What an exciting and packed week it was. The Ellenville Blue Devils had a pretty fair week. The varsity football team continued their outstanding season by dispatching Millbrook 30-7 in the Section 9 Class C semifinals. Ellenville now faces Liberty (which upset Sullivan West) in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. at Dietz Stadium in Kingston. The Blue Devils are the defending champions and the favorite to defeat the upset-minded Liberty. The only weaknesses I see in the Blue Devils are a lack of a kicking game and some second-half sluggishness. Head Coach Tony Boriello is well aware that Liberty has improved since his Ellenville team dominated the Indians 36-6 back on October 3. Former Ellenville Blue Devil John Wilhelm is the head coach at Liberty and Wilhelm has done a very nice job with the Indians. No doubt Wilhelm will have his team ready to play, and Wilhelm knows his team has nothing to lose. The Indians will come in and play loose, but I doubt Coach Boriello will allow his team to get overconfident. Look for Ellenville to rev up their running game and use the pass when Liberty starts putting eight men in the box. Ellenville wins, 28-14. Let's go Blue Devils……….The Ellenville varsity boys' soccer team had lost two of the three games it played against perennial Class B powerhouse Spackenkill this year, including a 3-0 playoff game to get into the Mid-Hudson Athletic League playoffs. But the Blue Devils had the last laugh, defeating Spackenkill 4-2 in a game that was suspended at the half due to heavy rains, with the score knotted at 2-2. The Blue Devils controlled the game once it was resumed and came away with the win. Ellenville then took on top-seeded Burke Catholic in the Section 9 – Class B Semifinals but came up short, losing 2-1 in overtime. The Blue Devils finished their season at 11-5-1 and will most likely have a well-deserved state ranking in what was their finest season in many years. Congratulations to Coach Maxwell Mead and the boys and as they say on the pitch, "Well done!"…………I mentioned a few weeks ago that the Ellenville boys' soccer team was on the way up and that we had not witnessed this type of success before. Apparently, some of the former Blue Devils soccer players and coaches reminded me that the Ellenville teams of the mid-'80s to early '90s were pretty good also. I remember those teams, coached by Pete Meoli; the Blue Devils were hard-nosed, physical teams who would have won a section title or two were it not the presence of the powerhouse Highland teams, some of which were coached by our very own Assistant Superintendent, Ron Chiasson. One of my all-time favorite Ellenville soccer players was on those teams — her name? Amy Shaw. Amy played on the boys' teams because Ellenville did not yet field a girls' team. Shaw was no token female athlete and as tough as any of the boys. So hopefully, everyone associated with those Blue Devils soccer teams will forgive me if I suggested that the current Ellenville team is all we have to offer as far as history goes……….Last week I wrote about the local elections (the results of which will be out sometime after I write this article and before the paper is published). I mentioned that the article reflected my own views as I "handicapped" the races. The winter sports season is almost here and it will be interesting to see how the Blue Devils basketball and wrestling teams do. It was not that long ago that the winter sports season was the most exciting for the Blue Devils. Coach Mike Guiney returns to the sidelines for the Lady Blue Devils. This team is ready to have a successful season. Let's hope Guiney gets the team to play tough defense and run the fast break..........Coach Bryan Bonitz will look to get his boys' basketball team back to the winning ways of yesteryear. And wrestling Coach Merrill Conner will look to overcome the graduation of some of his top wrestlers. It should be an exciting season. Get out and support the teams……….Game six of the World Series is tonight and while I was hoping to report by now that the New York Yankees had claimed their 27th World Championship, I may have to wait until next week. Let's hope the Bronx Bombers put away the Phillies and get to have another parade in the Canyon of Heroes……….I can't let the opportunity pass to comment on the recent closing of Collier Motor Car Company. The Collier family has been a mainstay in this community for decades. Most of my dealings have been with Dave Collier, who supported community events much the way other successful businesses have over the years. Never once in all the years I have known him has Dave ever refused a request to sponsor a Little League or A.Y.S.O. soccer team, or sponsor any of a variety of other community events. I have also never witnessed Dave Collier show anger. Dave would always offer to help someone out who needed help, even if he didn't know them. The loss of a business like Collier's is just one more reason to hate the recession and the effects it has on our community. My best wishes to the Collier family. Until next time…