Le Roy

On an unusually warm Friday`night in early November what better place to be than Paetec Park watching two of Western New York’s finest football teams slug it out for the Section V class C championship.

Squaring off were two perennial powers: the LeRoy Oatkan Knights and the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets.

The highly anticipated contest resulted in a large turnout of supporters for both teams, both on the field and in the stands.

Bill “Bilko” Pangrazio, a LeRoy native and twenty-four year member of the chain gang for the Oatkan Knights was working the sticks for this contest.

“This is the best seat in the house”, he said in reference to being on the sidelines for the game. When asked about the quality of this years Oatkan grid squad he added, “This team lost 17 starters from last years state finals team. They remind me of the 1998 team.” The admiration he felt for this year’s edition was obvious.

Lynn Gehlert works days as an instructor at the Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School. On this Friday evening she came out to support the Hornets and take sideline photographs as she does at all their games. “I still have siblings in school. My sister Michelle dates Brad (O-A running back Riner) so the whole family turns out for games.”

In what was a see-saw battle for most of the game, bursts of crowd noise alternated, with roars erupting first from one side of the field then the other. Both teams - or towns in this case - were equally loud.

Kelly Kowalcyzk, whose son Tyler plays offensive and defensive end for the Hornets, saw O-A quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck drop back to pass. She then turned and said to a fan seated beside her, “My son can’t catch the ball.” She turned in time to see Tyler catch a thirty yard touchdown pass in the end zone.

“This is more of a battle than last weeks game” she said in regard to some hard hitting and several lead changes. “Right now I think they’re playing for Tim”, she concluded, referring to O-A running back Tim Smith who was injured in a collision with LeRoy’s Travis Fenstermaker.

LeRoy’s next score gave them a lead they would not relinquish and the LeRoy faithful sensed the end was near. Among them were Steven Dumbleton and his son Steven Jr. Young Dumbleton plays for the LeRoy Jayvees and came to cheer on the varsity. “We’re here with everyone else in the stands to support the varsity team.” said his father. “The kids have a good coach and they respect each other.” he said in regards to LeRoy’s winning tradition.

While both teams gave their supporters much to cheer about, in the end it was the Oatka Knights who walked away with the sectional title. Still, its hard to imagine there could have been a loser in a game such as this. Both teams left it all out on the field.

 The Le Roy football team had allowed Don "Hooks" Robertson to hold the Section 5 championship trophy the last two seasons.

He didn't physically get to hold it this year, but he was without a doubt celebrating with the Oatkan Knights after Le Roy beat Oakfield-Alabama 27-17 in the Class C finals Friday night at PAETEC Park.

Robertson passed away last summer from cancer and Le Roy had the goal of winning the championship for him.

The game was an epic battle between two undefeated teams, with a lot of defense early in the game and a lot of offense after the half.

The Hornets forced Le Roy into a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game and then went executed the offensive game plan to perfection. O-A marched 66 yards on 16 plays, with Tim Smith breaking off a 32-yard run early in the drive. The eight minute long drive resulted in three points when Jon Fisher nailed a 27-yard field goal.

But the Oatkan Knights answered right back.

Travis Fenstermaker hooked up with Mike Humphrey on a 25-yard pass, and the 50-yard drive resulted in a score when Andrew Alexander dove in from a yard out. The extra point made the score 7-3.

Smith had a big return, but O-A had to punt the ball away.

Early in Le Roy's next drive, Smith was knocked out of the game when Fenstermaker took off on a scramble and hit him full-force. Smith's helmet was turned around, he attempted to get but flopped back down.

Smith - O-A's leading rusher - was diagnosed with a concussion and was obviously not coming back in the game.

Fenstermaker and Humphrey hooked up on another long pass, but this time the receiver, who was given the MVP award after the game, fumbled the ball away.

Oakfield-Alabama couldn't score and it was 7-3 at the break.

After Jason Stanley popped off a 20-yard run, the Hornets started off a series of scoring with a play-action touchdown pass. A.J. Kehlenbeck faked the hand-off and lofted a ball up fro Tyler Kowalczyk, who hauled in the 30-yarder for a score. That gave O-A a 10-7 advantage.

Fenstermaker then found Humphrey and he took it 54-yards for a touchdown, and the Hornets answered right back with a score when Stanley broke a 57-yard run, meaning Oakfield-Alabama had a 17-13 lead after three quarters of play.

The Oatkan Knights took the lead back when Fenstermaker hooked up with Quentin Humphrey on two passes, including a fourth-and-7, and John Casper scored a 1-yard touchdown.

Then, the biggest play of the game happened.

Le Roy was kicking off and bounced the ball off of one of the up-men, then recovered the onside kick.

Alexander caught a 26-yard touchdown pass with just five minutes left, giving the Oatkan Knights the 10-point lead.

O-A moved the ball a bit, but eventually turned it over on downs, meaning Le Roy wrapped up its 14th sectional title. 

And, they did it for Hooks.

John Koenig of O-A and Andrew Miller of Le Roy were given the sportsmanship award and Le Roy's Eric Stella was the game's top offensive lineman.

Fenstermaker, who had 28 rushing yards and went 15-of-19 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns, was the game's most outstanding offensive back.

O-A's Chris Williams was the top defensive lineman and Derek Hicks was the top defensive back.

Humphrey was the MVP, catching 12 passes for 153 yards and the touchdown.

 I didn't know who the older man that was always at Le Roy practices for a few years. All I knew was that he seemed very nice and the kids liked him.

A few years back, he came up to me and shook my hand. He told me how much he appreciated what I did for the kids and how much he enjoyed reading my previews and coverage of Le Roy football.

That was the beginning of my relationship with Don "Hooks" Robertson.

I spend a lot of time at Le Roy games and practices during football season because it is the top program in this area, so I have gotten to know a lot of great people over the years.

Hooks is one of the most special.

I wrote a story about him in 2006 when he was battling cancer, and we became sort-of practice buddies after that. When the Oatkan Knights won the Class C title that year, the team gave the trophy to Hooks outside of the locker rooms at PAETEC Park, and the man was in his glory.

He had been through a lot, fighting off lung, throat, neck and back cancer. But when the kids that won that title showed him how much they appreciated what he had done, it was enough to render him speechless and make the tears stream down his face.

"It was a total shock to me," Robertson told me days after the contest. "I was thinking more about the kids and winning, not myself. I couldn't believe they gave me the trophy. Football is in my blood and I just broke down."

Hooks was back on the sidelines in 2007, and seemed to be in fairly good health. But the cancer had come back, not that he would ever talk about it. He always talked to me about football and the kids.

He passed away this summer.

I remember hearing that his days were numbered and wanted to get out and see him one last time. I had just had the first of two Carpal Tunnel surgeries when I heard his time was getting close. My second surgery came on the day that he died.

There were complications with the surgery and I was in a lot of pain. But I found myself thinking about Hooks more than the  minor health problems I was dealing with.

I never made it out to the funeral. It killed me, but I couldn't drive and getting a ride wound up being impossible. But in my mind, I was there.

Hooks is still with the Le Roy football team. Not physically, but so many players and coaches on that team have had special relationships with him that it is impossible for them not to think about him as Le Roy plays Oakfield-Alabama in the Class C finals Friday night.

I was never able to write about Hooks because of the surgery. But as the Oatkan Knights go into the finals, I find myself missing a good friend. Heck, I barely knew the man and I know how special he was. Just a good guy that loved Le Roy football and the kids that put in the effort. I couldn't even imagine what those close to him are feeling.

I put together a video that includes conversations with quarterback Travis Fenstermaker and coach Brian Moran, along with some amazing video of his grandson - Brock Pasquale - giving him the game ball after scoring a touchdown in the playoffs.

(special thank you to Ed Henry from www.leroyfootball.com for some video footage and photos) 

 Oakfield-Alabama (9-0) vs. Le Roy (9-0)

6 p.m. Friday, PAETEC Park

Oakfield-Alabama coach John Dowd has been saying for years that he wants to see his program have the wins, the respect and titles that Le Roy has.

There have been a couple Section 5 titles in there, and a couple of trips beyond sectionals, into the state tournament. But there is still a bunch of work to be done to catch up to Le Roy's 13 sectional championships.

Dowd's team, with its powerful double-wing offensive system that drives defenses crazy, will have to beat the Oatkan Knights Friday night to claim a Class C championship and get closer to the level he's looking to reach.

O-A does not have the numbers Le Roy does and that will be evident when you take a look on the sidelines. The Hornets have a small coaching staff, and about 25 players on the squad. The Oatkan Knights will have over 40 players dressed and a larger coaching staff than some Division III college teams.

It is tough to call a team that is 9-0 and ranked sixth in the state an underdog, but you kind of have to when they are playing another 9-0 squad that is ranked second in the state and has one of the most storied histories of any program in the state.

The Hornets have been great in recent years, making the Class D finals in 2003 while winning the title in 2004 and 2006.

But the Oatkan Knights have 13 sectional championships, including 12 under the direction of coach Brian Moran.

The game features two big, physical offensive lines and that might be the biggest advantage Oakfield-Alabama has as Chris Williams and Craig Campbell were all-state linemen two years ago.

The Hornets will attempt to pound the ball with the double-wing, take time off the clock and capitalize with touchdowns. Eight minute drives resulting in points in the best way to keep Le Roy's offense off the field.

The Oatkan Knights will try to stop O-A on first and second down and force them to pass on third-and-long situations.

Tim Smith and Brad Riner have been a great one-two punch carrying the football, with Smith currently at 1,040 yards with 16 touchdowns and Riner at 890 yards with 12 TDs.

Le Roy will be doing the opposite on the offensive side of the ball.

Class C Offensive Player of the Year Travis Fenstermaker and wide receiver Mike Humphrey will look to attack an Oakfield-Alabama defense that is great at stopping the run, but has been passed on in a couple of recent games. Pembroke moved the ball through the air in Week 6 and Dansville had a lot of success in the opening round of sectionals.

Fenstermaker has 1,030 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions and Humphrey has caught 37 passes for 592 yards and 11 TDs.

Running back Andrew Alexander is coming off a 300-plus yard rushing performance against Letchworth in the semifinals, and will still get plenty of touches. He has 1,347 yards rushing with 13 touchdowns.

There isn't much of a history between these two teams. The last time they matched up was in 1999 in the Class C finals, with Le Roy winning 34-3.

Everybody knew Travis Fenstermaker was going to be a good quarterback for the Le Roy football team. But it is almost impossible to imagine the season that he has had for the 9-0, second-ranked team in the state.

Because of his incredible season, he was just named Section 5 Class C Offensive Player of the Year.

The senior has completed 64-of-108 pass attempts for 1,030 yards, including 18 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions.

He has also ran the ball 87 times for 425 yards and four touchdowns, is sixth on the team in tackles and handles all of the kicking and punting duties.

He is 20-1 as a starting quarterback in his high school career.

The Oatkan Knights will be playing Oakfield-Alabama in the sectional finals Friday night at PAETEC Park.

 The Le Roy football team turned the ball over five times, missed two field goals and nearly gave up a 21-0 lead, but managed to hold on and beat Letchworth 21-14 in the Section 5 Class C semifinals Saturday at Aquinas High School.

Andrew Alexander was a big reason why, rushing for 336 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries.

The Oatkan Knights were dominant early with a high-powered rushing attack, but wound up seeing it turn into a game in the second half.

Le Roy marched right down the field and Andrew Alexander had his first touchdown of the game 3 minutes in on a 7-yard run.

After the Indians went three-and-out, Alexander broke off a 30-yard run and eventually scored on a 10-yard rush.

Le Roy had a 14-0 advantage after the opening period of play as Alexander picked up 139 on the ground in the first 12 minutes.

The game appeared to start becoming a blowout in the second quarter when Travis Fenstermaker scored on a 13-yard run. 

Alexander had an interception right before the half and the Oatkan Knights had a 21-0 lead.

The Oatkan Knights fumbled the ball away at the start of the second quarter, but Mike Humphrey saved a score when he picked off a pass.

Le Roy turned the ball over again when freshman Chris Nevinger caught a tipped pass and returned it 20 yards for a TD.
 

The Oatkan Knights coughed the ball up again, with the Indians recovering the ball. Quarterback Travis Tones scored a little bit later on a 1-yard TD run.

Le Roy had a shot to score early in the fourth quarter, but missed a second field goal attempt.

Letchworth failed to drive on its first series of the final frame, but forced Le Roy into a three-and-out.

Letchworth moved the ball into Le Roy territory and came up just short on a third down attempt, setting up a fourth-and-1. Nevinger took the handoff and was stopped inches short, allowing the Oatkan Knights to run out the clock and move on to the finals next week at PAETEC Park.

Tones finished with 103 yards rushing to lead the Indians.

Letchworth falls to 5-3 while Le Roy improves to 9-0.

 Today is the big day.

Notre Dame is playing Dundee at PAETEC Park at Noon in the Class D finals while Le Roy plays Letchworth and Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke do battle in Class C semifinal action at Aquinas High School.

Keep checking in to The Batavian today for results, photos and video from these games.

Here's a little something I put together after a visit to the Jell-O Gallery in Le Roy earlier this week. We only included part of the tour here in the hopes that folks might get interested and go visit the museum to see the rest.

One other quick thing... You may have noticed that the format of the videos have changed somewhat, and in my honest opinion, for the better. We're testing out a new video hosting site called blip.tv. I'm already a big fan. Blip has great video quality, as you can clearly see.You'll also notice that the screen is slightly bigger. If you visit the video on the Blip Web site, the screen is another three times as large as this! Simply visit thebatavian.blip.tv to see our videos in a larger screen format. If all goes well, and we don't have any problems, I'll go ahead and trasnfer our other older videos to Blip.

Enjoy!

This is a huge weekend for area high school football as five teams are still alive. The Batavian will have coverage at every game featured this weekend.

All of the previews are done, and all have video. Check them out.

Letchworth vs. Le Roy  

Dundee vs. Notre Dame

Attica vs. Bath

Pembroke vs. Oakfield-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.

A home on Route 5 near Keeney Road in Le Roy suffered extensive fire damage last night, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. The blaze broke out shortly after 7:00pm, and although fire crews were able to get it under control soon after they arrived, the fire "had a good start" and caused considerable damage. No injuries have been reported, and no cause has yet been determined. Investigation will continue today.

 The Genesee Region League is typically very strong in volleyball, with Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame and Attica as top squads almost every year.

Those teams, a couple of others in the GR as well as Le Roy and Batavia are all kicking off the playoffs on Wednesday.

Byron-Bergen is 19-1, has won six consecutive sectional championships and will get the top seed in Class C, hosting No. 8 Marion in the first round at 6:30 p.m. 

Le Roy earned the top seed in Class CC with a 9-7 record and will host No 8 Sodus at 5 p.m.

Pembroke is a seventh seed and will be playing Mynderse at Victor at 5.

Batavia is a fourth seed and hosting No. 5 Aquinas at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Class BB with No. 4 Attica will host No. 5 Waterloo at 7 in Class B.

Notre Dame is a third seed - earning a bye - in Class D and is hosting either Houghton or Romulus at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Alexander was a ninth seed in Class DD and was at Perry Tuesday night, but got knocked out in the first round, 20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 26-16.

Chelsea Turcer had seven kills and seven aces for Alexander.

 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.

Flu shots will be offered at the Presbyterian Church at Main and Clay streets in Le Roy from 10:00am to noon today, courtesy of the Genesee County Health Department.

In other news, leaf collection begins in Batavia today on River Street in the southside and Redfield Parkway in the north. Leaf piles need to be free of sticks and any other "foreign materials" and placed near the curb line in the street. Residents of Oak, Main and Ellicott streets should place their leaves in the space between the sidewalk and the street.

Batavia's City Council meets this evening at 7:00pm at City Hall.