the game.

It was Sullivan West that got the first goal at 8:33 as Carly Grishaber poked it through on the left hand side of the net by keeper Morgan Halloran on an assist from Cassidy Sauer for the 1-0 lead. Just one minut e later Resnick answered to tie it up on an assist from Purcell at 7:29. Monticello amped its energy behind the goal and pressed their cause. A great play by Kristina Sumfleth broke up on great run but Purcell had the last word of the first half as she buried an unassisted goal with 19.6 seconds to give the Lady Panthers the 2-1 upper hand at the break.

Sullivan West came out on all cylinders to start the second period. Sullivan West was afforded a penalty kick with 26:25 after a trip in the box. Seidl sent it by Halloran but the official waved it off saying the keeper wasn’t ready. Seidl dialed it up and did it again and the game was now knotted at two-all.

Purcell had a direct kick saved by Parsons as the ball continued to go back and forth. Neither team scored but both had chances. Parsons fell on a shot by Fredell for the save. It was then that Rosenberger was whistled for the dangerous play that set up a goal Bennett assisted by Purcell for the 3-2 lead at 12:54.

It had occurred at a time when the Westies appeared to have the momentum but suddenly things went south in a hurry as Purcell fired in an unassisted goal in to make it 4-2 just 31 seconds later at 12:23.

Monticello gets the bragging rights in this year's chapter of the Cats and Dawgs spat but this feud is far from over.

Purcell’s final goal came on a perfectly lofted direct kick at 9:35, giving the talented junior the hat trick and assuring the Lady Monties of the this year’s last word in the Cats and Dawgs Spat. While the last story was entitled Cats and Dawgs Redux, I’m sure Ellmauer might have been okay with this one being called “Cats and Dawgs Reflux,” as in acid reflux given the bitter taste of the game which slipped away behind the questionable call.

Purcell was upbeat about her return to action. “I think we really kept our intensity up which was an important factor. We’re coming off a lapse over our last few games. We didn’t’ take it for granted that we beat them the last time. We really kept it up and had some nice combinations,” she said.

Asked to comment about her team’s answer to the penalty kick that tied it up, she noted “We never got down and kept the energy positive.” Purcell attributed her direct kick placement to her year-round play with Quickstrike FC, her travel team. We play all year round.

Monticello Coach Bill Stento referred to his team as “Up and down. We’ll have games where we play like this as opposed to losing to Liberty 5-0. It’s been an inconstant year but when these girls come to play, they really show it,” he averred.

Stento felt his backline defense abetted by Lauren Katz who was able to push up as the Lady Westies deployed just to up front, helped to keep the flow heading towards the Lady Bulldogs end a significant part of the time. “That allowed us to control the midfield a little better.”

With a daunting schedule ahead, Monticello will have an uphill battle to make sectionals but they are not technically out of it at this juncture, nor is Sullivan West who must now face Burke for its next challenge while the Monties try to wrangle with Cornwall.

Morgan Halloran had seven saves for the Lady Panthers; Jordan Parsons had 15 for the Lady Bulldogs.

Monticello improved to 3-8, while Sullivan West fell to 4-6-1

For albums of photos from both games, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

A Matter Of Pride

23 September, 2011 by Richard Ross Andy Hazelnis, Arturo Perez, Boys Soccer, Debbie Simpson, Dustin Foertsch, Fallsburg, Fallsburg boys soccer, Herb Foertsch, John Kolarik, Julain Spina, Kyle Miller, Liberty boys soccer, Liberty HS, Pedro Garcia, Pride Weekend, Sergio Diaz, Sports No comments

Liberty Punctuates Pride Weekend With A Captivating Non-League Win Over Talented Fallsburg; Sergio Diaz Records The Hat Trick To Account For Indians’ Goals

Liberty 3, Fallsburg 1

Pride Week at Liberty is enhanced by a dramatic 3-1 Indians' non-league win over neighboring Fallsburg. (Clockwise) Liberty senior captain Andy Hazelnis poses for a picture with his parents prior to the game as part of the honoring of the team's elder statesmen. Liberty players surround Sergio Diaz and congratulate him on his goal. He scored all three of Liberty's goals on the night. Liberty fans and band members amp it up as part of the night fever. Fallsburg's inimitable keeper Dustin Foertsch holds on for a save. Battle of the 17's. Liberty's Alex Barragan and Fallsburg's Alan Sierra go at it. Fallsburg brings the ball forward on a dramatic rush and early in the game Fallsburg's Amado Gallo and Liberty's Chris Symanski vie for possession.

LIBERTY, NY—“Liberty Pride,” was the school’s renaissance mantra rekindled by former Athletic Director Jason Semo. Though Semo is now no doubt churning up school spirit in South Colonie High School in the Capital District, the legacy he left behind in Liberty is alive and well.

A day after the girls soccer team pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind 2-1 win over rival Sullivan West, it was the boys team who entered the limelight both literally and figuratively. The occasion was a non-league game against ever-competitive neighboring Fallsburg . The tilt was about to take place under the lights as part of the Pride Weekend cavalcade.

It should also be mentioned that the girls tennis team garnered a victory the day before as it beat Fallsburg 4-1.

With a playoff bid’s life on the line, the football game slated against Ellenville as the Friday Night Lights centerpiece of the weekend, Liberty is hoping for another outpouring of whoops, hollers and chest bumps.

But on this night it was all about soccer.

On the run: Liberty's Sergio Diaz looks ahead as he dribbles the ball up the field.

It should be emphatically noted that pride is not the exclusive property of Liberty. Fallsburg has plenty of it too and rightfully so, especially when it comes to a pair of boys sports, namely soccer and basketball. On this first day of fall it was the soccer pitch, not yet the hardwood that would offer the Comets a chance to show their stuff and at times they did just that.

Both teams saw a bevy of talent go out the door at graduation, Liberty more so in terms of sheer numbers, but Fallsburg too. For Liberty Coach Debora Simpson and Fallsburg Coach Herb Foertsch, the agenda is to get their newly configured squads to gel as rapidly as possible so that their vital league quests will result in sectional bids and the chance for a run at a title.

Fallsburg’s Class C quest entails encounters with S.S.Seward, Tuxedo, Chester and Tri-Valley, while Liberty’s Class B campaign calls for clashes with O’Neill, Burke and Sullivan West.

Night Fever

From the opening whistle it was apparent that both teams would hustle with all they had, vying for every loose ball and looking to create scoring opportunities in a game that figured to be immensely competitive.

In goal for Fallsburg was senior Dustin Foertsch. Anyone who knows anything about soccer in this region knows all about the athletic keeper who guards his cage with unflagging vigilance and whose acrobatic diving saves are the stuff of local legend.

At the opposite end of the field was Liberty freshman Julian Spina who replaces another legend, namely the recently-graduated Will McGuire. Spina is clearly up to the task as his five saves on the night would attest. With a stringent defense in front of him, he wasn’t tested that often in this game and the lone Fallsburg goal, a perfectly-lofted direct kick by Fallsburg sophomore Arturo Perez was impossible to stop.

A Liberty handball led to that score which tied the game at that juncture. Simpson and her sideline assistant Mike Salvia were impressed by the shot. Spina would have needed some Flubber, that miraculous substance of movie fame that lets a player defy gravity to have stopped that one.

But let’s start at the beginning…..

Fallsburg kicked off but within seconds, Liberty’s Sergio Diaz had his first shot on goal, a booming kick that sailed over the crossbar. It was a preview of coming attractions for Diaz who was about to uncork a hat trick to propel his team to an uplifting 3-1 win.

Fallsburg senior Sam Didinsky looks to make something happen.

Simpson has been noting from the start of the season how cohesive and unselfish this group is. Last year’s team was very, very talented, but was also plagued at times by overly-strong individual play.

As Fallsburg made its runs over the course of the night, Liberty showed great instincts in not only repulsing the attack, but turning it around to create push ups of its own. Great communication and deft passing, as well as a quickness to the ball would provide the opportunities for scoring.

Great speed is an attribute both teams can take pride in and there was plenty of that on display.

Fallsburg newcomer Alan Sierra made his presence felt early with a nice shot attempt. Speaking of speed, and deft ball skills, one cannot help but heap praise on Liberty junior captain Pedro Garcia who was racing up the field after dancing and juking to get the ball away from Fallsburg defenders who got to see much of the back of his jersey.

Speaking of captains courageous, how about Liberty’s Andy Hazelnis, a player this writer has now dubbed as “omnipresent.” For those of you who don’t know this word, it means appearing everywhere at the same time and that’s what Hazelnis does.

Lunging, leaping, sliding, running, he has great field vision and understands how to make the pass that will advance the ball towards that hoped-for seam in the defense.

Diaz got a rise of the crowd as he raced up the sideline, veered towards the middle of field and blasted a shot, ably resisted by Foertsch. A Liberty corner kick was also nullified by Foertsch but soon the direction shifted and it was Perez knocking at the Liberty door. Spina answered.

Diaz had more opportunities with direct kicks but couldn’t close the deal. The teams retired to the half in a scoreless tie.

That deadlock ended as Diaz scored an unassisted goal about a minute in for the 1-0 lead.

Not long after, Perez deposited that classic direct kick into the upper part of the net and the Comets exulted in the 1-1 tie.

As Liberty pressed the attack, Foertsch came out and Diaz got the ball by him for the 2-1 lead on a ball that took an incredible angle from the right side. At first glance it looked like Diaz had penetrated too far to make the angle but the ball was perfectly placed for the go-ahead score. Garcia had provided the assist.

Fallsburg battled on but Liberty players seemed to find a newfound burst of energy, egged on by the loud crowd and pep band who were making their presence felt under the blackening skies.

Fallsburg’s Felix Martinez looked to tie it up with a superb shot but Spina snared it to preserve the lead.

Great sportsmanship. Fallsburg's Dustin Foertsch hugs Liberty's Andy Hazelnis as John Kolarik , left and Daniel Justiniano wait their turn to shake hands.

At 30:50 in, Diaz hit his third on an assist from Hazelnis. The hard-fought game would soon send him to the sideline with a bruised thigh. Fallsburg senior Sam Didinsky was another casualty with a hard-knock to the head.

As the final whistle blew, the two teams amiably exchanged handshakes and a few hugs. It’s a good rivalry. Foertsch for one, can’t wait to renew it on the hardwood. Fallsburg stunned Liberty last year with last-second heroics by Michael Robinson..

Diaz who speaks volumes with his game, is a man of few words. “I don’t know what I can say. I’m just happy,” he grinned. Asked to respond to whether he felt proud given that it is Pride Week, Diaz said, “I am.”

Simpson had this to say. “It was a great game. We fought really hard for every touch on the ball. We always play them very tough. This was one of the best-contested games. It was relatively clean and both teams hustled really hard.

We made it happen and we wanted it,” she added.

“I really thought at the beginning of the season that it might take awhile but that our kids would work together very well as a group and that even though you didn’t see everybody out there tonight, everyone is kind of on the same page right now in terms of where they’re supposed to be. We’re still working on our second touches.

“I told the guys including those who didn’t play tonight that it was a team effort .”

Hazelnis deflected praise for himself and credited his entire team’s effort including defenders like John Kolarik. “He’s unbelievable,” he noted. It’s great to have him back. Kolarik broke his leg in a heroic play against O’Neill last season and hurt his other leg in the first game of the season this year. But he’s in there relentlessly pursuing the ball and using that patented head shot to repulse the opposition’s will to attack.

Foertsh agreed that it was a great hard-fought match. “We always want to win because they’re our neighbors and are a bigger school. We thought we had a chance and they came out strong in the second half.

Diaz is fast and a great ball handler. I tip my hat to them,” he added. “We worked hard and communicated well tonight. We were playing the ball the way we’re supposed to. We’re improving from game to game. We’ll see what happens.

Fallsburg expended a lot of energy and has to turn right around and play a home league game against Eldred . A day game after a night game…another real challenge.

Liberty remains unbeaten at 3-0-1, while Fallsburg slipped to 2-3.

For a full album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com

The Great Divide

In A Rare Day Of Home And Away Sectional Border Wars Fallsburg’s Boys Defeat Neighboring Tri-Valley In Quarterfinal Clash While Tri-Valley Girls Prevail Over Lady Comets In The Nightcap; Teams Expend Enormous Effort In Riveting Two-Act Drama Of Advances And Noble Exits

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

Transit Authority

Fallsburg Rides Its Fiery Defense and Speed To Marshal An Authoritative League Win Over Visiting Tri-Valley; Rakkir Watson Excels At Both Ends Of The Floor With Game-High16 points and Commanding Defense

Blazing Comets

Fallsburg Throttles Eldred With Commanding Rebounding Edge and Defensive Pressure; Michael Robinson Leads All Scorers With 18 Points Including An Authoritative Dunk In Division V Clash

Sudden Impact

Tri-Valley/Fallsburg Boys Soccer Game Terminated After Frightening Second Period Collision Of Players; Girls Game Postponed As Well Due To Safety Concerns; Fallsburg’s Arturo Perez Okay After Night’s Stay At CRMC; Hunter Kennedy Treated And Released From Hospital

Good Golly Ms. Volley

Night And Day

Lady Monties Complete Season Sweep of Sullivan West Under The Lights As Purcell Returns To Action With A Hat Trick; Fallsburg Boys Garner First League Win Of The Season With Crisp Performance Vs. Tri-Valley

Fiery Comets Look To Make Headway As Second Half Of The Season Begins With A Win

Questionable Call Opens The Floodgates As Monticello Breaks A 2-2 Deadlock With A Trio Of Unasnwered Goals

A Matter Of Pride

Liberty Punctuates Pride Weekend With A Captivating Non-League Win Over Talented Fallsburg; Sergio Diaz Records The Hat Trick To Account For Indians’ Goals

Night Fever

Red Cross Thanks Community Partners for Assistance Following Grandview Palace Fire

I’M BORED: LibertyBikeTrail.org

Honing The Edge

Voters approve 2012-2013 LCSD Budget, cuts on the way

Pick Up Sticks

BOCES LPN Students Reach Milestone and Receive Caps

Glory Days

In Loving Memory

Police Roundup – May 16th 2012 Edition

Section IX Boys Basketball All-Star Team To compete In The Summer Hoops Festival

Skate Park: Location Raises Questions, Answers, and Activism

Red Cross Thanks Community Partners for Assistance Following Grandview Palace Fire

I’M BORED: LibertyBikeTrail.org

Honing The Edge

Voters approve 2012-2013 LCSD Budget, cuts on the way

Categories

In A Rare Day Of Home And Away Sectional Border Wars Fallsburg’s Boys Defeat Neighboring Tri-Valley In Quarterfinal Clash While Tri-Valley Girls Prevail Over Lady Comets In The Nightcap; Teams Expend Enormous Effort In Riveting Two-Act Drama Of Advances And Noble Exits

Fallsburg Boys Prevail: The Comets’ Tale

The Kids Are All Right: Stamina And Crisp Execution Fuel Lady Bears Victory

Fallsburg Rides Its Fiery Defense and Speed To Marshal An Authoritative League Win Over Visiting Tri-Valley; Rakkir Watson Excels At Both Ends Of The Floor With Game-High16 points and Commanding Defense

Fallsburg Throttles Eldred With Commanding Rebounding Edge and Defensive Pressure; Michael Robinson Leads All Scorers With 18 Points Including An Authoritative Dunk In Division V Clash

Tri-Valley/Fallsburg Boys Soccer Game Terminated After Frightening Second Period Collision Of Players; Girls Game Postponed As Well Due To Safety Concerns; Fallsburg’s Arturo Perez Okay After Night’s Stay At CRMC; Hunter Kennedy Treated And Released From Hospital

Good Golly Ms. Volley

Lady Monties Complete Season Sweep of Sullivan West Under The Lights As Purcell Returns To Action With A Hat Trick; Fallsburg Boys Garner First League Win Of The Season With Crisp Performance Vs. Tri-Valley

Fiery Comets Look To Make Headway As Second Half Of The Season Begins With A Win

Questionable Call Opens The Floodgates As Monticello Breaks A 2-2 Deadlock With A Trio Of Unasnwered Goals

Liberty Punctuates Pride Weekend With A Captivating Non-League Win Over Talented Fallsburg; Sergio Diaz Records The Hat Trick To Account For Indians’ Goals

Night Fever

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