Sports

Notre Dame’s football season came to an abrupt end.

The Avon Braves downed the Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon, 43 to 7. The loss eliminates Notre Dame from sectional playoffs, just one game shy of the Far West Regional.

Notre Dame got off to a fast start on their first possession of the game, taking the ball 82 yards on 13 plays, capped off by a Tim McCulley 1-yard touchdown run to take an early, 7-0 lead. Shortly thereafter, things began to go south for Head Coach Rick Mancuso and company.

“We lost the turnover battle,” Mancuso said. “We made a lot of mistakes that we haven’t in the past few weeks.”

Avon got on the board on their next possession after a 30-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Crye to Jake Martinez. The Braves then forced Notre Dame to put on the ensuing possession, and McCulley’s punt hit one of his blockers in the back. Avon marched 39 yards and Martinez punched in the go-ahead score from a yard out.

When the Fighting Irish got the ball, the Braves pounced on an Andrew Mullen fumble, giving them the ball at the ND 34-yard line. Crye hit Brandon McCaffery four plays later and converted on the 2-point conversion to take a 22-7 lead.

McCulley and his offense did not give up just yet, as they drove all the way to the Avon 1-yard line. However, the Braves defense stood strong, denying Notre Dame of any points and taking over on downs.

Crye, the Section V Class DD Offensive Player of the Year, would then take over on his own 3-yard line, and proceed to drive 97 yards in 2:35 before punching in a back-breaking touchdown run with 39 seconds remaining in the half to make the score 28 to 7 at intermission.

Notre Dame would never get any closer coming out of the half as their state championship dreams were dashed. Avon keyed in on McCulley, holding him to 6-of-17 passing for 57 yards.

“I hand it to Avon,” Mancuso said. “They are a great group of kids and (Head Coach) Andy Englert does a great job with them. They took full advantage of our mistakes and it just wasn’t our day.”

Taylor ended his high school career on a personal high-note, rushing for 80 yards on 13 carries after receiving the Section V Class D Defensive Player of the Year at halftime and he was voted his team’s Player of the Game by Section V.

Mullen chipped in with 71 yards.

Crye earned Player of the Game honors for Avon after finishing 7-of-16 for 137 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 136 yards and two scores on the ground. The Braves will play Section VI Champion Randolph next Friday for the right to represent Western New York in the State Tournament.

Despite losing, the Fighting Irish (8-2) had an outstanding season. They held a share of the Genesee Region League Championship and won their first sectional title since 2006.

McCulley was 6-17 for 67 yards. Jerad Thornton had two receptions for 15 yards and Taylor caught the ball twice for 16 yards. Anthony Paladino has six tackles and Charlie Hebert, five.

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Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs, Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, have announced their schedule for the 2013 season. Batavia will open the 2013 season Monday, June 17, when the Auburn Doubledays host the Muckdogs at Falcon Park. Batavia opens its home schedule Tuesday, June 18, when they entertain Auburn at 7:05 p.m.

The Muckdogs will host their annual Independence Day celebration on July 3rd this year, as they are not home on July 4th. In addition to their Pinckney Division rivals, the Muckdogs will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays (Hudson Valley), Baltimore Orioles (Aberdeen), Houston Astros (TriCity) and the Oakland A’s (Vermont) farm teams to Dwyer Stadium in 2013.

Ticket packages, coupon books and season tickets for the 2013 season are all currently on sale. Holiday Packs are also on sale. For just $25, fans can purchase four undated general admission tickets, a T-shirt and a voucher for a 2013 program. They can be purchased by calling 585-343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-1) vs. Avon Braves (8-1)

Notre Dame captured their first sectional championship since 2006 after dominating Clyde-Savannah last week, 26 to 6. The Fighting Irish shut down the Golden Eagles’ offense that came in averaging nearly 46 points per game on the season. They managed to sack star quarterback Tom Molisani seven times and intercept him four times.

The game was billed as a showdown between two standout quarterbacks, but Notre Dame’s Tim McCulley only attempted three passes. McCulley became a defensive stalwart, picking off two Molisani passes. Head Coach Rick Mancuso controlled the game, using the running game to control the tempo. Nick Taylor ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns, while Andrew Mullen picked up 88 and a score.

On the opposite side, Avon used a similar game plan to defeat the undefeated Red Jacket Indians to win the Class DD title. The Braves held the ball for over 28 minutes, and three different players carried the ball 14 or more times. Jake Martinez carried 19 times for 87 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback T.J. Crye carried 18 times for 65 yards and a score.

Avon has three players who have gained over 500 yards rushing this season. Dan Welch (655), Crye (580) and Martinez (504) have led the Braves offensively, while Welch and Martinez have 133 and 99 tackles on the season, respectively.

The winner of this game will advance to the Far West Regional against the winner of the Section VI Class D Championship game, which will either be Randolph (7-2) or Maple Grove (9-0).

Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester.

#2 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (8-1) vs. #1 Hornell Red Raiders (9-0)

Le Roy is aiming for their 15th sectional championship in program history, and the 14th under Head Coach Brian Moran.

The only problem is that the three-time defending state champion Hornell Red Raiders are standing in their way. Hornell is riding in on a 48-game winning streak after shutting out Attica in the second round of the Class C playoffs last week, 35 to 0.

The Knights will be their stiffest test yet, especially if quarterback Mike McMullen can duplicate last week’s performance. The sophomore went 7-of-10 for 151 yards and a touchdown in the victory over Bath. He will be an integral part of the offense, because the Red Raiders were stout against the run last week, and he can add balance to the offense.

Le Roy will most likely look to control the tempo of the game with their stable of backs. Leading rusher Peter Privitera’s status is up in the air for the third-straight game after tweaking his knee in the third quarter last week. If he cannot play, Moran will rely on a quartet of backs in Tom Kelso, Marcus Mistersaro, Dylan Johnson and Kylan Carter.

Defensively, the Knights will need to stop Hornell’s double-pronged rushing attack of Zack Bacon and Luke Morgan. Bacon ran for 260 yards on 21 attempts and scored twice, while Morgan ran for 111 yards and a touchdown last week against Attica. If Le Roy can stop the run, they should be raising another sectional banner.

The Class C Championship was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, but due to Hurricane Sandy, Hornell was forced to close school on Tuesday. The game has been rescheduled for noon Sunday, Nov. 4. The site will remain Sahlen’s Stadium.

The Batavia Bulldawgs varsity squad made it to the NOFA championships after an amazing season of youth football. 

Meeting BarLyn Saturday in Medina, the Bulldawgs took the field on a cold and rainy night under the lights on artificial turf.

Unfortunately for Batavia, the BarLyn team played like a team possessed and brought the ball on the ground and air in wave after wave.

Edward Schildt of BarLyn had six touchdowns, one extra point and three interceptions. 

Eric Neace Jr. added two touchdowns for BarLyn with Christian Wolck receiving a pass for a two-point conversion.

The Bulldawg's lone score came from a long touchdown run by Demetrius Spinks.

Congratulations to the Bulldawgs on a great season!

More pictures from this game, the other playoff games, and previous games this season can be found at Francletography.com

Following a 26-6 Section V Class D title victory of Clyde-Savannah, Notre Dame's Head Coach Rich Mancuso said a lot of the credit for the win could go to the offensive line.

"Our offensive line and Anthony Paladino did an absolutely outstanding job of blocking and that’s really controlled the game and won it for us," Mancuso said.

The stout line allowed Nick Taylor to rush for 192 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns. Taylor was named MVP for the game.

The title is the first for ND since 2006 and the second in Mancuso's eight seasons as head coach.

Clyde-Savannah is a passing team, but the Golden Eagles were really forced to go the air by the third quarter with the Fighting Irish up 20-6.

While QB Tom Molisani was an impressive 17-29 for 246 yards (including a couple of competitions he tossed while in the grasp of ND defenders), the senior passer gave up four interceptions.

"The big thing is, we knew we had to stop them from throwing the ball and we knew we had to control the clock and we had to take care of the ball, which we did," Mancuso said. "We created a number of turnovers on their part. We did a great job with our game plan both offensively and defensively. I couldn’t be prouder of the kids at the moment."

The Irish amassed a total of 322 yards on the ground.

Andrew Mullen carried the ball for 88 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown. QB Tim McCulley added 37 yards on four carries.

McCulley was 1-3 for 23 yards, with the one pass completion going to Charlie Hebert for a touchdown.

The junior also had two key second-half interceptions.

Like Mancuso, McCulley was full of praise after the game for the offensive line.

"Our running game (was a key to victory)," McCulley said. "We ran the ball in the throat. Our line played great. Our running backs ran hard and everything just fell in place."

After the game Taylor said the win felt "awesome."

"I've been starting since my freshmen year and we’ve lost every time in the finals so it’s great that in my senior year, we actually win it," Taylor said. "It feels great."

Paladino, who helped led the lines on both offense and defense and was one of the players of the game, said his award wasn't just about him.

"We all work hard," Paladino said. "You shouldn’t really pick one person. The whole defensive line did everything."

On defense, Paladino had three tackles and Taylor had four, as well as a sack.

Jared Thornton had five tackles, Hebert four and Josh Johnson, four. Taylor and Aaron McDonald each had an interception.

Hebert also blocked an extra point try following Clyde-Savannah only TD.

On a night of constant rain for the entire game, neither side gave up a fumble.

Also receiving game trophies were Johnson and James Spear.

Next up for the Irish (8-1), Avon (8-1), who beat Red Jacket 14-6 to capture the Class DD title. That game will be played Saturday in Rochester.

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Le Roy football is back in the sectional finals after a 44-27 win over Bath-Haverling at Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester.

After three consecutive seasons without a winning record, the Oatkan Knights will attempt to win their 15th sectional championship in school history, the 14th under Head Coach Brian Moran.

Bath-Haverling entered Saturday afternoon’s contest at Sahlen’s Stadium looking to avenge a blowout loss earlier this season, and they came out fast. The Rams took the opening kickoff and marched 71 yards on nine plays before quarterback Daniel Leonard punched in the first score of the game from a yard out.

Le Roy responded quickly, as Tom Kelso took the ensuing kickoff back 79 yards for a touchdown. The teams would trade touchdowns, as the Knights’ leading rusher Peter Privitera returned from injury to score on a 29-yard scamper to take the lead, 14-13.

Leonard would score his third rushing touchdown of the game to retake the lead as time expired in the first quarter. At that point, the Knights began to put pressure on the senior and it led to good results. After Leonard recovered a fumble, he threw an ill-advised pass under pressure on the very next play that was intercepted by Kelso.

“[Leonard] has a great arm, he’s a four-year starter,” Moran said. “We had to put ourselves into a situation to make him move his feet, get him a little uncomfortable, and I thought we did that when we came off the corners.”

Le Roy countered Bath’s passing game with their own aerial attack. After attempting only five passes last week against Holley, sophomore quarterback Mike McMullen came out throwing. McMullen went 7-for-10 passing for 151 yards and a dazzling 37-yard strike to Ryan McQuillen that would put the Knights up for good in the second quarter. Perhaps the most impressive statistic was the fact that he did not throw an interception.

“When they put 10 guys in the box, you have to take advantage of it,” Moran said. “(McMullen’s) a sophomore, but he’s played all year and he needed to step up for us. He played very well today.”

Leonard finshed 9-for-21, with 165 yards passing and three interceptions. He also ran for 109 yards and three touchdowns for Bath (6-4).

Privitera also had a big game for Le Roy, rushing for 126 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns, including a 57-yard run on the first play of the second half. However, he was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with an apparent knee injury and did not return. The coaching staff is still optimistic that he will be able to play next week.

If Le Roy (8-1) wants to win another championship, they will have a daunting task in front of them as they will face top-seed Hornell. The Red Raiders are a three-time defending state champion and are riding a 48-game winning streak.

The Class C Championship game will take place Friday, Nov. 2, at Sahlen’s Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

PHOTOS by Howard Owens

To purchase prints of these photos, click here. If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

I messed up the settings of last week's contest and nobody was able to complete their picks, so no winner last week. Sorry. This week, same question, but of course the possible answers are different.

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#6 Bath Rams (5-3) vs. #2 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (7-1)

Le Roy survived a tough first round test from Holley last week to advance to the Class C Semifinals, where they will face sixth-seeded Bath.

The Knights ran for 314 yards last week, despite playing without leading rusher, Peter Privitera. Tom Kelso and Marcus Mistersaro continued to be workhorses, while Le Roy got a huge and perhaps unexpected spark from senior Kylan Carter, who ran for 110 yards on nine carries. 

They could get another boost Saturday. Privitera was cleared to begin practicing this week, but how much and if he plays is still in question.

There is no doubt that coach Brian Moran will attempt to control the clock again this week, after holding the ball for nearly 21 minutes in the second half against Holley, and limiting them to 11 offensive plays.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bath upset the third seed, Elba/Byron-Bergen in first round play, 6 to 0.

The Rams held the Genesee Region League’s leading rusher, Zack DuBois, to only 60 yards after he averaged over 220 per game for the entire season.

It was the first time that any defense had held DuBois to under 100 yards rushing all season.

Bath also held the Lancers to only 78 total yards of offense and three first downs for the entire game. While being a low seed, the Rams also have an impressive win over Class B’s Livonia earlier in the season. If they can duplicate last week’s defensive performance, and sustain drives offensively, they could pull another upset.

Kickoff is set for Saturday 1:30 p.m. at Sahlen’s Stadium, Rochester.

#2 Clyde-Savannah Golden Eagles (7-1) vs. #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)

Notre Dame advanced to the Class D Finals after vanquishing Dundee, 28 to 6.

Dundee had won five consecutive games against the Fighting Irish dating back to 1996, including three in a row from 2007 to 2009.

This week, they will face a much stiffer test in the second-seeded Clyde-Savannah Golden Eagles.

They will undoubtedly rely on quarterback Tim McCulley, who went 7 for 15 for 125 yards and a touchdown last week. The Notre Dame offense has revolved around the junior all season, and he has responded by throwing a school-record 17 touchdown passes.

If Head Coach Rick Mancuso and the Irish can get their passing game going, it will open up running lanes for Nick Taylor and Andrew Mullen, who combined for 219 yards and two touchdowns against Dundee.

Clyde-Savannah ousted third-seeded York in their semi-final matchup, 40 to 22.

The Eagles come in to this game averaging 46.5 points per game, and have not been scored less than 34 points in any game this season.

They are also winning by an average margin of 30.4 points per contest. Like Notre Dame, Clyde will rely on their quarterback Tom Molisani, who is coming off of a 19 for 22, 282-yard, 4-touchdown performance against York.

They did surrender over 200 yards of passing offense to York, although most of it was after the game had been put out of reach.

Expect to see a high-scoring affair on Saturday night at Sahlen’s Stadium, with both offenses looking to air it out. Both McCulley and Molisani have put up impressive statistics this season and have carried their teams to this point in the season. If McCulley gets off to a quick start, look for Mancuso to control the time of possession with the running game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Notre Dame's girls soccer team beat Fillmore today for their first-ever sectional win, 1-0.

Pete Welker supplied us with three photos from the game. Above, Burgandy Bartlett kicks the only goal of the game.

Bailee Welker

Tess Diskin with the ball.

Submitted by Mike Henry:

The Batavia Bulldawgs varsity squad beat Akron 36-12 to earn a spot in the NOFA League Championship game. They will play Bar-Lyn next Saturday at 5 p.m. in Medina.

Photo and info submitted by Justine Bonarigo:

Batavia High School's varsity cheerleading squad placed first in the Co-Ed Division at Webster Schroeder Competition held Sunday. They will take on the sectional competition this Saturday at R.I.T. for the Class B division title.

The team includes: Samantha Saraceni (captain), Codie Grazioplene (captain), Macey McCulley, Whitney Athoe, James Murphy, Megan Wilcox, Miranda Reed, Heather Lewis, Makaela Kitcho, Katie Garlock, Danielle DellaPenna, Kayla Corp, Alexandria Ernst, Allison Smith, Teiona Kemp and Alex Rebman. Coached by Marianne Sallome and Justine Bonarigo.

Notre Dame has faced Dundee in four of the past five seasons of sectional play, losing in overtime on a questionable no-call penalty, falling in a blow-out where some thought Dundee ran up the score, and then failing to hold a late fourth-quarter lead.

The tables were turned on Dundee today as the Fighting Irish notched a first-round victory 28-6.

ND went after Dundee with a well-distributed offense. Touchdowns were scored by Nick Taylor, Tim Culley and Anthony Paladino. McCulley also connected with Taylor on a TD pass.

McCulley was 7-15 on the day for 128 yards, the TD, plus two interceptions.

Taylor gained 128 yards on 17 carries. He also had four receptions for 65 yards. Andrew Mullen rushed 13 times for 91 yards.

Charlie Bebert caught the ball three times for 63 yards.

Defensively, Taylor had six tackles, Brian VonKramer, five, Herbert, 5.5 and Mullen 4.5. Mullen added an interception, as did Josh Johnson. Joe Ryan notched a sack.

For Dundee, Aksel Jensen scored their lone TD and rushed five times for 27 yards.

Photos by Bare Antolos.

More photos by Bare after the jump (click on the headline):