Sports

A win by Elba/Byron-Bergen and a loss by Attica on Saturday puts the Lancers atop the Genesee Region Conference.

The Lancers beat Oakfield-Alabama 56-0 behind another big game fro Zack DuBois, who gained 331 yards on 25 carries, scoring touchdowns of 14, 3, 86 and 63 yards.  DuBois now has 1,198 yards rushing.

Zac Gillard was 4-6 for 67 yards and two TD passes. He had two carries for 36 yards.

Kyle Morse caught of Gillard's TD passes and gained 51 total yards.

Andy Underhill had 10 carries for 84 yards and one touchdown.

For the Hornets, QB Chase Manzella was 6-16 for 20 yards and five carries for 24 yards. Paul Ferraro had three receptions for 13 yards

On defense, Underhill had 17 tackles, including four tackles for a loss. Brandon Naylor, 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Nate Jonathan, eight tackles, five for a loss, one sack and one interception. Jon Levchuck had five tackles, two for a loss and half a sack. Chad Kowalik, two tackles and one interception.

On defense for O-A, Manzella, six tackles, Chris Nann, five tackles, Dominic D'Alba, one Interception and Danny Monachino had five tackles.

With the win, Elba/BB moves to 5-0 and is the last undefeated team in the GR.  Attica, who started the day 4-0 lost to Livonia 6-0.

In the only other local game on Saturday, Alexander lost to Holley, 44-12.

When Batavia scheduled Hornell for its homecoming game some people thought it was crazy, Head Coach Brennan Briggs admitted after last night's 30-14 loss to the Raiders.

Hornell came into the game with a 43-game winning streak and is arguably the best team in the state of New York in any class.

But at the half, with the score tied 14-14, and the Blue Devils' defense coming up big on some key plays, it didn't look so crazy.

The theme for the team all week in preparing for the game, Briggs said, was "great moments come from great opportunities."

The second half didn't go as well for Batavia, but Briggs came out of the game believing the Blue Devils, in his first season as head coach, are ready to play with anybody.

"These kids showed they can come out and play with the best and compete with them," Briggs said. "Yes, obviously, we got beat by 16. We’re not super excited about getting beat by 16, but we know we can play with them. We really do."

Justin Washington and Brett Scheuerlein had big games for the Blue Devils.

Washington snagged an interception in the first quarter and returned it 30 yards for a TD. He also nabbed a 20-yard reception from Scheuerlein in the second quarter for a touchdown (top photo).

Scheuerlein was 7 for 12 passing for 93 yards.

The Raiders played a tight, disciplined defense all night however and the Blue Devils were forced to punt four times in the second half.

In the third quarter, Brendan Buisch hit Richie Harkenrider on a 40-yard TD play. A Batavia defender got a hand on the ball as Buisch hauled it in, but when he couldn't strip it, there was nobody between Harkenrider and the end zone.

With the lead, the Raiders turned their offense over to Zach Bacon, their big, strong full back, who wasn't unstoppable (defenders a couple of times took him down for losses), but could also shake off tackles (or jump over) and get big gains.

In the fourth quarter, Bacon (#40 in photos)  scored on a 50-yard run, just plowing through blue jersies for the first 20 yards like a combine in a cornfield.

"The kid’s a stud," Briggs said. "You can’t really coach against that. You do what you can against him, but he’s one heck of a football player."

In preparing the Blue Devils for Hornell, Briggs reminded them that 31 years ago, Batavia (Correction: It was Notre Dame) snapped Cal-Mum's 49-game winning streak on Woodward Field.

"I told them, 'this field's made for breaking winning streaks,' " Briggs said.

While the final score was disappointing, Briggs said the game will give Batavia great confidence going into the final two games of the season and into, hopefully, sectionals.

"We know that if we continue with the same intensity, the same enthusiasm, the same execution, we can have a great ending to our season," Briggs said.

In other football action on Friday:

• Le Roy's winning streak was snapped by Perry, 44-36. Perry's QB Cory Dillon hit Jake Kiehle on a fourth-down, less than two minutes to play, 11-yard TD pass to put Perry in the lead. Dillon passed for 299 yards and 4 TDs. He was 25 of 40 passing. Perry, now 4-1, last beat Le Roy in 1991. Peter Privitera carried the ball 18 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Le Roy is now 4-1.
• Notre Dame is 4-1 after beating Pembroke 35-7. Andrew Mullen carried the ball 14 times for 180 yards and one TD. Jason Hart also scored on the ground and had 13 attempts for 14 yards. (Nick Taylor apparently did not play Friday). Tim McCulley was 4-7 passing for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Hart had one TD reception of 12 yards. Josh Johnson's only reception was for a 46-yard TD, and Jared Thornton's lone catch was for a 29-yard score. John Lapple notched Notre Dame's only sack. He had three tackles. Anthony Paladino had 5.5 tackles. Peter Thomas had 10.5 tackles for Pembroke.

This afternoon, Oakfield-Alabama is at Elba/Byron Bergen and Alexander hosts Holley. The other game of significance is Attica at Livonia. Both Elba/BB and Attica are undefeated. The Genesee Region rivals meet next week.

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

In Week 3, Robert Tretter was among 13 people who correctly picked Arian Foster of Houston as the top rusher (amongh players eligible for picking) in the NFL.

Tretter wins a prize from T.F. Brown's.

To enter this week's contest (deadline is tomorrow at 1 p.m.), click here.

At half-time, the football game between between the Batavia Blue Devils and Hornell is tied 14 to 14.

Hornell came into the game with 43 straight consecutive wins.

Look for complete coverage Saturday.

UPDATE 8:54 p.m.: Complete coverage is currently available via WBTA radio.

UPDATE: At end of third, Hornell 20 to 14.

UPDATE: Final, 30-14.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs and Miami Marlins today announced the signing of a new two-year Player Development Contract through at least the 2014 New York-Penn League season. A joint announcement was made by Marlins Farm Director Brian Chattin and Brian Paris, president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, the non-for-profit that owns the Batavia Muckdogs franchise.

The agreement ends a six-year affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals, who signed a two-year agreement with the State College Spikes last week. The Marlins had been affiliated with the Jamestown Jammers since 2002. During that time, the Jammers posted a combined record of 370-451 (.451), with two post-season appearances.

“We are excited to have the Miami Marlins as our new affiliate. I look forward to developing a relationship with them and to welcome them into our community. The Marlins are a fine organization that brings with them solid baseball experience and good people. This is a good fit for us as we enter our 74^th season of baseball in Batavia. On behalf of the entire community and the Genesee County Baseball Club, we are anxious to get started with another year of professional baseball in Batavia,” Paris said.

“We’re very pleased to sign a new working relationship between Batavia and the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are everything a Minor League franchise could hope for in an affiliation. They also understand how important small town Minor League Baseball is to the Batavia Community and we can’t wait to play host to some extremely talented young players,” said Naomi Silver, president and CEO of Red Wings Management, LLC, the company which has managed the Muckdogs since 2008.

"The Miami Marlins are very excited to begin an affiliation with the Batavia Muckdogs. With its rich baseball history, supportive front office and loyal fan base, Batavia will be the ideal place for our players and staff to call home each summer,” the Marlins' Chattin said. “The Marlins are proud to have Batavia as our player development partner and look forward to a long and productive partnership together."

The Muckdogs are one of seven affiliates in the Marlins’ player development system, joining the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA/Pacific Coast League), Jacksonville Suns (AA/Southern League), Jupiter Hammerheads (Advanced A/Florida State League), Greensboro Grasshoppers (A/South Atlantic League), Dominican Summer League Marlins (Rookie) and Gulf Coast League Marlins (Rookie).

Elba/Byron-Bergen took a 24-7 lead into the final three minutes of its game Saturday against Notre Dame and barely escaped with a victory.

The Fighting Irish mounted a pair of scoring drives and then recovered an onside kick before the Lancer defense snuffed Notre's hopes of going 4-0 on the season.

Instead it's Elba/BB that is 4-0, tying them for the Genesee Region Conference lead with Attica, which beat Alexander 39-6.

Zach DuBois again dominated on the ground, carrying the ball 35 times for 245 yards and one TD. QB Zac Gillard was 5-8 passing for 108 yards. Gillard tossed a 55-yard TD reception to Kyle Morse and scored on a one-yard run.

Notre Dame's Tim McCulley led the Irish offense with 225 yards in the air, completing 11 passes on 20 attempts. His big strike came with a minute left in the game, hitting Jared Thornton on a 12-yard TD pass.

A minute earlier, Andrew Mullen scored on an 18-yard run. Mullen scored twice on 11 carries for 56 yards.

Nick Taylor also carried the ball 13 times for Notre Dame for 73 yards. Mullen and Taylor also each caught the ball twice for 55 and 43 yards, respectively.

Charlie Hebert caught the ball three times for 38 yards and Thornton had two receptions for 38 yards.

For Elba/BB, Kyle Morse had three catches for 88 yards and Ryan Morse caught the ball twice for for 21 yards.

On defense, for Notre Dame, Josh Johnson had five tackles, Aaron McDonald, 6.5, Taylor, 6.5, Hebert, 5, and Mullen, 4.5. Hebert also had the team's lone sack.

For the Lancers, Brandon Naylor had 15.5 tackles, Nate Jonathan, 8, Andy Underhill, 5.5, and Jon Levchuk, 5. Naylor and Jonathan also each had two sacks and Underhill and Levchuk also both got to the QB once.

In other local football action:

• The Batavia Blue Devils moved to 3-1 on the season, beating Albion (0-4), 22-12. Brett Scheuerlein scored twice TDs on nine carries and James Soggs had 115 yards on the ground and one TD on 24 carries. Cody Swimline notched seven tackles and an interception and Scheuerlein recorded had 10 tackles.
• Le Roy continued its seeming domination over the Livingston Conference with a 42-12 victory over Bath. This is the Oatkan Knights first 4-0 start since 2008. Peter Privitera rushed for 158 yards and one TD on 27 carries. Marcus Mistersaro had 46 yards and one TD. Ryan McQuillan had eight tackles and Dylan Johnson, seven.
• For the second week in a row, Oakfield-Alabama secured a victory with a 30-6 win over Pembroke. Chris Nanni rushed for 101 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Nanni also returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown. Allen Chatt also had an interception return of 101 yards for a score. Danny Monachino had 14 tackles.

Next week: Batavia hosts Hornell; Le Roy is in Perry; O-A is at Elba/BB; Attica plays Livonia; Pembroke travels to Notre Dame; and Alexander is at home against Holley.

In a battle of unbeaten Genesee Region teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Elba-Byron Bergen Lancers squared off Saturday afternoon.

A good part of the opening quarter was a defensive struggle before Elba quarterback Zac Gillard opened the scoring with a one-yard run. The point after attempt failed and the Lancers held a 6-0 lead.

Andrew Mullen returns the ensuing kickoff and later he put Notre Dame on the board with a short run. The point after was good and Notre Dame led 7-6 at  halftime.

On Elba's first series of the second half, Zac Gillard hit Kyle Morse with a 55-yard scoring strike and a missed conversion left the Lancers with a 12-7 lead.

Zack DuBois is off and running.

Kyle Morse signals touchdown after DuBois' 10-yard scoring run. Another failed point after conversion gave the Lancers an 18-7 lead.

Fullback Jon Levchuk's one-yard run in the fourth quarter extended Elba's lead to 24-7 and with their defense playing soundly, the Lancers seemed to have the game well in hand.

But things were about to take a dramatic turn.

In the later stages of the fourth quarter, the Fighting Irish began to move the ball downfield, capping the drive when Andrew Mullen scored his second tochdown of the day on an 18-yard run. Tim McCulley passed to Jared Thornton for the 2-point conversion and cut Elba's lead to 24-15.

After the kickoff, Elba fumbled the ball away and Notre Dame was back in business. McCulley hooked up with Jared Thornton once again, this time for a touchdown and Notre Dame closed to within 24-21 after a failed conversion.

With about a minute to play, an onside kick was recovered by Notre Dame's Zack Blew at the Elba 45-yard line. But on the first play from scrimmage, Elba's Andy Underhill sacked QB Tim McCulley for a nine-yard loss. Two plays later Brandon Naylor chipped in with another sack and Elba took over on downs and ran out the clock for the win.

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The Blue Devils dropped off the list of the undefeated in Genesee County on Friday with a 30-12 loss to Livonia.

Le Roy kept its perfect record in tack with a 35-28 over Avon, while in the Genesee Region Conference, three teams sit atop the standings at 3-0 -- Elba/Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame and Attica.

Elba/BB beat Holley 27-7 with Zack DuBois rushing for 156 yards on 22 carries, scoring once. QB Zack Gillard was 7-14 for 167 yards and two TDs. He also carried the ball five times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Austin Yockel had four receptions for 141, including a 44-yard TD reception. Ryan Morse had a 10-yard TD reception. Andy Underhill made 23 tackles. Brandon Naylor had 14 tackles.

Notre Dame moved to 3-0 with a win over Alexander 36-6. Tim McCulley completed 11 passes on 20 attempts for 187 yards, including TD tosses of 14 and 35 yards to Charlie Hebert and Jared Thornton. Nick Taylor had TD runs of 26 and 89 yards. Andrew Mullen carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards. For Alexander, Dylan Scharlau had 18 carries for 117 yards and QB Nelson Burke was 8 of 17 for 128 yards, including a TD pass to 36-yard TD to Sam Browne. Burke was intercepted twice.

Pembroke dropped to 0-3 with a loss to undefeated Attica 47-0. Four turnovers by the Dragons led to four Attica TDs. Pete Thomas had 12 tackles for Pembroke and Caleb Patterson and Jared Kolmetz each recovered two fumbles.

For Batavia, in the Blue Devils 30-12 loss to Livonia, Nick Canzoneri rushed for 40 yards on eight carries, scoring once. James Soggs had 11 carries for 85 yards.

Le Roy's third win was highlighted by Peter Privitera's 181 yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns. Both Marcus Mistersaro and Dylan Johnson scored on the ground. T.J. Crye was 13-of-27 for 173 yards.

Oakfield-Alabama improved to 1-2 with a win over Finney (1-2), 20-16. Ryan Emery scored twice and carried the ball for 99 yards. Chris Nanni rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Danny Monachino and Tommy Geiss each recorded 12 tackles.

A 2-0 win over Attica gave the Pembroke Boys Varsity Soccer Team its first win since soccer was brought back to the school last year. The Dragons took the early lead on a goal by Austin Franclemont with Tyler Ross on the assist. The team then played a solid game in front of Morgan McGiveron, who was perfect in goal stopping all the shots he faced. The insurance goal was scored by Gabe Birkby, assisted by Collin Lewis. 

More pictures of the game can be seen here http://francletography.photoshelter.com/gallery/Pembroke-Boys-Varsity-Soccer-vs-Attica-9-11-2012/G0000bgZIx.lYVGo/C0000y8oiGr6YbrY

A Notre Dame offense propelled by Nick Taylor, Tim McCulley and Andrew Mullen dominated on the gridiron Saturday against Oakfield-Alabama.

With a 32-0 win, the Fighting Irish move to 2-0 while the Hornets top to 0-2.

Taylor carried the ball 15 times for 161 yards and one TD. McCulley tossed a 26-yard TD pass to Charlie Hebert, rushed for a touchdown and returned an interception for a score. He also rushed for 48 yards on seven carries. Mullen scored once on nine carries for 65 yards.

O-A's stats are not available, nor are defense stats.

Head Coach Rick Mancuso said his young team is still learning and needs to take each week of the season day-by-day.

"A lot of kids played in their first varsity game last week," Mancuso said. "Today, they played in their second, so I think we’re getting a little more experience as we go on so we can develop a little bit of an edge and we can get some momentum going through the season."

Oakfield-Alabama has talent -- such as Austin Schroeder, Chase Manzella, Chris Nanni, Ryan Emery and Allen Chatt -- and Mancuso said the Hornets should not be taken lightly.

"I think Brian (Palone) is doing a job with that group of kids," Mancuso said. "He’s got them motivated week-to-week. He’s got them playing very hard. It was not a walk over by any means."

In other local football action this weekend:

• Batavia beat Cardinal O'Hara High School 36-8 and is now 2-0 on the season. Justin Washington carried the ball twice and scored both times. Andrew Budlong had nine carries for 77 yards and one TD. Brandon Stevenson rushed for 74 yards and a TD. Nick Canzoneri carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards and scored once. Zac Bromley kicked four successful PATs.
• Le Roy dominated on offense and defense for the second week in a row, beating Warsaw Central School 42-0. Warsaw (0-2) was held to 99 yards of offense. Ryan McQuillen had four receptions for 115 yards and a TD. Dylan Johnson rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Peter Privitera scored twice with 57 yards on the ground. Johnson had seven tackles and Zack Fitzsimmons had five.
• Elba/Byron-Bergen (2-0) beat Pembroke 43-0 (0-2), jumping to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Zack DuBois had another solid game, rushing for 264 yards, scoring four times on runs of 58, 69, 59 and 35 yards. Zac Gillard tossed two TDs, one for 60 yards, completing four passes on seven attempts for 127 yards. Receiver Kyle Morse caught three passes for 97 yards, including that 60-yard TD pass from Gillard. For Pembroke, QB Tyler Bruning was 6-12 for 42 yards. Andy Underhill had 14 tackles for the Lancers, with 11 more for Nate Jonathan.
• Alexander (1-1) beat Finney 29-8.

Reminder: Each of the next two weekends, I'll be traveling so won't be able to cover any games.

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