By Jeanne Sager
JEFFERSONVILLE — September 16, 2003 – The Bulldogs proved their bite is just as bad as their bark.
After losing their season opener in the first ever face-off against Section IV powerhouse Delaware Academy, the Sullivan West football team returned to their home field Saturday afternoon to take on yet another unknown visitor.
John S. Burke Catholic’s large team had age on their side as they had 10 seniors on the roster compared to just two in the Bulldogs’ line-up.
But after just three years of playing as a combined team (players from the three original campuses of Sullivan West came together for their first season in 2001), the Bulldogs had experience on theirs.
This was the first year of varsity play for the Eagles.
And it showed.
“They saw weakness in us and exploited it,” said Burke Coach Keith Lagocki. “Hats off to them.”
The younger and smaller SW team capitalized on their opponents’ mistakes, recovering two Eagle fumbles on consecutive kickoffs and rushing deep into Burke territory. The Bulldogs even racking up points by tackling the Burke quarterback in his own end zone for a safety.
By the end of the game, including points earned from that safety and a field goal by junior place kicker Joe Meyer, SW (1-1) earned a 38-12 victory.
“We played good football,” SW Coach Ron Bauer said. “We played our positions better on defense, and there were some good blocks, some good hits.”
The Bulldogs were carried into the end zone four times on the legs of junior running back Scott Peters, who single handedly outscored the entire Eagle offense. Peters had 209 yards on 20 carries, with TD runs of 70, 12, 10, and 7 yards.
“He had some excellent blocks and some good runs,” Bauer noted.
“That Peters kid is a hell of an athlete,” Lagocki added. “If he sticks with it, he’s got a bright future.”
Junior end Andre Trujillo caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Corey Hornicek to secure a victory for SW in the non-league match-up, while juniors Nick Rappa and David Racine scored for the Eagles (0-2).
“I still think we’re not used to the speed of varsity level football,” Lagocki said. “We just got outplayed.”
Bauer’s team is now gearing up for one of its biggest games of the season. SW will host Spackenkill at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in a Class B Division II contest. It is the Bulldogs’ first league game of this season.
What’s the outlook?
“We’ve improved a lot, but we have to keep on improving,” Bauer said.