Sports

(Photo courtesy of RUS NY.)

Press release from RUS NY:

The race that so many have been working all summer for is finally here. Tonight (Sept. 7) at Batavia Downs, horses and riders will be competing to capture the title of champion of the New York Racing Under Saddle Fair Series. 

Racing under saddle (RUS), also known as Monte racing in Europe, is where trotters are raced with riders on their back rather than with a sulky behind them like you normally see at Batavia Downs. 

The RUS event is a non-wagering event that will be raced after race eight at about 8:50 p.m. This is the first time in the 70 history of Batavia Downs that racing under saddle will be conducted there. 

This marks the third year of the series, which included 12 races at nine fairs across the state and a race at Saratoga Raceway. Horses earned points during the series to determine final entries.

In order to be eligible for the final, horses needed to compete and finish in any two races. Fifteen horses participated in the series with nine qualifying to race in the final. This year’s field will consist of five horses:

Jeanie Marie: This is the first year Jeanie Marie has been used under saddle. The mare leads the group with 176 points. She has raced in five races, winning three. She was a close second to Funny Photo in Palmyra. Jeanie Marie’s worst finish was Tuesday in Saratoga where she placed eighth with a new rider. Jeanie Marie will be starting in post position four. She has mostly been ridden by Heather Reese and the two of them are a strong team.

Funny Photo: Funny Photo Is second in points with 145, but could be considered a favorite because he and rider Sophie Engerran have shown good speed on the big and small tracks. Funny Photo won a race at Vernon Downs in a time of 1:59.1. The duo has captured three wins on fair tracks, only losing one when they were placed down for not losing ground when making a break. Engerran started racing under saddle in France in 2004. She raced there for 10 years.

Funny Photo and Engerran were introduced last year when the horse was being trained by Andy Gardner at Vernon Downs. Engerran broke the dark chestnut to ride and had success on the track and decided to purchase him last November. According to Engerran, it was not planned to race at the fairs this year because Funny Photo is more comfortable on big tracks, but she said they gave it a try and the horse seems to enjoy it.

Admirable Hanover: Is not far behind in points (138), but shows to be more of a threat on the fair tracks. Batavia may pose as a challenge for the 9-year-old gelding and his rider Vanessa Karlewicz. The duo, who will be starting on the rail, has shown improvement as the season has moved forward so don’t totally count them out. They captured victories in both Morris and Bath and finished mid-pack on the bigger Saratoga track. This marks Karlewicz’s second season with Admirable Hanover and her first year participating in RUS on a regular basis. The rider said she mostly used Admirable Hanover in the amateur driving series last year.

“He's a pretty handy horse on the fair tracks and I've been happy to have three wins with him this year,” she said.

My Friend Charlie: Will be defending his title. This 5-year-old gelding and his rider, Andrea Pratt, were named the winners of last year’s fair final in Monticello. This duo has raced on three fair tracks this year, earning two seconds and a fourth. In July, Pratt rode My Friend Charlie to a second-place finish at Vernon Downs in a time of 2:02.1. The pair has a total of 59 points and placed sixth in the final race of the series in Saratoga. My Friend Charlie seems to like the bigger tracks better so having the final at a larger track may give this team an added edge. They will be starting in post position two.

Kash Now: Is the longest shot on the board, so to speak, as there is no betting on RUS. This is the only horse that no longer races in harness. She was ridden by Michelle Miller in the first fair series where the two of them learned to race under saddle together. The duo didn’t make a comeback until mid-season in Morris as Miller was using another horse. The 12-year-old mare had not raced in almost two years, but was used to ride and keep Miller in shape. Kash Now has always struggled to finish strong, but has been getting stronger each outing. This duo will be starting in post position three and really have their work cut out for them. Kash Now and Miller have earned 50 points in four races.

All participants will earn $800 for earning their way into the championship race. Batavia Downs is contributing $1,000 toward the final purse and the rest of the money comes from RUS NY sponsors and fundraising. The New York Sire Stakes is the series’ flagship sponsor and generously donates $5,000 as initial purse money. 

The winner will also receive a championship saddle pad donated by Everett Hopper of Advantage Edge Equine-Pro and a halter and lead line gifted by Divine Equine Custom Equipment.

A High Point Rider Award will once again be presented at the final to the rider who has earned the most points, regardless of horse(s) ridden throughout the series. To be eligible for the award riders must participate in at least three races.

Post time for the complete card of harness racing is 6:15 p.m.

The Alexander Trojans beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a Saturday night game played in Warsaw (because of renovations to Alexander's field) 45-15.

The Trojans scored all of their points in the first half and the Irish scored theirs in the second.

P.J. Brennan was 10 of 16 passing for 198 yards and three TDs and zero interceptions for Alexander. Derrick Busch caught three balls for 75 yards and two TDs. Dane Heberlein rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries and scored twice. Job Smith had 12 yards on three carries and scored. He also had two receptions for 26 yards and scored on a nine-yard TD pass. Chris McClinic caught two passes for 54 yards.

On defense, Eric Scharlau had three sacks and Zach Jasen had a sack and two tackles.

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Le Roy fell 60-32 to Bath in its season opener in Bath.

Photos by David Boyce. For more photos from the game, click here.

The Batavia Blue Devils, 2016 edition, quietly took apart Greece Olympia/Odyssey on Woodward Field on Friday night to the point that the Spartans seems to have lost their fight by the third quarter.

It's as if the team that has won two consecutive Section V titles hasn't missed a beat. In fact, the win was the 20th straight for the program against a Section V opponent.

The final score was 39-0.

"I'm very pleased because going into the game I wasn't sure what we had," said Head Coach Brennan Briggs. "I wasn't sure how we would respond to things and how we were going to go when we got hit in the mouth. But these guys came out and proved that they bought in and they’re a tough group of kids and we’ve got some playmakers out there. I’m very excited for what they can do from here."

This edition slots Jerry Reinhart and QB1 and, Ray Leach and Codie Dioguardi in the backfield, Chandler Baker, Andrew Mruczek and Eric Davis at wideouts and a defense that includes Baker, Mruczek, Taiyo Iburi-Bethel, Anthony Ray and Jzon Richardson.

Those are not names that popped up in many headlines over the past two championship seasons, but they're all players poised to make an impact, if one game is any indication, in 2016.

Reinhart certainly has a lot of confidence in his teammates.

"Everybody asked me, they all asked me, 'how are you guys going to be this year?' and I was like, 'come to the first game and find out,' " Reinhart said. "I was very positive about our team. In the off-season, I thought we were going do great."

Briggs is impressed with the quiet leadership Reinhart has brought to the team, replacing Andrew Mruczek's older brother, Greg, at quarterback.

"Greg was more rah-rah and everything and great about it," Briggs said. "Jerry is more reserved, but he goes out there and gets the job done. He's a leader. He's a great leader. You saw, he made some big plays. He's not afraid to tuck it and run and he kept us together. I'm proud of him. He did a great job."

Friday was also a chance for Andrew to move out from under the shadow of his older brother, and in a big way, and significantly with a key interception in the first quarter.

"I think the biggest turning point in that game was Andrew Mruczek's interception," Briggs said. "They had a drive going, I think 10-plus plays, and we always say a nine-plus play drive is devastating for a defense and we were starting to feel it and all the sudden, number 21 comes in and makes a huge play for us. I’m happy for him because he’s been a trooper and he’s been working his butt off and he’s just silently been doing it."

Mruczek exemplifies the quiet confidence that characterizes the team.

"I think people are going to realize, Batavia football is here to stay and we're going to keep working hard every day," Mruczek said.

The offense was good, the defense was good, but special teams really stepped it up Friday night.

Richardson, a linebacker on defense, handles kickoffs, extra points and field goals. On kickoffs Friday, he consistently put the ball past the 10-yard line, and with defenders hustling down the field, the Spartans were routinely starting drives with their backs to the wall.

"That is so big for our team," Briggs said. "From the standpoint of having just great energy and momentum, they did a fantastic job for us and special teams cannot be overlooked because field position is huge in football games."

Briggs praised the work of special teams coach Ben Buchholz in motivating the players and getting each to do their part to plug holes and cut lanes, and John Garlock has been applying those lessons well, Briggs said.

"Johnny Garlock has been doing it for us for three years and he goes down like a missile," Briggs said. "He’s long snapper on punts and the first guy down there and on kickoff coverage, he makes the plays."

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Attica Blue Devils came out strong the first few minutes of the first quarter, leading 20-0 on a couple touchdowns by senior running back Hunter McCulloch, who added 117 yards on 11 carries.

Pembroke failed to convert turning the ball over on an interception and fumbles early in the first half. Attica led the half 20-0.

In the second half, Attica continued to move through Pembroke's defense led by senior quarterback Kyle Casey, who added points in the air and ground to seniors Cody D'Arconte and tight end Dawson Nelson, winning the game 40-0. 

Attica moves to 1-0 and their next game is home Friday night vs. Alexander at 7 p.m.

Pembroke drops to 0-1 and plays next Saturday 7 p.m. vs. Oakfield / Elba in Oakfield.

For more photos and to purchase go to: Steve Ognibene Photography

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(Above photo of Foiled Again, who has won more than $7.4 million and is the richest standardbred ever of either gait, courtesy of Ken Weingartner.)

Foiled Again, who has won more than $7.4 million and is the richest standardbred ever of either gait, will be at Batavia Downs on Saturday night (Sept. 3) to compete in the weekly featured $10,000 Open Handicap pace.

Batavia Downs has hosted the elite of the sport over the 70 years it has been in existence including Proximity, Good Time, Bret Hanover, Albatross and Niatross. Foiled Again is in the same league as all those legends but has also surpassed every trotter or pacer that has ever competed in the sport for earnings.

Foiled Again has won countless stakes and has been race-timed in 1:47.1. He has 88 wins, 61 seconds and 40 thirds in 263 lifetime starts and has earned $7,407,758 in purses. The United States Harness Writers Association named him Pacer of the Year in 2011, best older male pacer in three consecutive seasons (2011-2013) and he also was a two-time O'Brien Award winner as top older pacing horse in Canada (2011 and 2013).

Foiled Again has competed at Batavia Downs twice before in his career, both times in the tracks signature race, the Robert J. Kane Memorial Pace. And Foiled Again won both times: in 2009 timed in 1:52.3 with Matt Kakaley driving and in 2013 timed in 1:52 with Brett Miller aboard.

The all-time track record at Batavia Downs is 1:51.1 and that was set by Aracache Hanover in 2011. Given the great weather forecast and how the new racing surface has been setting up, there is a legitimate chance that standard could be in jeopardy.

Saturday night’s card also features two divisions of the $111,000 New York Sires Stakes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings that will feature the best freshman male pacers in the state.

Post time for the first race is 6:15 p.m.

(Inset photo of Foiled Again courtesy of Batavia Downs.)

Here's a collection of all our pre-season, training camp, football pictures.

To purchase prints of preseason football pictures, click here.

Here's our pre-season previews:

• Pembroke will look to young line to protect senior QB
• Alexander will field an athletic and experienced team in 2016
• Fighting Irish bring work ethic to new gridiron season
• Oakfield-Alabama/Elba working things out in first year as combined football team
• Herdlein sees upsides in young offense and defense for Le Roy
• It's August and football is in the air at Batavia HS

The season opens tonight.

Tonight's games:

• Batavia hosts Greece Olympia/Odyssey, 7 p.m.
• Pembroke hosts Attica, 7 p.m.
• Byron-Bergen, now with Cal-Mum, is at Livonia, 7:30 p.m.
• York/Pavilion is at Letchworth/Warsaw, 7:30 p.m.
• Le Roy is at Bath, 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow's games:

• Oakfield-Alabama/Elba is at C.G. Finney/Northstar, 1:30 p.m.
• Alexander plays Notre Dame in Warsaw, 7:30 p.m.

Pembroke has a new Head Coach, Ray Stoldt, but the only returning starting QB in the Genesee Region League.

Reid Miano will take snaps behind an experienced line, but they've got the size to protect him once they make the adjustment to the speed and technique of varsity-level football.

"I think they come around later in the year," said Stoldt, who has spent his career with Pembroke as an assistant on varsity and then coach of modified the past two seasons.

Blocking will be key because Miano, given time, can pass well and he's got some weapons at wideout, Stoldt said.

"I think every coach will always like to be a little further ahead at this point, but we’re young and we’re getting better every snap," Stoldt said.

With 15 seniors and a trio of returning all-league defensive players and a new QB with a strong arm and field smarts, Alexander's Head Coach Tim Sawyer likes what he sees so far of the 2016 Trojans.

"I feel like I’ve got a fast and physical group of kids who understand our systems both offensively and defensively," Sawyer said. "It’s been fun. It’s been a good camp this year."

Alexander opens against Notre Dame tonight (at 7 p.m. in Perry, (NOTE: As soon as I hit publish on this story I got an e-mail from a Section V official saying the game has been moved to Saturday in Warsaw) because of renovations to Alexander's home field. 

Sawyer knows the Fighting Irish will be a tough match right out of the gate.

"There's not a lot of kids (at Notre Dame), but they get after it," Sawyer said. "It doesn’t matter the size, those kids will play. They always play tough."

Week two doesn't get any easier because the Trojans face perennial powerhouse Attica.

"Within the first two weeks, we’re going to know kinda where we stand," Sawyer said.

The starting QB is P.J. Brennan, a senior who was Jared Browne's backup last season. He's not big, Sawyer said, but he's got a strong arm and he handles read-options well.

Among his weapons is returning wideout Derrick Busch. He'll also marshal a rotation of running backs.

Josh Hylkema, Dustin Schmeider and Jake Jasen, all over 200 pounds and all all-league on defense last year, are back and ready to anchor a squad that also includes Busch, Dane Heberlein, Jacob Bykowski and Erik Scharlau (who's also expected to have an impact at tight end this season).

And for the first time in school history, Alexander will have a girl on the squad. Rather than play soccer this year, Hannah Paolucci will be one of two place kickers on the Trojans (bottom photo).

(Photos by Steve Ognibene. Story by Phil Coburn.)

Pickleball you say? If you’re wondering what this is, it’s a relatively new sport activity in Batavia! It’s lots of fun, easy to learn, and is one of the fastest-growing sports in America. 

The game is a combination of tennis, badminton and ping pong, and is played over a net that is 2 inches lower than a tennis net. The court is 20 feet x 44 feet, about half the size of a tennis court. The ball is a perforated plastic ball similar to a whiffle ball, and the paddles are wood or composite material.

The game is adaptable to all ages from youth to seniors, and both male and female. Due to the smaller court and lighter ball, it requires much less running and has less impact on the knees, arms and shoulders than tennis.

Locally, it all started after Batavia residents Phil and Bonnie Coburn decided to travel in an RV across the United States in 2007. They had often said “What will we do if we can’t play tennis anymore?" Well, very quickly they saw some pickleball being played, and they became hooked! Upon returning to Batavia, they located a group in Ogden and played there for a couple years.

Then, after getting tired of driving 25 miles each way, they spoke to the people at the YMCA in Batavia in 2012, and they agreed to let them tape two courts in the gym. They got help from Dave Thomas in Rochester to do the layout, and he also gave them a portable net to use. They obtained grant money from the USAPA, and bought another portable net.

Thus, pickleball was born in Batavia with about six players participating.

About two years later, the gym floor was refinished, and the lines were painted on for a more permanent facility. At about the same time, Eric Volk lent a hand, and they worked with the Town of Batavia to have pickleball lines painted on the tennis courts at Kiwanis Park (replacing the tape which didn’t do too well in the elements), adding the first outside courts in the area.

This year, again with encouragement from Eric, the city, as part of the court renewal at Kibbe Park and Farrall Park, painted pickleball lines on the tennis courts, giving participants an additional five outdoor courts to play on in the area.

(At one of the newest lined courts at Kibbe Park, pictured below are some members of the Batavia Pickleball Club, from left are: Joann McCabe, Chloe Budenhagen, Becky Swanson, and founding members Bonnie and Phil Coburn.)

The YMCA has been very supportive of this activity, and currently there is play scheduled in the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and Wednesday nights from 6:30-8 p.m.. Currently, every Saturday from 9:30-noon, players are welcome at Kibbe Park. Partners are not assigned, but use the "open" system of rotation for players waiting to play.

From the original six players, it has grown to around 30 fairly active players, and the ability level has definitely increased since those early days. There has been some discussion about holding a tournament next year for our local players, but there are no details available yet.

The club is always looking for additional players to try the sport, and to continue to help this activity gain momentum in Genesee County. Pickleball has become part of Physical Education in many schools, and is played in many parks and recreational facilities across the country. The Batavia YMCA has set the cost for non-Y members at $30 for a 10-play pass, $49 for a 7-week unlimited pass, or a $5 "drop-in" pass. No fee for Saturday play.

After graduating 15 seniors, Notre Dame's starting varsity will feature a lot of new faces, but Head Coach Rick Mancuso says his players are working hard and will be ready for Thursday's season-opening kickoff at Alexander.

"We have a good group of kids," Mancuso said. "We’re really happy with the effort. We just came off our scrimmage the other day. We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up, but the effort that they’re putting in is good."

Brendan Klotzbach takes over at QB and a trio of players -- Jordan Weatherwax, Jake Weatherwax and Cam Clark -- will rotate through the backfield.

The offensive and defensive lines are strong.

"We're down in numbers, but what we have is quality," Mancuso said. "We’ve got lot of growing pains to get through to get up to speed as quick as we can."