By Rob Potter
PORT JERVIS — The Eldred football and cheerleading teams honored its seniors, their parents and family members prior to kickoff of Friday night’s Class D football game between the Yellowjackets and the Livingston Manor/Roscoe Devilcats at Port Jervis High School.
The seniors recognized included cheerleader Birkin Abreu and players Shawn Berger, Scott Hallock, Ian Halloran, Travis Hay, Bryan Henry, Geno Jones, Bill McKerrell, Dave Mellan, Rob Morris, Jacob Schoch, Brandon Startup, Zak Tyler and Bob Warden.
Once the game started, the Yellowjackets proceeded to keep their season record unblemished with a 48-0 win over the Devilcats on a field which was very wet and muddy as a steady rain fell throughout the contest.
The victory also clinched the regular season Section IX Class D championship for Eldred, now 8-0 overall, 2-0 in Class D and ranked among the top five Class D teams in the New York State Sportswriters Association Poll.
The Yellowjackets will finish the regular season by hosting the Pine Plains Bombers at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 31 in a non-league game at Brookwood Camp in Glen Spey.
At 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6 at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, Eldred will meet Chester for the Class D title. Back on Oct. 18, the Yellowjackets edged the Hambletonians, 13-12, in their Class D game in Chester.
Leading the Yellowjackets to victory on Friday night were quarterback Henry and running back Halloran.
Halloran had touchdown runs of 7 yards and 18 yards in the first quarter as Eldred took a 12-0 lead.
He added a 15-yard TD rush in the second quarter.
Henry scored on a 3-yard run with 1:27 remaining in the first half and ran for a 7-yard TD with 7:14 to go in the third quarter.
At the end of that stanza, Berger blocked a Devilcats’ punt, picked up the ball and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.
Warden completed the scoring by reaching paydirt on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Henry ran 10 times for 79 yards and Halloran had 10 rushes for 78 yards. Warden added 45 yards on five carries and Jordan Tice had 29 yards on seven rushes.
Henry completed 3 of 6 passes for 51 yards.
Leading the Yellowjackets’ defense were Dylan Kulik, Hay and Henry. Kulik had seven tackles and a sack, Hay made six tackles and recovered a fumble and Henry registered eight tackles and had two interceptions.
“It’s a good feeling for our players to win and stay undefeated,” Eldred Coach Frank Kean said. “But I have a soft spot in my heart for the LMR players, since I have had tough seasons before. I told them that next year would be their year as we walked through the [handshake] line at the end of the game.”
“Eldred deserves credit, they are a fine football team,” LMR Co-Coach Fred Ahart said. “They played well on offense and defense.”
Ahart noted that LMR (1-7, 0-2 Class D) will focus on playing better in its season finale. The Devilcats are slated to face the Tri-Valley Bears in a non-league game at 1:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 31 in Grahamsville.
“We hope to have our seniors end their careers on a positive note [with a win],” Ahart said.