Jack Farner with the header to score Byron-Bergen's first goal. Photo by Jennifer DiQuattro
The Byron-Bergen Bees are Far West Regional champions after beating Section VI's Wilson 2-1 in Boys Soccer on Friday in West Seneca.
The Bees advance to the Final Four of the state championship tournament in Class C. Their first game is at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Goshen High School (about 4 1/2 hours from Batavia). They will play either Fabius or Seton Catholic in the semifinal. Seton Catholic is the #1 ranked Class C team in the state.
On Friday, Jack Farner scored the first goal with an assist from Colin Martin.
Colin Rea, who missed nearly all of the regular season with an injury, scored the second goal with 16 minutes left in the game. It was his first goal of the season.
The Bees enter the state tournament with an 18-2-1 record.
Zailen Griffen inched the ball over the goalline for one of his three touchdowns while senior lineman Alex Merica begins the celebration. Photo by Howard Owens.
Heartbreaking is the best way to describe the Batavia Blue Devil's 26-20 loss to the Honeoye Falls/Lima Cougars in the Class B football semifinal on Friday night.
The boys' varsity squad was by no means guaranteed the win when the defense made a costly mistake late in the fourth quarter.
But the mistake gave the Cougars' offense new life after the defense had snuffed an apparent scoring drive in the red zone.
First-year head coach Alex Veltz took responsibility for the mental error, saying he hadn't properly prepared his team for a rare circumstance in a high school football game: a blocked field goal attempt.
The defense, apparently unaware that, unlike a point-after attempt, the ball is still live when the kick is blocked, didn't immediately scramble to obtain possession of the ball, and HFL lingered a couple of seconds, too. When a Batavia player did pick up the ball, he tossed it away, making it a fumble, and at least one HFL player had the situational awareness to pounce on it, giving the Cougars a new set of downs and another chance to score. That TD became the difference in an otherwise evenly-matched game.
The Blue Devils got the ball back with less than 1:30 left on the clock and couldn't mount a quick-strike drive.
"You don't see many high school field goals," Veltz said in an on-field interview with The Batavian after the game. "It's just not a situation you encounter very much. It was something we didn't prep for, so my message to the team was I took ownership of it because it was a situation we didn't prepare for, a blocked field goal, reacting to a live ball, knowing that is different and the guys weren't ready for it."
It was a big game for junior running back Zailen Griffen, who scored all three of Batavia's TDs on 20 carries for 160 yards.
Cole Grazioplene had three receptions for 25 yards, and one carry for 37 yards.
On defense, Maggio Buchholz had 13.5 tackles; Lakoda Mruczek, 8.5 tackles; and Carter Mullen, one interception.
Veltz took over a young team, and while he will lose three of his senior captains to graduation, he expects good things from the Blue Devils in 2024.
For more photos and to purchase prints, click here.
Bronx Bucholz with a pass attempt under pressure in the second half. Photo by Howard Owens
HFL QB Matthew Meacham under pressure in the second half. Photo by Howard Owens
Cole Grazioplene during the first half with one of his three receptions. Photo by Howard Owens
Zailen Griffin eludes his final obstacle on his way to a more than 50-yard TD run. It was a clear and open field after he broke the tackle attempt. Photo by Howard Owens
Photo by Howard Owens
Zailen Griffin Photo by Howard Owens
Bronx Buchholz on a QB keeper behind lineman Karvel Martino, who as a sophomore is 6' 2", 350 pounds. Photo by Howard Owens
The field goal attempt would be blocked and prove to be the decisive moment in the game. Photo by Howard Owens
A 60-year-old Batavia man was struck and killed by a vehicle while he was attempting to cross the road on foot in the area of 4077 West Main Street Road, Batavia, at 6:55 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Sheriff's Office.
The victim has been identified as Robert M. Schryver.
The location is roughly between Delre's Greenhouse and the former Dibble Family Center, west of Colonial Boulevard.
According to the initial investigation, a 27-year-old Akron woman, Brittany Hill, was driving a 2020 Gray Volkswagon SUV westbound when Schryver reportedly crossed the road ahead of her vehicle.
Schryver sustained serious injuries and was transported to UMMC, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The accident investigation is continuing by the Crash Management Team and deputies. Town of Batavia Fire, Batavia PD, State Police, and Mercy EMS assisted at the scene.
A pair of teenagers from Rochester are accused of stealing two unlocked vehicles that were left running in the driveways of Batavia homes this morning.
The first theft was reported on Lacrosse Avenue in Batavia. It was later located on Cherry Avenue, where another vehicle that had been left unlocked and running was stolen.
A short time after the theft was reported, a Le Roy patrol officer spotted the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
The driver fled, leading to a chase into Monroe County. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office assisted with the pursuit once it was in the department's jurisdiction.
The chase ended in North Chili, where one occupant was taken into custody without incident.
A second occupant fled on foot but was taken into custody a short time later.
A 17-year-old male and an 18-year-old female, whose names are not being released by Batavia PD, were charged with two counts each of grand larceny 4th. They are also facing charges and traffic violations in Le Roy.
The pair was issued appearance tickets and released to their guardians in accordance with state law.
Batavia PD said in a statement that it wishes to thank the Village of LeRoy Police Department, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center and Monroe County Sheriff's Office for their assistance.
"We further would like to remind residents to secure their vehicles and not leave them running while unattended," the department said in a statement.
It's that time of the year when people start thinking about the holidays -- planning parties, family gatherings, gift-giving, and maybe how we might take care of ourselves and the people we love a little better.
It makes it a good time to show a little love to our community and support the local business owners who do so much to make our community a better place to live. They create jobs, serve volunteer organizations, make donations to various groups and charities, and give a local community its vibrancy.
When planning your holiday season, don't forget to support local businesses. Counties with strong local business communities thrive.
Local news is also important to the health of a local community.
Here is a list of the businesses that support The Batavian's mission to bring you lots of local news. Please remember to support them not only during the holiday season but throughout the year.
Byron-Bergen beat Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale 4-0 on Wednesday night at Geneseo in the Class C crossover game.
The Bees now advance to the Far West Regional to take on Wilson, the Section VI Class C champ, in the Far West Championship at 5 p.m. on Friday at West Seneca Senior High School.
All four goals for the Bees were scored by Jack Farner (#8). Assists went to Colin Martin, Noah Clare, Braedyn Chambry and Cody Carlson.
Byron-Bergen's Victoria Rogoyski fouled early in the first half. Photo by Howard Owens
With each of the first two goals the Holley Hawks scored, the Byron-Bergen Bees had an answer to tie the game, but in overtime, the Hawk's third overtime goal ended the game and ended the Bees' hope of advancing further this postseason.
Byron-Byron Bergen lost the Class C crossover game at Geneseo High School and the right to play in the Western Regional Championship to Holly 3-2.
For more photos and to purchase prints, click here.
Keeper Novalee Pocock with a saver in the first half. Photo by Howard Owens
MacKenzie Hagen Photo by Howard Owens
The Holly Hawks score their first goal in the first half. Photo by Howard Owens
Mia Gray after a successful steal in the first half. Photo by Howard Owens
Ava Goff Photo by Howard Owens
Megan Zwerka-Synder Photo by Howard Owens
A Byron-Bergen scoring attempt blocked in the second half. Photo by Howard Owens
Judge Andrea Clattenburg sits at the bench Wednesday n Batavia City Court for the first time after taking the oath of office as part-time City Court Justice. Photo by Howard Owens
Andrea Clattenburg, whose legal career has taken her from a prosecutor's position in the County Attorney's Office to a defense attorney position in the Public Defender's Office, is now a part-time City Court judge.
Clattenburg took the oath of office Wednesday in Batavia City Court in a courtroom packed with family, friends, fellow attorneys, elected officials, and assorted dignitaries.
City Council appointed Clattenburg to the position in August following the resignation of Thomas Burns. City Court judges, state-mandated positions, are elected to six-year terms. Clattenburg will be on an election ballot in November 2026, prior to the expiration of the term Burns vacated. That term expires on Dec. 31, 2026.
Full-time City Court Judge Durin Rogers administered the oath.
"City courts were once described to me as the emergency room or the emergency department," Rogers said. "Many times you don't know what you're gonna have. In City Court, you'd have a traditional vehicle and traffic matter. And for all my former colleagues and for the attorneys, and obviously the judges, you know, that you could have a very serious criminal matter brought into court during vehicle and traffic or during housing, and you have to be able to switch hats. And so you need a keen sense of triage. You need a keen sense of knowledge. And, most importantly, I think judicial temperament, and I'm very excited that we have somebody of Judge Clattenburg's caliber to join us on this team."
Clattenburg thanked her colleagues and family for their support over the years, particularly her father James Clattenburg and her husband Michael Szymczak.
"I grew up in Batavia," Clattenburg said. "I've lived here my entire life. I've worked in Genesee County, in Batavia, my entire life, and I am so thrilled to be able to serve the city of Batavia in this capacity."
During introductions by Rogers, the two newest members of the court staff were also introduced. Kelly Randle is the new chief clerk and Amy VanSplunder is the new deputy clerk.
City Court Judge Durin Rogers administers the Oath of Office to Andrea Clattenburg, the city's new part-time judge. Holding the Bible is her husband, Michael Szymczak, and to her right are her parents James and Marianne Clattenburg. Photo by Howard Owens
Marianne Clattenburg, a member of the Genesee County Legislature, sits in the front row of the City Court gallery with other members of the Clattenburg family. Photo by Howard Owens.
Judge Durin Rogers. Photo by Howard Owens
8th District Administrative Judge Kevin Carter, center. Photo by Howard Owens
Rogers puts her judge's robe on Clattenburg for the first time. Photo by Howard Owens
Judge Durin Rogers, Judge Kevin Carter, 8th District Administrative Judge, Judge Andrea Clattenburg, JaHarr S. Pridgen, City Courts' supervising judge, Judge Melissa Lightcap Cianfrini, County Court, and Judge Tom Williams, Family Court. Photo by Howard Owens.
Elba has a shot at a sectional title in volleyball after the Lancers beat Houghton Academy three sets to zero.
1st game 25 to 18
2nd game 25 to 23
Player stats:
Kennedy Augello 14 assists, 2 kills
Alexa Ocampo 7 kills, 5 digs
Halie Scouten 7 kills, 4 digs
The Lancers will play for the Section V D2 crown at 5 p.m. on Friday at Wayland Cohocton. The match will pit the #6 Lancers against the #1 ranked Avoca-Prattsburgh.
At 7 p.m. on Friday at Wayland Cohocton, in Class D1, #1 seed Alexander players #6 York. Alexander beat Bolivar-Richburg 3-1 on Tuesday.
In Class C1, #2 Le Roy plays #1 Attica at Avon on Friday at 7 p.m. for the title.
The trick-or-treaters were out all over Genesee County. We stopped at the haunted house on Bank Street, Lincoln Avenue, Ellicott Avenue, and Redfield Parkway in the City.
Photos by Howard Owens.
This is Diggs. I made the mistake of asking Diggs, "Have you been getting lots of treats?" He immediately sat and said, "OK, where's my treat?" Photo by Howard Owens.
Isabella Walsh: Section V Class A Player of the Year Isabella Walsh, #11 on the Batavia Blue Devils Girls Soccer team, loves playing defense. She always has.
"I've played defense since I was little," Walsh said. "I like the one-on-one battles and making big saves. I enjoy it."
She's also the team's primary direct-kick specialist (taking kicks following a penalty from outside the penalty box).
These two contributions to Batavia's 14-win season are a big part of why she was named Section V Class A Player of the Year for Girls Soccer.
"I'm really honored to be singled out for this award," Walsh said. "There are so many great players on my team and the teams we compete against. To be a defensive player and to win this type of award is really a great recognition, but this is truly a team award because it's my teammates around me every day in practice and games that make me better and make me want to play harder for them and our team's success."
Batavia's head coach, Roger Hume, said Walsh, now a senior, is a four-year starter at center back, and he doesn't believe she's missed a start in her career.
"She's like the center of our entire defense at this point," Hume said. "She is gonna be a big loss for us."
On the field, Walsh directs the defense when the opposing team has a direct kick or corner kick, and that had a lot to do with Batavia's success in 2023.
"We were at the lowest goal-against total we've had in the last 15 years that I've been here," Hume said. "We had 12 goals against."
Roger Hume Photo by Howard Owens
Roger Hume: Section V Class A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year Fifteen years ago, Roger Hume took over a soccer team that needed new direction. That first year as coach was rough -- no league wins and only a 4-12-1 record on the year. The team scored only 12 goals and gave up 50.
In 2023, he coached the team to a 14-2-1 record, with a team that gave up only 12 goals and scored 73 (The team's previous record for fewest goals against was 17 in 2020 (when the team scored only 15 goals, and the highest goal total was 45 in 2022).
After such a successful season, Hume has been named the Section V Class A Girls Soccer Coach of the Year.
The award isn't just a credit to him, Hume said. It's the entire group of people involved in Batavia Girls Soccer.
"Well, for me, I think it's a combination of all the parents and players that have put the time in, and all of the volunteer coaches and assistant coaches I've had through the years," Hume said. "There's a multitude of parents that had their daughters come up through who helped me from modified all the way up to Varsity. It kind of justifies that we did all that hard work, you know, and it took a while. I mean, 15 years before we had the team -- this has been one of the best teams that we've had, you know, record-wise and group-wise and just the way they are a team together."
Hume now has 111 career wins as a varsity coach.
His soccer career started with his oldest daughter getting involved with soccer when she was four. She's now 32. He became a coach in Batavia Youth Soccer, became a board member, and after a few years, then Athletic Director Mike Bromley asked him if he would coach girls modified soccer for Batavia. After a few years, he moved up to junior varsity and then, 15 years ago, varsity.
The team's biggest improvements have come since the opening of the new Van Detta Stadium with the artificial turf on Woodward Field.
Playing on grass meant playing a slower game, but it also meant, despite all the hard work of the grounds crew, playing on a field that could be a bit uneven.
"When it gets into October, it's tough because it's raining out all the time or it's snowing out all the time," Hume said. "Being able to get on the turf as much as possible has helped to speed up our game a lot. We've really been able to ratchet up."
The proof is the past three years of play against a top Class A team, Pal-Mac. Two years ago, Batavia lost 6-1. Last year, 4-0. This year, in the Class A semifinal, 2-0. That's a measure of progress, even if the Blue Devils haven't yet cleared the hump of beating Pal-Mac.
And the progress doesn't seem to have peaked, Hume indicated.
"We have a great JV group that came up, and I had girls that were freshmen and sophomores that could have been on varsity and would have been on varsity previous years, like five, six years ago, but we didn't have the room for them," Hume said. "They would be playing and I don't want them to sit on the bench if there's no value to it at that point."
Hume acknowledged that as much as it might recognize the success of the program in 2023, it also recognizes the progress of the program.
"I think it is a recognition of what we can do and that we are competitive," Hume said. "We can compete now several teams in our group. Aquinas is in our group, and Pal-Mac is our Class A. Like I said, we did Class A for nine years, and we won four games all the time, or five games all the time, so, you know, I think we're proving we can compete."
Students at Jackson Primary and John Kennedy Intermediate schools went for a trick-or-treat in costume on Tuesday morning, getting treats from police officers, firefighters, bus drivers, and city public works personnel.
The kids at Robert Morris visited a petting zoo, picked out a pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, and enjoyed a snack of doughnut holes and apple cider.
The indoor winter soccer program started on Monday at the YMCA in Batavia, coached by Batavia girls Varsity coach Roger Hume.
He calls the program "club soccer."
It is open to soccer players from third grade through 12th, and it's never too late for a parent to get a child started in the program. Hume said as long as a class has room, the class is open at any time of the winter, November through March, and there is an open registration time again in January.
JV and Varsity players practice and train on Mondays, junior high on Wednesdays, and elementary school kids on Thursdays. On Saturdays, all grade levels participate at different times of the day.
Since many of the JV and Varsity players often play other winter sports, the Monday classes tend to thin out once those seasons start, Hume said.
The session starts with some warm-ups followed by skill work, ball handling.
"We want to do a lot of group stuff, too," Hume said. "Then they'll do some scrimmaging at the end. We try to work on teamwork, try to work on passing, receiving. Indoors is good for more skill work and then some passing, the physicality of the game. But you know, you can't mimic what you're doing outside. I mean, I wish we had turf. Yeah, I always say I wish we had turf, but we don't have turf. So we take advantage of what we have."
In February and March, club players typically participate in tournaments. Batavia, Attica, Keshequa, and Byron-Bergen are among the locations of indoor tournaments.
Two members of a National Grid crew complete a street light replacement on Tuesday morning at Maple Street and Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia. Photo by Howard Owens
Recently, there have been complaints on social media about residential street lights being out. This morning, The Batavian came across a National Grid crew replacing a light at Maple Street and Ganson Avenue in the City of Batavia.
A crew member said they are replacing all burned-out lights in the city in time for trick-or-treat. At least all they know about -- in this case, today, that's 11.
They only know about a light that needs replacing, he said, if a resident calls in a burned-out light. There are no crews driving around at night looking for burned-out lights, and there is no computer system to inform National Grid of burned-out lights.
He said last week, he was working on a reported 32 lights out in the city. At one stop, a resident asked him if he was going to replace the light "around the corner." He told the resident it wasn't on the list. "Did you call it in?" The resident thought National Grid should already know about it. Again, National Grid only knows if a resident calls it in.
The number to call is the company number on your National Grid bill.
He also said he recently replaced a light on Jackson Street that he knew he had replaced a couple of weeks before. They found a BB-shot hole in the light.
National Grid is responsible for any street lights on a utility pole. If it's not on a utility pole, and it's within the City of Batavia, it is probably the responsibility of the city.
The fact that Jennifer Cobb's birthday and Halloween fall so close together may be why she has such an affinity for the holiday, Cobb conceded during a tour of the haunted house she, her husband, and children created on their property in Bethany.
"My mom always kind of combined them," she said.
For one of her birthdays in her 20s, her mom bought her a casket.
"Every year since I was a little kid, I've enjoyed Halloween," Cobb said. "I've always done big, extravagant things. This year, I decided to go super, super big. In the years past, I've built haunted houses out of my parent's garage and let the public in. I was on the news for that in Buffalo. Then we moved out here and did big huge parties, but I'm like, 'nobody's gonna come out here.' It's too much of a drive, and then we were like, we'll give it a shot, and I hope it's gonna be good. So we'll see. But I love Halloween. I love to scare people."
Her birthday is five days before Halloween.
If you visit the Leising Manor and Graveyard, you will start in the house's dining room, where you will gaze upon a rather macabre dining scene, then you will walk through a haunted kitchen and into the expansive back yard into the trails in the woods where you will find ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, cadavers and skeletons among the graveyards scattered among the trees.
Asked why she likes Halloween, Cobb said, "I don't know. I think it's just because it takes people out of their element. Sometimes it makes them really question, 'What drives me, what scares me, what are my fears?' I don't know. I like the gore and the creativity of it. It means something to everybody different. It's just one of them things that you don't have to be a certain religion to like Halloween. You can just like it, you can be young, or old. It doesn't matter. There's no age limit."
The attraction is free, but Cobb said she is asking for donations.
"I'm trying to raise money for a friend who just recently had a fire and lost everything in the fire," she said.
The haunted house is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Monday and on Halloween, which is Tuesday. If it rains, Cobb said, "we'll make the best of it." The address is 9772 Bethany Center Road, East Bethany.
Trick-or-treaters were able to visit 28 Downtown businesses on Saturday in an event organized by Michael Marsh of Edward Jones, and all participating businesses purchased their own candy.
Byron-Bergen soccer fans are now celebrating two sectional championships in the same weekend after the boys team defeated #1 seed East Rochester 1-0 for the Class C2 crown.
The lone goal was fired in by forward Jack Farner, with an assist from Colin Martin, in the third minute of the game. Martin MacConnell, along with the Bees defense, held the Bombers scoreless the rest of the match.
Coach Ken Rogoyski said, "The last time that the boys and girls teams were sectional champions in the same year was 2002 (21 years ago). They also both won in 2001. And before that, in 1981 (21 years prior to the 2002 win). Coincidentally, the girls tied their match on Friday, sending them into overtime with 21 seconds left in the game."
The Bees, now 16-2-1, will face Cuba-Rushford/Hinsdale on Wednesday night, location TBD.
