Alabama

 Pembroke (7-1) vs. Oakfield-Alabama (8-0)

4 p.m. Saturday, at Aquinas

Here we go again.

Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke is the best Genesee Region League rivalry and the buildup for the regular season game was huge, the game was even better than could be imagined and now the two powerhouse squads are matching up in the Section 5 Class C semifinals.

Tim Smith scored a late touchdown and Brad Riner ran in a two-point conversion as the Hornets won the regular season contest 25-24 in Week 6, giving fans the best show in the rivalry game's history.

O-A went on to beat Holley in the final week of the regular season and won the league title outright, going undefeated for the first time since 1986. Pembroke beat Attica in the final week of the season and finished one point away from the title and a perfect season.

The Hornets thumped Dansville 63-34 in the opening round of the playoffs and the Dragons had a big second half to beat Bishop Kearney 32-12. Now the scene shifts to Rochester, as the game will be played on the turf at Aquinas High School.

Smith and Riner were the stars in the first game and will be the focal point of the O-A offense yet again as the two GR all-stars are having monster seasons.

Smith has 112 rushing attempts for 971 yards and 15 touchdowns while Riner has tallied 817 yards and 12 scores on 108 rushes. Joe Natalizia, Jason Stanley and Josh Athoe will also see the ball.

The Hornets didn't have to throw the ball much in the regular season game, but if Pembroke is successful in stuffing the run, look for A.J. Kehlenbeck to put the ball in the air. The quarterback has a great arm but has had not had to use it much this year because of O-A's run-first approach.

Kehlenbeck has thrown to seven different receivers while completing 18-of-41 attempts for 271 yards and six touchdowns.

Some people might give Pembroke's offense the advantage because of the playing surface with speedster Andrew Wright and cutting-runner Mike Dibble.

Wright can do it all and has excelled on special teams, running the ball and catching it. He is looking forward to running on turf and adding to his 896 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns and 340-plus receiving yards with three scores.

Dibble is over 800 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns.

Quarterback David Kleckler and tight end Ken Babcock are a great passing duo, with Kleckler completing 33-of-62 attempts for 733 yards and 11 scores.

The Dragons are dealing with some injury issues, most notably starting center Josh Hanel, who is out for the game. O-A has some minor injury issues, but comes in mostly healthy.

Oakfield-Alabama is ranked eighth in the state while Pembroke comes in at No. 17.

 I'll be visiting the five teams that are still playing in the Section 5 playoffs this week, doing video previews as well as my written ones. They will all be on The Batavian on Thursday to help fans get ready for the games.

Notre Dame will be playing Dundee on Saturday at  noon at PAETEC Park in the Class D finals.

Le Roy will play Letchworth at 1 p.m. with Pembroke vs. Oakfield-Alabama to follow at Aquinas in the Class C semifinals on Saturday.

Then Attica will play Bath at 6 p.m. Sunday at PAETEC in a Class B semifinal game.

I attended two practices today and will visit the other three teams on Wednesday and Thursday. You will get the most in-depth previews for local teams as we go deeper into the playoffs here at The Batavian.

I will also be covering games this weekend as well as doing a radio preview and guest appearance during the game on WVIN for the Attica/Bath game on Sunday. You will be able to hear the broadcast locally at www.localsportsedge.com. 

WBTA will also be broadcasting local games this weekend. The Notre Dame/Dundee game can be heard on 1490 AM or at www.wbta1490.com, and then at the conclusion of that game, Le Roy/Letchworth will be picked up. WBTA will stay on the air to cover the Oakfield-Alabama/Pembroke contest.

You will be able to see video highlights, a game story and photos of each game as soon as possible on The Batavian as well.

You don't see a lot of games like the one between Dansville and Oakfield-Alabama Friday night.

A close game early turned into an offense show as the second-seeded Hornets knocked off the seven seed 63-34.

Jon Fisher set the Section 5 record for most extra points kicked in a game with nine, both Tim Smith and Brad Riner had huge games and the Hornets are moving on to the semifinals, where they will either see Pembroke or Bishop Kearney.

Smith had 333 all-purpose yards, including 196 on the ground. He also scored six touchdowns, which is one shy of the Section 5 playoff single game record. Riner gained 178 yards with two TDs on 13 carries.

After a three-and-out, O-A had a six minute drive to start things off, with Tim Smith scoring on a 20-yard scamper.

The Hornets recovered the onside kick, Smith broke a couple more runs and then scored from 3-yards out.

But the Mustangs were definitely not going to back down.

Dansville had a nice drive of its own, marching 65 yards behind the passing of Garrett Hoag, but couldn't convert on a fourth-and-goal at the 5-yard line.

Oakfield-Alabama started moving the ball and then made a mistake, coughing the ball up and giving the Mustangs some solid starting field position. Dansville quickly capitalized as Hoag tossed a 21-yard TD pass to Jordan VanDunk.

A 20-yard run by Riner led to a 9-yard touchdown run by Smith with two minutes left in the half, giving O-A a 21-7 advantage.

After the Mustangs went three-and-out, the Hornets were looking to run out the clock and go into halftime with the two-score advantage.

But Dansville called a timeout when Oakfield-Alabama had a fourth-and-4 with five seconds left on the clock. The move might have been to try and cause a turnover or maybe they thought O-A would punt, but coach John Dowd and company decided to take advantage of the coaching blunder.

Quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck gave the ball to Smith on a screen and the senior worked his way 46 yards into the end zone, making it 28-7 at the break.

Riner was impressive in the third quarter as the Hornets received the opening kickoff and he quickly had a 48-yard touchdown run. Dansville scored on a touchdown pass to Matt Schuster to get within 21 points, but Riner's next carry went 57 yards for another score.

The Hornets recoverd the onside kick, then Smith scored his fifth touchdown of the game on a 50-yard run.

Schuster had an 80-yard touchdown run for Dansville and Josh Athoe scored from 2-yards out for Oakfield-Alabama, making the score 56-21 after three quarters of play.

Hoag tossed a 61-yard touchdown pass to VanDunk, Smith returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score and Tim Rauber got a Dansville touchdown to end the game.

Noah Seward led the defensive effort with eight tackles.

O-A improves to 8-0 and will get the winner of Saturday's game between No. 3 Pembroke and No. 6 Bishop Kearney.

Kearney knocked the Hornets out of the playoffs last year and the Dragons are O-A's league rival, which they beat 25-24 in the regular season.

As many area schools face issues with declining enrollment, there is a prime example of what we could see in the future happening at Lyons High School right now.

Lyons had to forfeit last weekend's game against Dundee and today announced it will not be fielding a team for the Class DD playoffs, which start this weekend. The reason is that the team does not have the  minimum of 16 kids that must suit up to play a game.

The eighth-seeded Lions were scheduled to play No. 1 Caledonia-Mumford Friday night.

The only team in the bracket to be pushed into Pool Play is Warsaw, which one would assume would be given that final playoff position. But, it is Wednesday and Cal-Mum and Warsaw have already been working on preparations for the original teams on the schedule. So Warsaw will not be jumping into the playoffs.

This happened two years ago when Holley had to forfeit its final regular season game and opening round playoff game, both against Pembroke.

The Dragons went two weeks without a game and lost in the sectional semifinals because they were obviously rusty and had to play a very good Le Roy squad.

Now Cal-Mum might very well go into the playoffs with a week off and the possibility of facing a solid Avon team in the semifinals.

 Elba felt the need to merge with Byron-Bergen because of the declining numbers, with hopes of avoiding this situation. Unfortunately, this is something that now appears to be a topic we are going to be discussing come playoff time every year or two now.

For those of us who know, all of the commercials on television that tout the greatness of this or that fast-food patty have got it all wrong. No Wendy's or Burger King or MacDonald's slab can hold a candle to a real, fresh ground beef burger made from scratch.

When we first began to sample the culinary bounty of Batavia back in May, I was sure that I had found the best hamburger to be found at Jackson Street Grill. It was thick, grilled and seasoned almost the way my Italian grandfather would do it: as if it were a meatball.

Then, last week, I stopped by the Alabama Hotel for lunch and ordered their half-pound burger. It, too, was thick, grilled and seasoned to perfection. Plus it came with fresh-cut french fries. Now I don't know who has got the best. Nor have I tasted all that's out there.

So I turn to you, trusted readers, to help settle this age old debate once and for all: Who's got the best burger in Genesee County? Feel free to send us your photos as proof. Because a good-tasting burger is often a good-looking one, too.

 When Tim Smith and Brad Riner embraced just moments after the Oakfield-Alabama football team had shocked visiting Pembroke in the final seconds to wrap up the Genesee Region League title, saying it was an emotional moment would be an understatement. 

The two tearful O-A stars literally left it all on the field and scored the final points in an amazing 25-24 victory in front of an estimated 2,500 fans.

Smith's story is well known.

He literally walked off the field in the middle of a game last season and quit on his team. But his teammates welcomed him back - and it was Smith that plunged into the end zone with 29 seconds left on the clock to put the Hornets down by one point.

The coaching staff initially wanted to kick the extra point and go into overtime, especially with Smith getting banged up on the touchdown run. But the O-A players made the call to go for two, and coach John Dowd let his players decide if they were going to win the Genesee Region League championship outright on a two-point conversion.

After burning a timeout because of some confusion, the Hornets lined up and gave the ball to Riner, who took a sweep to the left side of the line and dove into the end zone to give O-A the lead.

Riner wrapped up the league title (it is the first time the Hornets have won the title outright since Dowd has been coach) with an interception two plays later.

This was a typical Oakfield-Alabama/Pembroke game, a classic battle between the top two programs in the GR.

There was no smack talk on the field, no cheap shots ... nothing but a hard fought battle between two great teams.

Pembroke looked as if it was going to dominate early on as David Kleckler returned the opening kickoff 70 yards to set up an Andrew Wright 1-yard touchdown run less than a minute into the contest.

Neither team moved the ball after that in the first quarter and it was 7-0 after 12 minutes.

Wright put an end to the battle of the punters with a 41-yard run midway through the second quarter. Matthew Phelps nailed an impressive 39-yard field goal to put the Dragons up 10-0.

O-A started near midfield and quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck rumbled for 17 yards to set up a Riner 6-yard TD run with about a minute left in the half, making the score 10-7 at the break.

After the second half started with defensive stops, Riner broke off a 16-yarder and Smith eventually scored from 3-yards out to give the Hornets a 14-10 advantage.

The Dragons seemed to have lost it at this point.

Three consecutive conservative rushing calls set up a fourth-and-8 at the Pembroke 30-yard line.

But Kleckler scrambled around for a little bit and launched a pass into the end zone, which was hauled in by Jacob Reeves. It is just the second reception he's had all season long.

Pembroke carried the 17-14 lead into the fourth.

Oakfield-Alabama's power rushing attack led to a 7-plus minute drive that allowed the score to be tied up when Jon Fisher kicked a 24-yard field goal.

On the ensuing drive, Kleckler scrambled for 32 yards and Mike Dibble rumbled for 14 yards, but two penalties in three plays put Pembroke in a tough situation.

The Dragons had a third-and-17 at the Oakfield 23-yard line.

Kleckler dropped back to pass and felt the pressure from O-A's defensive lineman, but he scrambled around for a couple of seconds and found tight end Ken Babcock at about the 5-yard line. Babcock took a few steps into the end zone and the Dragons led 24-17 with 2:42 left in the game.

Smith had a long kick return to midfield and O-A's longest run on the final drive was a 12-yard scamper by Riner.

The win means Oakfield-Alabama is now 6-0 and is league champions. Pembroke falls to 5-1.

With Le Roy's victory over Caledonia-Mumford tonight, O-A is still the No. 2 seed in Class C and Pembroke is at No. 3. 

The Dragons play Attica next week.

So we've talked about the good eats at the Alabama Hotel, the fine meats at Alabama Holley Farms, the camels and the general sentiment in town that there ain't much to see, which I'm going to go ahead and ascribe to the maxim: you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. Alabama is gorgeous. Maybe that's why folks say they've got not much to see. They don't want the rest of us cretins to go stomping through the splendor of it all.

At the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, they've got nearly 11,000 acres of pristine lands. Dorothy Gerhart told me they see about 264 species of birds pass through each year, most of which stay for at least a little while. Then there are the bald eagles that build their nests—some the size of a Buick—on site and only leave the refuge when everything freezes and are usually back by the end of January. Dorothy is the visitor services manager at the refuge.

Folks come to the refuge just to walk the trails, some come during hunting season for the waterfowl and game, some come in the middle of the winter for the ice fishing on the marshes. It truly is a bit of old country upstate.

Dorothy and I got to talking about all of the caterpillars in the road. I must have seen about a dozen of them down the half mile stretch to get to the visitor's center off Route 77. (Throughout the day, in fact, I'm sure I saw at least 30 of the suckers inching their way across the gravel.)

Dorothy told me that all of these woolybears, as they're called, are a sign that we may be setting in for an especially severe winter. I read much the same in the Farmer's Almanac. All of the extra berries on the trees, too, are such a sign, said Dorothy, that shows nature's own effort to take care of her own in the coming of a cold winter.

As for the other sights and sounds of Alabama, here's another video and some photos that should cover the rest of my trip. Enjoy.

Here's an especially regal-looking home on Lewiston Road:

Here are some sights from around town:

South Alabama is parked on a fine stretch of Route 63 bordered on either side by green flat land, trees, homes and ditches that stretch out in every other direction. There's a quaint old town hall not much more than a stone's throw from Route 77, which, north, takes you to the marsh and woodlands of the wildlife refuge—more on that later—and, south, into the rolling hills of Indian Falls—and I know that because I got lost down there for a little while after I missed a turn. No matter. It was a nice drive.

Anyhow, back to Alabama. My first stop was the town hall, which I later found out used to be an old schoolhouse. It was closed. Another fellow who had stopped by and found that out told me so. He also said, when I asked what there was to see in Alabama, that I should check out the meat market where folks come from all around to pick up a hock or a flank and the Alabama Hotel, which is no longer a hotel, only a restaurant that serves a good fish fry on Friday evenings, he's been told, and both places are on the same corner, acorss the street from each other, where Route 63 and Route 77 meet up for the second time at the flashing red light. Other than that, he said, there's not much else to see.

Most other folks that I saw said much the same.

Driving down Lewiston Road, after a stop at the wildlife refuge—more on that later—and after I stuffed myself full of a half-pound of seasoned ground beef and fresh-cut fries at the Alabama Hotel—oh so good—I nearly drove off the road and into a tree after I thought I saw... was pretty darned sure I saw: a camel. A dromedary, if I wasn't mistaken, just hanging out in a little dirt hole in the ground (literally) chewing cud.

You'll have to excuse me. Camels are a rare sight for me. I was giddy like a kid at the zoo for the first time when I saw it. Have you seen this camel before? Does anyone know his (or her) story? No one seemed to be around to tell me about it.

So, after the camel experience, I kept on down Lewiston Road until I spotted a sign for maple syrup. Now, for those who don't know, there's a rare delicacy known to a certain circle of bootlegger syrup makers and their fans as 'Grade B' maple syrup. This is the dark stuff, often black as molasses, that tastes like liquid maple sugar candy and makes your eyelids twitch. Unfortunately, it is kind of illegal, so you won't find it very often, unless you know where to look or happen upon a clever purveyor of the stuff who knows the tricks of the trade, so to speak.

This fellow didn't have that stuff, which is probably safer for him and me anyway, but he had crates full of quart jars of the fancy maple syrup for only $12 a jar. Just look for the sign on Lewiston Road if you're interested. Don't be intimidated by the sign on the door that reads: "Open Door and Yell." It means what it says, and it got me inside. Too bad that syruper Ken Howard wasn't up for a video interview today. At least he was kind enough to invite me to a tap run in the spring.

Tune in later this afternoon for part two of my adventures in Alabama.

Well folks, the way I see it, if the birds get to migrate, so should The Batavian. Don't get me wrong, I love our office in the Masonic Temple with its frosted glass windows and door, the antique radiator adorned in arabesque—that feel of the old shamus, Philip Marlowe, who keeps a cork-topped fifth of rye in the desk drawer and just sits and waits for the next dame to peek demurely through the crack of the door. Yeah, our office is nice.

Nevertheless, it's time for a change of scenery. Genesee County is a big beautiful place. Let's get out and see what she's got to show us. Since each town and village name speaks its own hidden secrets to me, its own individual promise of undiscovered treasure, there's only one way to do this: start at the top... of the alphabet, that is.

So on this, our first day of migration, I shall travel to Alabama. Don't know what I'll find there. Don't know what to expect. All I need is a place to sit, a place to eat and some folks to talk to about life and about whatever else folks talk about in Alabama.

Do you have any ideas where I should go? What are the must see sites of Alabama? Who's got the best BLT in town? Well... that's enough talk. Time to hit the road. Alabama, here I come.

Pembroke (5-0) at Oakfield-Alabama (5-0)

7 p.m. Friday

Genesee Region League football fans have had this game marked on their calendars since the schedules came out.

Pembroke and Oakfield-Alabama have had the top two teams in the league all season long and this game will decide the champion.

O-A would clinch the title outright with a victory and avoiding a total meltdown against Holley next week. Pembroke would clinch at least a tie and would claim the title outright with a win and a victory over Attica in the final week of the season.

This game has become the biggest rivalry in the GR in recent years as both teams are powerhouse programs that compete for a sectional title every year.

It shouldn't be any different this year as Oakfield-Alabama is currently the second seed in Class C while Pembroke follows at No. 3.

Le Roy is the top seed and will be playing tough games with Caledonia-Mumford and Hornell in the final two weeks, so the winner of this game could end up getting the prestigious top seed in sectionals.

The Hornets are ranked No. 10 in the state while Pembroke gets an honorable mention.

Pembroke's Chip Foster and O-A's John Dowd became head coaches at the same time and the Dragons have won four out of five meetings between the two powerhouses.

The games are typically defensive battles:

2003 - Pembroke 17, Oakfield-Alabama 13

2004 - Pembroke 14, Oakfield-Alabama 9

2005 - Oakfield-Alabama 34, Pembroke 16

2006 - Pembroke 14, Oakfield-Alabama 6

2007 - Pembroke 13, Oakfield-Alabama 10

The Hornets have a big size advantage on the offensive and defensive line, but Pembroke might have the edge in the amount of skilled players that will touch the football.

Andrew Wright tops that list.

He has rushed the ball 39 times for 539 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 12 passes for 334 yards and three scores.

But Wright is by no means the only offensive weapon.

Mike Dibble has gained 390 yards and scored eight touchdowns, Josh Phillips has 268 yards and six TDs and quarterback David Kleckler has rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 rushes.

Kleckler has completed 21-of-38 attempts for 532 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. His main targets are Wright and tight end Ken Babcock (9 receptions, 198 yards, 3 TDs).

Tim Smith has been the biggest producer offensively thus far for the Hornets, gaining 651 yards with nine touchdowns on 73 carries. But O-A will spread the ball around.

Brad Riner has 413 yards and six touchdowns, Joe Natalizia has 221 yards and two scores and Jason Stanley has pitched in 212 yards with one touchdown.

Josh Athoe returned from a leg injury suffered during baseball season and got the start last week, rushing 16 times for 83 yards with two touchdowns.

A.J. Kehlenbeck has added a pretty good passing attack for the Hornets. He has completed 13-of-24 pass attempts - to seven different receivers - for 145 yards and four TDs. Noah Seward leads the team in receptions with three for 36 yards. He also has four sacks.

 The Oakfield-Alabama football team didn't start a lot of the usual names because of a flu that kept several players out of practice this week.

They also didn't do a very good job of keeping the ball from hitting the ground.

But the Hornets did just enough to beat host Attica 35-20 Friday night.

It was senior night for the Blue Devils and a couple of seniors gave the squad a very quick lead. Andy Ruddock busted off a 21-yard run and Nate Berry hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior Brandon Rollins to get things going, just 1 1/2 minutes into the contest.

O-A blocked the extra point.

The Hornets didn't take very long to answer as Tim Smith returned the kickoff 34 yards and Josh Athoe made his mark.

Athoe hasn't played in any high school game since getting injured at the start of last baseball season, but got the start at fullback in this game.

The 6-foot-2, 185 pound junior busted off an 11-yard run that set up his 12-yard touchdown run, with the Jon Fisher giving Oakfield-Alabama a lead that would never go away.

Ruddock ripped off a 30-yarder on Attica's next drive, but Chris Williams sacked Rollins to kill a drive and force a punt.

The Blue Devil defense did its job by stopping the Hornets on a fourth-and-2, but the offense fumbled the ball away on the first play of the next drive.

Athoe kicked off the second quarter with a 9-yard TD run, giving O-A a 14-6 advantage.

The Hornets got the ball back after an Attica punt and moved the ball through the air, with A.J. Kehlenbeck hooking up with Noah Seward and Tyler Tamblin on passes before finding Brad Riner with a 4-yard touchdown pass with just 17 seconds left in the half.

Tim Smith - who finished with 162 rushing yards on 20 carries - started the second half scoring with a 20-yard TD run.

Attica then started making a comeback.

Rollins hooked up with Shawn Dupuis on a 44-yard pass that moved the ball all the way down to the O-A 1, where Rollins scored on a keeper. The conversion pass failed and Oakfield-Alabama led 28-12.

Just seconds ticked off the clock before Kyler Dabolt popped the ball out of an O-A runners hands and Berry picked it up, scampering 62 yards for a score. Rollins ran in the conversion and Attica had cut O-A's lead to 28-20 near the end of the third period.

And then Smith stepped up again. Last week he earned Class C Offensive Player of the Week in a win over Notre Dame, and he stepped up with the big play this week.

The senior busted through the line and busted off a 52-yard run. He scored a couple of plays later from eight yards out.

As Attica tried to drive, Kehlenbeck had a big interception to kill a much-needed opportunity. 

The Hornets fumbled the ball away again, and had a couple of penalties that put the Blue Devils into great position to score.

On a third-and-goal from the Oakfield-Alabama 11, Seward picked off a pass to wrap up the victory.

Athoe rushed for 83 yards on 16 attempts and Riner gained 110 yards on 24 carries. Kehlenbeck completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 50 yards.

 Attica falls to 3-2 while O-A improves to 5-0 and will be hosting currently unbeaten Pembroke next Friday night.