Sports

Jordan Fluker has continued to participate in organized youth bowling into his late teens, and the Batavian's dedication to the sport was rewarded at the highest level last Saturday (Nov. 12) when he rolled a 300 game at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Jordan, 19, joined a handful of Batavia youth bowlers who reached perfection by starting with 12 strikes in a row on lanes 17-18 in the Turnbull Heating Junior League, that is coordinated by his father, Tom Fluker, president of the Genesee Region USBC (in photo above).

A second-year student at Genesee Community College, Jordan said he started in the youth program at the age of 9, and has received coaching from his dad, who is a USBC Silver Level instructor.

"I saw my dad walking around behind me, and checking the scores but he didn't say anything to me during the game," Jordan said. "I think that he didn't want to mess up my game."

The slim right-hander said he became more and more nervous as the string of strikes increased, but kept his composure enough to keep the ball in the 1-3 pocket on all but one delivery -- the 11th ball.

"That one came up a little high and I got a good break to carry," he said. "That was the closest one to not being a strike."

The 12th ball was flush in the 1-3 pocket and all 10 pins flew into the pit. Hugs (the first one was from his dad) and handshakes from his teammates, other youth bowlers, parents and coaches followed.

Jordan said he was still shaky in the second game, suffering a few splits for a 181, but bounced back in the third game for 248 and a 729 series, a personal best.

A 200 average bowler, he has competed in two NYS Team Tournament finals and the NYS Youth Pepsi finals. He said that this is his final year of youth bowling, but wants to continue with the sport -- either when he transfers to a college with a bowling program or as part of an adult league.

Jordan, a former Mr. Batavian at Batavia High School, is on track for an associate degree at GCC in the spring, and said he is leaning toward majoring in Accounting or Web Design.

By the way, Tom Fluker rolled his first of his 10 USBC-certified perfect games at the age of 29.

Fresh off a Section V title, the boys of Oakfield-Alabama's cross-country team competed this weekend for a state title. The team entered as the eighth seed but notched a sixth-place finish.

They competed at Chenango Valley State Park, outside of Binghamton, "against the very best Class D runners in all of New York State," said Paul Beuler, who provided the photos and information.

Junior Cole O'Donnell from OA-E, finishing in fifth place in Class D at the Sectional Meet on Nov. 5th. 

Senior Mike Bowen from OA-E finishing in 32nd place at the Sectional Meet on Nov. 5th at Wayne High School.

Senior Josh Larmon from OA-E, on the right, finishing in ninth place at Sectionals. 

Sophomore Mark Anauo from OA-E finishing in 15th place.

Members of Notre Dame's basketball team from 1969, which won a state title known as the Manhatten Cup, were together once again last night for the school's Hall of Fame dinner. In the picture above, they pose in front of a case which holds a replica of the 1969 trophy.

For more on the inductees, click here.

Batavia got into a shootout Saturday night at Ralph Wilson Stadium against the Dunkirk Marauders and came up a bullet short, losing a fight to the finish 50-48.

Both teams scored seven touchdowns apiece, but Dunkirk made one more two-point conversion than the Blue Devils, and that made all the difference.

A win would have propelled Batavia into a chance at a state title, instead, their season is over.

"This is a great group of kids and I couldn't be more proud of them," said Head Coach Brennan Briggs after the overtime loss. "It didn't turn out the way we wanted, but once again, I'm proud of these guys. Ten and one is a great football season."

The game, in many ways, was a battle of two big-play backs, Batavia's Ray Leach and Dunkirk's Alton Ingram. Leach, a sophomore, came into the game just shy of a 1,000-yard season and Ingram had more than 1,100 yards rushing.

Saturday, Leach carried the ball 20 times for 224 yards and Ingram ran 33 times for 240 yards. Both backs scored four touchdowns each.

Coming into the game, Batavia knew Ingram would be a challenge.

"You’ve got to gang-tackle him," Briggs said. "You can’t arm tackle him. He’s a big kid. He runs hard. He makes you pay if you try to arm tackle him. He’s a good football player. I tip my cap off to him. I wish we could have done a little bit more to stop him but that’s football."

The sophomore Leach finished the season strong.

"He did a great job," Briggs said. "He busted the big plays. He made the runs. He made the plays he could have made. I look forward to having him for two more years. He did a great job. He’s hard to stop."

The game opened fast and never let up. A minute into the first quarter, Leach scored on a 59-yard run.

On Dunkirk's first play from scrimmage on its first possession, Dunkirk's QB Evon Hernandez connected on a 61-yard pass to Elwin Gomez.

In the battle of two-point conversions on these first two touchdowns, the Marauders came out on top, and led 8-6.

Before the end of the quarter, the two teams would combine for another four touchdowns and Dunkirk entered the second quarter with a 22-20 lead.

Jerry Reinhart and Chandler Baker also had big games for Batavia. 

Reinhart scored twice on the ground, part of his total of 131 yards on 14 carries, and tossed TD passes to Leach and Baker. He was 3-9 passing for 48 yards.

Baker gained 54 yards on seven carries and caught two passes for 37 yards.

Dunkirk came into the game as a big-score team, strong run game and some athletes who could move the ball. Briggs said he and his coaches knew they would be tough to stop.

"We knew we would probably have to outscore them," Briggs said. "It was a great game. We just didn’t come out on top."

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Members of the Batavia Ramparts and Notre Dame Ice Hockey were on hand today at Falleti Ice Arena so young children could give hockey a try.

The Try Hockey for Free event is held annually.

The best season in Alexander football history came to a disappointing end Friday night at New Era Field in Orchard Park, where the Trojans lost a regional playoff game to the #1 Class D team in the state, Maple Grove, by a score of 28-0.

The Trojans managed to hold the Dragons to just eight points in the first half, but turnovers and an inability to get its offense moving allowed Maple Grove to run away with the game.

Maple Grove held Alexander to 142 total yards on offense, most of them on the arm of P.J. Brennan, who was 10-29 passing for 122 yards.

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In 1969, the Notre Dame High School Boys Basketball Team won its one-and-only Manhatten Cup in basketball and that team will be honored along with other Hall of Fame inductees Saturday.

There will be a tour of the newly renovated school at 4:30 p.m., followed by a picture of the 1969 team members in front of a replica trophy.

The actual Hall of Fame event begins at 5:30 p.m.

Press release:

1969 Boys Basketball Manhattan Cup Championship Team: First and only Manhattan Cup championship team. Also were the Smith League Champions for the first time. Many believe this to be the greatest championship in school history due to the format of this tournament, which involved schools of all sizes much like the Hickory championship in the movie “Hoosiers."

Tony Cinquino ’69: Outstanding wrestler during our era of dominance in Smith League Wrestling. Three-time All-Catholic who ended his wrestling career on a 61-match win streak. Three-sport athlete who also ran X-C & track. X-C senior season went 7-1 and the wrestling squads he was on won three Smith League titles and two All-Catholic Championships with one second-place finish.

Dan O’Connor ’69: 1969 Athlete of the Year who earned All-Catholic recognition in football, wrestling & track. Led Smith League in rushing his senior season and the wrestling squads he was on won three Smith League titles and two All-Catholic Championships with one second-place finish.

Tom McGrath ’76: 1976 Athlete of the Year. Tom was an exceptional all-around athlete who excelled at four sports: football, basketball, baseball and golf. He led the Varsity Football team in receptions, was the boys Varsity Basketball team’s leading scorer and the MVP of the Varsity Baseball team his senior year.

Phil Pangrazio ’79: 1979 Athlete of the Year. Phil was a GR All-Star in football who also was a top track performer earning All-Catholic in the discus. Played basketball & wrestled.

Mark Wadams ’96: Three-sport standout (Football/Basketball/Baseball) was Notre Dame’s Athlete of the Year in both 1995 & 1996. Mark was a three-time Section V All-Star in basketball playing IN THREE Sectional Finals winning in 1995 and earned GR All-Star recognition in baseball, basketball & football. He was named First Team All-State in Basketball in 1996 and is the only player in school history to accumulate both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Dave Pero ’69: Longtime basketball coach who was on the bench for more state championships than any other coach (three). Dave served 12 years as a very successful JV boys basketball coach where he had an outstanding win/loss record developing players for future varsity success and was an assistant coach for two state championship teams (1992 & 2001). Took over as Girls coach in 2003 where he won a state title as a head coach in 2013. He also won two Western Regionals, four sectional titles, six GR championships and is ND’s winningest Girls Basketball coach.

Notre Dame may be looking at a 2016-17 ice hockey season without a player or players who Section V officials deemed was inappropriately recruited or influenced to attend the school.

Kathy Hoyt, executive director of Section V, confirmed Section V officials held a hearing on the eligibility of the player or players. She declined to discuss details. She said the school has appealed the decision and New York Public High School Athletic Association will consider the appeal next week.

A source said two players were affected. Another Section V official who is not authorized to speak on behalf of the section said he was aware that players had been deemed unduly recruited or influenced, but he didn't know how many players were affected.

Hoyt said regardless of the outcome of the process, Notre Dame will retain its 2015-16 Section V Class B crown. 

The only question is whether the players will be eligible for the 2016-17 season.

The Batavian received no response to our request for comment made via email yesterday and today from either Notre Dame Athletic Directory Mike Rapone nor Head Coach Marc Staley.

A source says the complaint that led to Section V holding its hearing came from a team outside of Genesee County.

The names of the players involved have not been released.

Le Roy beat Bath-Haverling on Saturday to become Section V champions in Class C1 in volleyball.

The team next plays Cal-Mum in a Far-West Regional playoff. Game time is time is 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, in Avon.

Photos by Tim McArdle.

Several bowlers hit the 700 mark last week in league action at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia and at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.

Click on the Pin Points link at the top of this page to see who's hot on the lanes.

League secretaries from other bowling centers in the area are invited to email their high scores for posting on this website to mikepett2002@yahoo.com.

Watch for a new Pin Points column this Thursday -- exclusively on The Batavian, the area's No. 1 source for online news -- and support the advertisers who support bowling in the Genesee Region.

The Batavia Blue Devils defeated the Hornell Red Raiders today in a 41 to 20 victory.

Batavia scored first five minutes into the game. Hornell quickly responded with a touchdown of their own. At the end of the first quarter, the score was Hornell 7 Batavia 6.

Batavia scored soon after the start of the second quarter with Hornell answering with a touchdown again, making the score 12 to 14. Batavia tried unsuccessfully twice for a two-point conversion after their touchdowns missing both times. Hornell went for a field goal after both of their touchdowns converting for one point both times. It looked as if the game had settled into a rhythm of both teams scoring equally with the outcome to be determined by extra points.

Midway through the second quarter, number 51 Jzon Richardson came up with a forced Hornell fumble and stopped their progress deep in Batavia territory. This play knocked the wind out of Hornell, even though late in the second Batavia fumbled with Hornell recovering the ball. Hornell never got their rhythm back and never threatened Batavia’s lead again. The second quarter ended with Batavia leading 28 to 14.

Hornell looked like they were going to come within one touchdown of Batavia in the third but Batavia’s defense stopped them. After that, it was Batavia in charge of the ground and the air, never looking back and cruising to victory. 

The standout players of the game where number 2 Jerry Reinhart, number 12 Chandler Baker, and the Sec V MVP number 34 Bubba Leach. 

More picture of the game are here, www.jimburns.org

The Batavia Blue Devils meet Hornell this afternoon in the Sec V Class B finals. Both teams are undefeated at 9 and 0. The Batavia Blue Devils are favored over Hornell, but not by much.  The game starts at 3 pm in Rochester at Rhino Stadium. 

We will be posting updates during the game with full coverage to follow this evening. 

*Update. Class C game ran late. Kickoff now scheduled for 3:30. 

* End of first quarter. Hornell 7 Batavia 6

*Half Time Hornell 14 Batavia 28!

*End of 3, Hornell 21 Batavia 34

**** Final score Hornell 21 Batavia 40!!!****

Alexander's defense came through again, forcing six turnovers and recording six sacks, in route to a 19-6 win over Clyde Savannah to win the Section V Class D championship.

It's the first Section V football championship in school history.

Outside linebacker Derrick Busch has five tackles and three interceptions.

Adding to the Trojans' interception total were Chris McClinic and Dane Heberlein. 

Dustin Schmieder, who set a Section playoff record last week for sacks, had 2.5 of the team's total on Friday. Adding to the sack totals were Erik Scharlau, Zach Jasen and Mitch Gordon. 

QB P.J. Brennan was part of all three TD scores for Alexander, rushing for 77 yards on nine carries. He tossed a TD pass to Busch. Heberlein had 112 yards on 21 carries.

Alexander will now contend for the regional title against the state's #1 ranked Class D team, Maple Grove.

More photos can be found at: http://francletography.photoshelter.com/gallery/2016-11-04-Alexander-Varsity-v-Clyde-Savannah/G0000hw7fveE08f8/C0000f1tHYlmnDIE

The Batavia Bulldawgs youth football and cheer program captured the 2016 NOFA championship in the Mini (8-9-year-old) Division by virtue of a 12-0 victory over top-seeded Newfane.

The Bulldawgs ended the season with a 7-1 record, with the only loss coming at the hands of the Holley Hawks. The Batavia team avenged that defeat, however, in the playoffs with a 13-12 win.

The team is led by Head Coach Brian Mruczek and assistants coaches Shawn Bigsby, Kenny Griffin, Al White and Scott Lazarony.

Mruczek said an all-for-one and one-for-all mentality powered the team to victory.

 “The kids knew exactly what needed to be done in the championship game,” he said. “They proved all year that if we stick together as a family, play with heart and emotion, nothing could stop us.”

Mruczek thanked the team’s corporate sponsors, City of Batavia community leaders and Batavia City School District for their support.

The season concludes at 10 a.m. this Saturday (Nov. 5) with the CheerDawgs competing in the 2016 NOFA Cheer Zone at Attica High School.

As many 50 young girls, grades 2 through 8, have just completed the new Fall Ball Training Camp run by Tom McCulley and Otis Thomas in the renovated Notre Dame High School Gym.

The camp was offered to girls attending either St. Joe's or Batavia City Schools.

"There’s not really a whole lot going on for girls this age," said McCulley, who takes over from Dave Pero as head coach at Notre Dame this season. "We thought this would be a way to get them ready for the upcoming season no matter where they may be playing."

The camp is designed to get the girls in basketball shape for the season, drill them in fundamentals and help them learn how to focus, follow directions and participate as a team member.  

McCulley said this training will help the girls as they move up to higher levels. It's a lot harder for a coach to work with an incoming freshman, say, who hasn't had this kind of experience.

The camp ran for five weeks.

This was the first year for the camp and given its success, McCulley expects it to become an annual event.

"The girls love it," McCulley said. "They’re excited about it. They show up every week, so obviously, they want to do it. It gives them a chance to compete and to learn how to compete, learn how to prepare and stay focused and take direction, so when they do get up to the higher levels, at least they have a foundation to build upon."

The Batavia Rampart's Squirt III travel team traveled to Cleveland to play in the Rock'n'Roll Cup Tournament, where they beat the Michigan Sting, 5-0, the Lake Erie Panthers, 10-1, and the Erie Lions twice, 4-1 and 5-2, to win the championship.

In the first game, goals were scored by Chase Cummings, who had three, Anna Stevens and Jameson Motyka.

In the second game, scoring: Brady Johnson, three goals, Anna Stevens, two, Jameson Motyka, two, and with one each, Chase Cummings, Drew Jursted and Noah Whitcombe.

In the third game, Evan Schwerthoffer, Anna Stevens, Sammy Pies and Jake Hutchins scored.

In the final, Chase Cummings had two goals, Anna Stevens, Sammy Pies and Jake Hutchins each had one.

Frankie Falleti was tournament MVP.

Usually, offensive performance in football grabs the headlines, but yesterday, in the Trojans' 34-13 win over Bolivar-Richburg to advance in the Section V Class D tournament, Alexander's Dustin Schmieder had 8.5 sacks.

"I've never seen anything like it," said Head Coach Tim Sawyer.

Schmieder also had five tackles and Erik Scharlau had 2.5 sacks and seven tackles.

And while we're talking about defense, Derrick Busch and Chris McClinic each had an interception.

The previous Section V playoff record for sacks in a game was five by Dan Liseno, for Clyde-Savannah in 2002.

On offense, Dane Heberlien scored two TDs and P.J. Brennan was 3-11 for 91 yards and TD, with one interception. Busch caught the 11-yard pass for the TD. Mitch Gordon scored on a one-yard run.

Schmieder also had a 68-yard reception on the first play of the game.

Hannah Paolucci kicked two extra points on the day.

The Trojans had 309 total yards on offense, but Sawyer still noted, "Penalties held us back today. We need to clean up the penalties and some missed tackles."

Next week, Alexander will face Clyde-Savannah, who beat the Red Jackets 40-14, for the Class D championship.

Photos by Rick Franclemont. For more photos and to purchase prints, click here.

Things seemed to be going Livonia's way in the first half of the Class B Section V semifinal game in Rochester yesterday afternoon.

The Bulldogs controlled the ball for much of the first two quarters while the Batavia offense sputtered, with the team getting its only points in the half on a 71-yard kickoff return by Chandler Baker.

Livonia led the Blue Devils 14-8, but this is Batavia on the field. Head Coach Brennan Briggs preaches "relentless football." Toughness is a given, and when the Blue Devils took possession to open the first half the determination to play tough was apparent.

Batavia scored on their opening drive, followed by a fumble recovery on Livonia's first possession, and the Bulldogs never got back in the game.

It's almost as if you could watch Livonia's fight fade with each passing down.

"Livingston County is great football and they’re tough kids, but I do believe at the end of the day, we’ve got one of the toughest football teams going and these guys pride themselves on it," Briggs said. "When we sniff a little bit of weakness, we’re going to go after it and we’re going to keep going and we’re not going to stop."

The Bulldogs seemed to game plan well to counter the ground threat of sophomore Ray Leach, who was held to only 28 yards on 15 carries for the game, so in the second half, Briggs switched things up a bit, letting QB Jerry Reinhart use his arms and legs more.

Reinhart finished with 73 rushing yards on 13 carries. He was also 7-14 passing for 121 yards and a TD.

His favorite target was Leach, who had four catches for 73 yards, including a 23-yarder for a TD.

“You get number 34 in space and he’s deadly," Briggs said. "Our quarterback can get the ball to him and get him in space where they can’t bottle everything up and then somebody has to make a play on Ray Leach in space and that’s pretty difficult to do.”

Leach was also a factor on defense coming up with big play after big play, including snuffing out a Livonia drive with an interception in the end zone.

"He likes to hit," Briggs said. "He likes to bring the stick. He gets fired up. He did a good job doing his 1/11th and he was locked down to defend one of their best receivers. I’m proud of him and I’m proud of this football team."

The defensive dominance by the Blue Devils in the second half was a team effort, with contributions from Reinhart, Chandler Baker, J'Zon Richardson and Anthony Ray.

The defensive line stiffened in the second half, doing a better job of bottling up Brody Metcalf, Matt Hyde and John Smith on the ground, pushing back the O-line and harassing Metcalf more consistently when he dropped back to pass.

“To be honest, that’s not scheme," Briggs said while discussing some of the second-half defensive adjustments. "That’s our guys deciding that they’re really going to start to take over."

It's almost as if Batavia could smell blood in the water after that first fumble (there were two in the second half (three actually, but the refs gave the ball to Livonia)).

Briggs said his team knows how to sniff out another team's weakness and exploit it. Reinhart agreed.

"If you keep pounding somebody’s weakness, they’re going to slow down, no matter who it is," Reinhart said.

Batavia won 31-20 after Livonia scored a TD in the final second of play (see last picture in slideshow).

The Blue Devils now have a chance to three-peat as sectional champions. This is a very different team from the one that took home the trophy each of the past two seasons and Briggs said this year's squad has had a bit of a chip on its shoulder because of comparisons.

"These guys have their identity now," Briggs said. "A lot of people talk about that we graduated 16, 17 players and Batavia wasn’t going to be there, but here we are and we’re still going to keep that chip on our shoulders."

Reinhart said that identity is built around the team's motto, "relentless."

"That’s what is says on the back of al our T-shirts: relentless, and that’s how we play football," Reinhart said. "We hit these guys and we don’t stop until the game’s over."

Next Saturday at 3 p.m., Batavia will be back in Rochester to face Hornell for the Section V Class B championship. Hornell has been out of the post-season picture the past couple of years but comes into the final, like Batavia, undefeated for 2016. Yesterday, the Red Raiders beat Palmyra-Macedon 49-29.

Top photo: Codie Dioguardi scores on Batavia's opening second-half drive.

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