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Tim McCulley accounted for five touchdowns as Notre Dame routed Alexander 41 to 12.

Both teams entered the contest with 2-0 records, and went toe-to-toe for the first quarter, until the Fighting Irish opened things up.

McCulley started the scoring by capping a 17-play, 88-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Alexander would quickly respond though, scoring on a 75-yard drive, finished by a Dylan Scharlau one-yard run.

However two plays later, the Notre Dame senior quarterback ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run and the Irish never looked back. McCulley would hook up with Josh Johnson on a 30-yard touchdown pass to head into halftime with a 20-6 lead.

Notre Dame received the ball to start the third quarter and proceeded to march 67 yards on 11 plays, capped by a 24-yard touchdown toss from McCulley to Luca Zambito.

McCulley would later intercept a Nelson Burke pass, and capitalize with one more touchdown pass to Charlie Herbert to put the game on ice.

One bright spot for Alexander was the play of Scharlau, who ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while the Irish defense held Burke to just 2-of-10 passing for 12 yards and two interceptions.

Notre Dame got one final touchdown after Johnson returned a Trojan onside kick 54 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

McCulley finished the game 10-of-21 passing for 171 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, while also rushing for 108 yards and two scores.

Senior Andrew Mullen had a solid game for the Irish, rushing for 124 yards on 21 carries, while Zambito added four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

The Fighting Irish improve to 3-0 and will travel to Elba/Byron-Bergen next week. The Lancers have beaten Notre Dame the last two seasons, keeping them from an undefeated record.

Alexander (2-1) will host Attica next Friday night. 

More stats: Scharlau had seven tackles and one sack. Zach Laird had seven tackles. Jonathan George had eight tackles. Kelsey Patten also recorded a sack for Alexander. For Notre Dame, McCulley rushed for 107 yards on 19 carries. Luca Zambio had four catches for 54 yards and a TD. Charlie Hebert had two receptions for 60 yards and a TD. Josh Johnson gained 35 yards on two receptions and scored. Joe Zickl led the defense with 13 tackels. Dakota Weidman notched the team's only sack.

In other football action today, Elba/Byron Bergen moved to 2-1 with a 41-6 over Holley on in the first game on Holley's brand-new football field. Garrett Chapell, who was 3-6 for 67 yards, threw for two TD and ran for one. Brandon Naylor carried the ball in twice. Austin Yockel snatched his third interception on the season. The Lancers had 315 yards total offense to Holley's 50. Mike Shanley had 11 carries for 107 yards. Andy Underhill had 14 tackles and half a sack. Naylor, 10 tackles, Hunter Taylor 11 and 11 for Steel Truax.

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Photos by Howard Owens.

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While rain seemed to encourage a few of the ARC 5K walkers to shorten the course today, it didn't slow down Michael Richenberg (second picture), who won the race in Elba for the fifth straight year.

A slow drizzle turned into a bit of a downpour about a minute into the race, but hundreds of runners still completed the course.

Race results are not yet available.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the full race results.

Le Roy looked like a team with barely a weakness during the first half of Friday's 41-14 victory over Letchworth.

The Indians were held to minus two yards of total offense during the half and ran only 19 plays without notching a single first down.

The Oatkan Knights (3-0) had six possession in the half and scored five offensive TDs with a total offense of 248 yards.

The one glitch was a Mike McMullen interception when the Knights seemed to be marching toward another inevitable touchdown. It was McMullen's first interception of the season.

"I thought we played well," Head Coach Brian Moran said. "I though we did a lot of things well tonight. I thought our first team played extremely well. They got off the ball well. We just did a lot good things."

McMullen tossed three touchdown passes and had a total of 118 yards through the air on the night. He was 10-16 passing. Ryan McQuillen caught all three of the TD passes.

Peter Privitera gained 145 yards on 18 carries, scoring twice.

"Peter ran very well today," Moran said. "As you know, he came off the ankle surgery and tonight he showed the Peter of old. He started to get that speed back, and acceleration."

Tom Kelso carried the ball seven times for 42 yards and one TD. Nick Egeling ran for 45 yards on six carries. Kelso also caught three passes for 42 yards.

Jake Henry had six tackles and a sack. Chandler Winling, five tackles, and with four tackles each were Brandon Van Grol, McQuillen and Egeling. Anthony Paladino had two tackles and a sack.

Letchworth came into the game with a 1-1 record, with a 30-26 win over Warsaw and a 33-0 loss to Cal-Mum.

The Indians' only real offense came late in the game with two scoring drives against mainly second-team players. The Indians were also running more stunts and option plays, opening up the offense a bit.

Moran said this week the focus during team practice will be the play of the second team.

"You've got to pay a little more attention in practice and understand what we're trying to do and play a little better," Moran said. "Our expectation is that everybody improves on our team."

Next up for Le Roy, Warsaw, which is off to an 0-3 start on the season. Game time is 7:30 at Le Roy.

For our coverage of the Batavia game, click here.

Also, last night, Pembroke (1-2) lost to Attica (3-0), 41-7. Attica's Matt Perry gained 288 yards on 17 carries, scoring six times. Perry is now the school career leader in TDs with 50 and total yards at 2,866.

Oakfield-Alabama (1-2) beat Finney (0-3) 61-0. Alan Chapp was 12-14 for 252 yards and two touchdowns, adding 72 yards on the ground. Chase Manzella gained 63 yards and scored three times. Chris Nanni added 31 yards on the ground and two TDs.

Today, two undefeated teams, Alexander and Notre Dame, clash at Notre Dame. Game time, 1:30. Elba/Byron-Bergen is at Holley.

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For the first 74 minutes of play Thursday in Pavilion, two teams on the pitch with 3-0 records kept the score knotted at 0-0 and it was starting to seem like a tie was a predictable outcome.

Then Geneseo's Elliott Cannon scooted a ball past senior goalie Collin Sheflin. Another goal two minutes later by Mo Carlon, with only four minutes on the clock, seemed to seal the fate of the Golden Gophers.

"Genesee has been building a great program for years," said Pavilion Head Coach Matt Roth. "They seem to graduate players with another junior right behind who is good. We're working on doing the same thing here, but it takes time. We worked hard tonight. The better team, probably, ended up winning, but they didn't out work us."

Coming into the game, Pavilion had given up only one goal in its first three games. That was in a 2-1 win over Mount Morris. Pavilion has beat Pembroke 6-0 and Avon 3-0.

"Jake Defisher, Heyden Ewell and Stephen Pike work hard on defense," Roth said. "We've only given up three goals and two of them were tonight, so when you have that kind of defense, you're going to be in most games."

Riley Vallance has been working hard, too, Roth said. He's played every position this season and on defense against Pavilion he played a big role in keeping the game close.

Dakota Kegler, a midfielder, has also been working hard this season, he said.

Pavilion is now 3-1-1 on the season and Roth is expecting a good run for the team come time for sectional play.

"Our goal is to build, to be playing our best soccer in October," Roth said. "Right now, we're not where we want to be, but if we get there in mid-October when sectionals come, we're going to be a dangerous team in sectional play."

Pavilion's next game is at home, tomorrow, 1 p.m., against York.

Pavilion's goalie grabbing a shot in the first period.

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Boys and girls in grades 9-12 looking to advance their hoop dreams are invited to a basketball mini-camp starting Oct. 7 at Batavia High School.

The camp is hosted by Batavia Boys Varsity Basketball Coach Buddy Brasky and sponsored by the Batavia Boys Basketball Booster Club.

The camp will focus on improving offensive skills and it will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. every Monday and Thursday in October.

The cost is $125 and Brasky said the camp is designed for experienced and serious players only.

For more information, contact Brasky at (585) 356=4050 or e-mail him at mbrasky@bataviacsd.org

These are the plaques to be presented Saturday at Terry Hills to the Batavia Blue Devils 2013 Athletic Hall of Fame inductees.

Coming into the second half Saturday in Elba, it seemed like anybody's game.

Turnovers helped stymie both offensives in the first two quarters of the Elba/Byron-Bergen vs. Pembroke matchup and the Lancers held a slender 7-0 lead.

Mike Cintorino, head coach for Elba/BB, said his team made some adjustments at the half and came out ready to play.

That play included two key interceptions by Austin Yockel. On one, Yockel returned the ball to the red zone, setting up a core and in the other he went the distance himself for six.

The Lancers were dominant in the second half in a way they weren't last week in a 23-6 loss to Alexander.

"It's a home opener," Cintorino said. "Just like Alexander was fired up last week to open up at home, I think our guys were excited to open up at home. We've always opened up better at home. I think we've never opened up on the road and won a game, at least since I've been here."

Turnovers are what doomed the Dragons, Head Coach Justin Loeber conceded.

Twice in the first half, Pembroke snagged the ball from the Lancers only to give it right back, and turnovers in the second half were directly related to Elba/BB scores.

"We played a good, young football team," Loeber said. "They hit hard. They're physical. We made too many mistakes on the defensive side and too many turnovers on offensive. Too big plays on defense, other than that, it's a 13-7 ball game."

Lancers QB Garrett Chapell was 6-12 for 172 yards and three TDs. He had one interception and one fumble. Kyle Dougherty caught four passes for 135 yards and two TDs (including the first quarter score in the top picture). Yockel had two catches for 37 yards and a TD. Brandon Naylor rushed for 76 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Steele Truax had 13 tackles and two forced fumbles. Dougherty had 13 tackles. Andy Underhill had 11 tackles and one forced fumble. Hunter Tayler had six tackles and two sacks. Mike Shanley had three tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

On offensive for Pembroke, Tyler Bruning was nine for 17 for 79 yards and one TD. He threw three interceptions. Dakota Swimline carried the ball 16 times for 28 yards. Zack Kelsey had one 14-yard TD reception.

One of Yockel's two second-half interceptions.

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A pick six with a 70-yard return by Andrew Budlong in the fourth quarter felt like a game changer.

The Batavia Blue Devils cut in half their 14-point deficit against the Cougers of Honeoye Falls-Lima and the energy level on the sidelines and in the stands kicked up a notch.

Even Head Coach Brandon Briggs was thinking "win" as the refs signaled touchdown.

"We always talk about X plays, the big plays, and you've got to win the big play battle," Briggs said. "When he was running that back, first I've got to look to make sure we don't clip anybody, and when he was crossing that goal line I was saying in my mind, 'we're going to win this football game.' Momentum swings."

Alas, with two minutes left in the came the momentum dissipated as quickly as it had swung to Batavia.

The Blue Devils were knocking on the door for another six when sophomore QB Greg Mruczek flicked a pass into the end zone that only found white jerseys.

From there, HFL was able to run out the clock. Final score, HFL 27, Batavia 20.

At no point during the four quarters of football did Batavia have a lead.

The Cougers scored in the first quarter on a seven-yard run by Ryan Olivo. At the top of the second quarter, HFL made it 13-0 when Cougers QB Dan Hart hit Jovan Alcorn on a 24-yard TD pass.

Brandon Stevenson finally put Batavia on the board with a 13-yard run, but the Blue Devils went into the locker room down 20-6 at the half.

"We told them when we were down a couple of scores last year at half time against Albion, we came back to beat them," Briggs said.

And the Blue Devils fought back, even after the Cougers opened the third quarter with another score, Batavia never said quit.

Mruczek answered HFL with a 38-yard strike to Stevenson to make Budlong's eventual pick six meaningful.

The defense tightened up and the cause seemed far from hopeless.

"Our theme is to keep chopping," Briggs said. "We're a small team. We're a blue collar team. We've got to come out no matter what and keep chopping away."

The game, like any early season game for a good, young team, is a learning experience, Briggs said.

"Monroe County football is a different horse," Briggs said. "I think our guys found that out tonight. I don't think they're going to pack it in at all. I think we're going to come in with our lunch boxes on Monday and we're going to do a good job."

UPDATE: Stats from the game: Stevenson, 18 carries for 105 yards and a TD, and two catches for 40 yards and one TD. Mruczek was 4-10 for 90 yards, a TD and three interceptions. Tom Garlock had 4.5 tackles and one sack. Budlong has a 77 interception return for a TD.

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In other Friday night football action:

Alexander scored 64 points against hapless CG Finney for a 64-0 victory. Alexander had 509 yards of total offense, including 452 yards rushing. Dylan Scharlau had 22 carries for 239 yards and three TDs. Scharlau also blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Tristan Aldinger filled in at fullback and had three carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Will Burke also played fullback and gained 58 yards on six carries and scored once plus three two-point conversion runs. On defense, Burke had 10 tackles. QB Nelson Burke was 2-5 passing for 57 yards and one TD with no interceptions. Zach Laird scored on a 41-yard reception. Cody Trzecieski has five tackles and two interceptions. John George had six tackles and he picked off a screen pass that he returned 28 yards to set up another Alexander score. Alexander is now 2-0 on the season and plays Notre Dame next Saturday.

Notre Dame moved to 2-0 with a 35-21 win over Oakfield-Alabama (0-2). Andrew Mullen carried the ball 18 times for 62 yards and one TD. QB Tim McCulley was 7-18 for 116 yards and four touchdowns. He also carried the ball 13 times for 99 yards. McCulley was 5-5 in PATs. Charlie Hebert had three receptions for 36 yards and one TD. Josh Johnson had two TD receptions and gained 53 yards. Joe Zickl also caught a 22-yard pass for a score. Hebert and Zickl led the defense with 8.5 tackles. Mullen had 7.5 tackles, as did McCulley. Tyler Stroud, 8. Dylan Cory recorded a sack. For the Hornets, QB Allen Chatt was 7-16 for 88 yards and one TD. Chris Nanni carried the ball 31 times for 167 yards and one TD. Nanni also had three receptions for 56 yards and a TD. Chase Manzella had 15 carries for 95 yards and a TD. Dominic D'Alba caught two pases for 15 yards. Manzella led the defense with six tackles and a sack. Jon Harris had four tackles as did D'Alba.

Le Roy moved to 2-0 with a 47-8 win over Bishop Kearney. We did not receive any stats for this game.

The only local game today is at 1:30 when Elba/Byron-Bergen (0-1) hosts Pembroke (1-0).

The Lyndonville Tigers, a semi-pro football team that plays its home games in Pembroke, host the Troy Fighting Irish at 4 p.m. today, in the NFA championship game.

Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr will perform the opening coin toss.

Fireworks will follow the game at 8 p.m.

In their 10th season, the Tigers are looking to win its first NFA championship against a Troy team that has won four consecutive championships. Both teams are 9-2 on the season.

With all six of his starters returning from last year, Jeremy Mettler thinks the Batavia volleyball team can make a good run at a sectional title this season.

In his 14th year as head coach of the varsity squad, Mettler described his team as scrappy, one  that makes opponents work for their points.

That attitude was certainly on display Wednesday night when the Blue Devils fought back from seven-point deficit to force the rubber match into an extra-point ending.

Even in the loss there was a measure of victory because Mettler said he purposefully set up his girls with a tough early season schedule to better prepare them for sectional play.

Hilton, last night's opponent, is a bigger school with some taller players and heavy hitters.

"The best moment of the game was, when we switched sides in the volleyball game we were down 13-6 and at one point we were down 21-14 and we fought back and took them to 26-24," Mettler said. "It just shows this team is not going to give up. They're going to scrap and make you earn every point you get."

Last night's scores (Batavia in bold): 11-25, 25-18, 25-20, 14-25, 26-24.

Batavia's record so far on the season 2-2 overall, but 2-0 in their division.

Mettler said he teaches his players to be aggressive servers and that was on display in the final match when Ashlee Yasses and Tessa Engel each went on five-point runs.

"That's the kind of thing I look for my team to do," Mettler said. "I expect them to get at least three points every serve."

Mettler said Tessa Engel and Haley Case were hitting the ball from the outside well and Madison McCulley made some key kills.

"Bri Mazurkiewicz came off the bench to start a nice run in game four," Mettler said. "It's nice to get kids coming off the bench that contribute right away and help quite a bit."

Batavia has three tough games coming up: at Spencerport on Friday, Brockport at home on Monday and then a rematch with Honeoye Falls-Lima -- the team that knocked Batavia out of sectionals last year -- at home one week from today. Game time for home matches is 6 p.m.

Batavia plays in the Monroe County League in Division 4.

Here are the standings in the Genesee County League -- Division 1: Pembroke (3-0), Notre Dame (2-0), Byron-Bergen (2-0), Alexander (2-1) and Attica (1-1). Oakfield-Alabama leads Division 2 with a record of 1-1. Le Roy, in the Livingston County League, has no league record and is 2-1 overall to lead its division and Pavilion, also in Livingston County's league, leads its division with a 3-0 record.

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Story by Mike Wertman. Photo By Cheryl Wertman. Orleans Hub. Used with permission.

PEMBROKE – Earning a shot at that elusive first ever overall league championship, the Lyndonville Tigers blanked the Nickel City Kings 14-0 Saturday for the Northeastern Football Alliance West Division playoff title at Pembroke Town Park.

Touchdowns by Rob Williams and Gary LeFrois provided just enough offense for the Tigers whose shutout defensive effort was highlighted by two interceptions by Brad Ralph and one each by AJ Clevleand and Kyle Fiegel.

Lyndonville will now host the league playoff championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday against the Eastern Division playoff winner (either the Troy Irish or Glove Cities Colonials).

Lyndonville, after failing to capitalize on two early scoring opportunities inside the Kings 30 yard line, grabbed an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 31 yard touchdown run by Williams and an extra point run by Derrick Adams.

It remained a tight 8-0 game until early in the fourth quarter when LeFrois caught a 30 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt MacIntosh on a key fourth down play.

The Tigers defense did the rest stopping three of the Kings final four drives with interceptions, two by Ralph and one by Fiegel. Defensive back Mike Manicki halted the other late Kings drive by breaking up a fourth down pass. Cleveland’s pick stopped a Kings drive just before half-time.

The victory was the ninth in a row for Lyndonville which is now 9-2 on the season.

The Tigers split a pair of regular season meetings with the Kings.

One year makes a big difference in high school football.

To start the 2012 season, Elba/Byron-Bergen had the size and experience over Alexander. The final score that opening game was 40-13.

The way Lancers Head Coach Michael Cintorino sees it, the Alexander players didn't forget that smackdown.

Yesterday in Alexander, the tables were turned and the Trojans came out on top 23-6 victory after dominating a rain-drenched second.

"I think the key to the game is Alexander returned an awful lot of guys who are very well coached," Cintorino said. "Their guys came ready to play. Not that we didn't, but they had a little fire in them from what happened to them last year against us. I think that stayed with those young guys and they put their time in during the off season."

The Lancers were powered last season by the legs of Zach DuBois and the arm of Zac Gillard. Both players graduated.

All but three of Alexander's 19 varsity players hit the weight room hard during the off season, said head coach Tim Sawyer. This year, the Trojans may lack the roster size of some other teams, but they can put some big guys on the field.

Senior running back Dylan Scharlau is 6' and 195 lbs. Quinn Furlong, at TE and LB, is an inch shorter, but the same weight. Alton Rupp and Will Burke check in on offense and defense at 190 and 195 lbs. On the offensive and defensive lines are anchored by Kelsey Patten (225 lbs.), Jonathon George (230 lbs.), Damien Hargraves (200 lbs.) and Alex Jewett (245 lbs.).

With Nelson Burke at QB and Zach Laird at wide out, the Trojans can also run and catch.

"Elba is a physical team," Sawyer said. "But we have some pretty good size this year combined with strength. I thought it was a good, even match-up."

The key to the game may have been the start of the second half, which didn't result in a score for Alexander (penalties killed their drive), but it did help turn the tide.

Up by three after Scharlau's 30-yard field goal gave Alexander a 9-6 lead to end the second quarter; the Trojans had the first possession of the third.

"This doesn’t show on the scoreboard but I think this is huge," Sawyer said. "To start the third quarter, we’re going into a strong wind into a driving rain and possessed the ball for seven minutes. We didn’t get any points, but it chewed up their offensive advantage of the wind and all."

The rain and the wind stayed steady throughout the fourth quarter, when the Lancers offense was facing the western end zone. With the wind at their back, the Trojans were able to engineer two touchdown drives.

Burke hit Laird for a 17-yard pass for a TD and Scharlau pushed the pile forward on a goal line TD run, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Burke.

Elba/BB's lone score came on a pass from Garrett Chapell to Kyle Dougherty, giving the Lancer's a quick 6-0 lead.

Last season the 2-6 Trojans had a tendency to get down early and then find it difficult to battle back, so Sawyer as much pleased with the way his team won as he is with a 1-0 start to the season.

"They boys believed in themselves and kept battling," Sawyer said. "To be down early and finish the game 23-6, that’s a big step for our football program."

Both coaches said they have work to do with their teams.

For the Lancers, there's no one glaring issue, Cintorino said. There's a lot of little things, but mainly the mental errors need to be addressed.

Two fumbles in the second half were costly for the Elba/BB.

"I have confidence in this group and I think we can work on those kinks, coach them up, and get them were they need to be," Cintorino said.

It feels good, Sawyer said, to go into the next week trying to improve the team coming off a win.

"We made some mistakes," Sawyer said. "We have some things to work on. It's nice to get the win, but when I got into the team room, it's going to be like, 'Hey, we've got to shore some things up here.' "

On the game Scharlau carried the ball 26 times for 157 yards and two TDs, plus the 30-yard field goal. Burke was six for 11 for 178 yards and one TD pass. Burke also gave up an interception. He ran the ball four times for 29 yards. Laird caught the ball three times for 44 yards and a TD.  He had six carries for 36 yards. On defense, Patten had two sacks and four tackles. Laird had a sack, four and a half tackles and a forced fumble.

For Elba, Brandon Naylor gained 78 yards on 17 carries. Chapell was 4-13 for 40 yards and one TD. Austin Yockel caught two passes for 25 yards and Dougherty's one catch was the nine-yard TD reception in the first quarter. On defense, Naylor had 16 tackles and one forced fumble. Andy Underhill had 13 tackles and a forced fumble. Austin Hynes Fisher had six tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Dougherty had four tackles and an interception.

Other football action:

• Pembroke beat Charles Finney 41-0. The Dragons gained 300 yards on the ground. Dakota Swimline had 14 carries for 150 yards and three TDs. Cal Neurhor had eight tackles, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
• Batavia beat Edison Technical 22-0 taking command of the game in the first quarter, scoring 16 points. Nick Canzoneri carried the ball 16 times for 81 yards and two TDs. Brandon Stevenson gained 215 all-purpose yards. Dominick Mogazero and Trevor Rittstersback each had 12 tackles.
• Notre Dame crushed Holley 52-0. Tim McCulley came up big throwing for 229 yards and four TDs. He was seven for 10 passing. McCulley ran the ball eight times for 92 yards and one TD. Andrew Mullen taking over as lead man out of the backfield gained 151 yards and scored three times. The Irish had a total of 270 yards on the ground. He had one catch for 49 yards. Notre Dame scored 39 first-half points and notched one TD on Mullen runs in the third and fourth quarters. Cam Chamberlain gained 25 yards on eight carries. Josh Johnson had two TD receptions and gained 83 yards. Luca Zambito caught the ball twice for 47 yards and scored once. Chamberlain had eight tackles. Joe Zickl had five and a half.
• Oakfield-Alabama lost to Attica 45-6. Chris Nanni carried the ball 21 times, gained 72 yards and scored once. Chase Manzella notched 17 tackles. Attica, part of the Genesee Region League, returns with workhorse running back Matt Perry, now a senior, who ran for 228 yards and two TDs on 28 carries.

Football next Friday and Saturday:

• Finney is at Alexander, Friday, 7 p.m.
• Notre Dame at Oakfield-Alabama, Friday, 7 p.m.
• Le Roy at Bishop Kearney, Friday, 7:30 p.m.
• HF-L at Batavia, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (we'll cover this game)
• Pembroke at Elba/BB, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

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Coming into last night's game, Hornell was ranked #2 in Section V football and Le Roy was ranked #3 by the New York Sports Writers Association.

That's going to change.

The 68-14 final score of the season's opening game may not tell us yet how much Hornell has slipped since last season, when its 51-game winning streak was snapped by Hoosick Falls in the state championship game, but the near flawless play of the Oatkan Knights gives us a glimpse of just how special this team might be.

"It was a great performance," said Head Coach Brian Moran. "Obviously, it's only week one so we've got to practice and get better."

Hornell came into the game with only two returning starters on offense, but 21 players on the squad and a history of putting together good teams. A coaches' poll ranked Hornell #1 among the smaller schools in Section V.

"Hornell is a great football program," Moran said. "When you play them, you’ve got to get ready and I thought our kids mentally came prepared to play today."

Expectations were high for a battle of two stellar programs under the Friday Night Lights of the Hartwood Park field. And when Hornell stopped the Black Knights of the Oatka on the game's first drive, who would have thought differently?

As it turned out, that was the only Le Roy possession on the night that didn't result in a touchdown.

By the end of the first quarter, Hornell's fate seemed sealed. Unable to stop the Knights on defense, and stymied on offense, the Red Raiders were down 21-0 and would amass only 21 yards of offense in the first half.

For the game, Le Roy would out gain Hornell 459 yards to 137.

Peter Privitera carried the ball across the goal line twice on his way to a 110-yard game on 18 carries. QB Mike McMullen, a junior and second-year starter, was 6 of 10 passing for 174 yards and three TDs.

"I thought Mike threw very well," Moran said.

Anthony Paladino, back with the Knights after a sojourn with Notre Dame, recorded four solo tackles, forced two fumbles and carried the ball 11 yards on a goal line push in the second quarter.

It was a thrill, Paladino said, to make a contribution in a game that makes a statement about the kind of team Le Roy is this season.

"We came out to show everyone that we’re here to play this year and we’re ready to take on anyone," Paladino said.

The lopsided victory was a measure of redemption for Le Roy's players after last year's loss to the Red Raiders 21-7 in the Section V Class C championship game.

It was a great feeling to win a big game against a tough team the first time out for the season, Privitera said.

"We were fired up," Privitera said. "We had a whole lot of energy going. Since day one we’ve been ready for this game. Buckle it up. Smashmouth football. It’s Le Roy. That’s how we play."

While Moran understands some of his players saw Friday night's game as a chance to turn the tables on Hornell, he views the game across the arc of Le Roy vs. Hornell football history -- two top-notch programs clashing on the gridiron.

"Every year's different," Moran said. "You can't really talk about from one year to the next. I kind of just look at playing a great football program in Hornell and that was the number one thing. I know in the back of some kids' minds, that (redemption) was there, to be honest with you. They had a tough loss to a good football team last year. I thought they did the things in the off season in the weight room to get themselves ready and focused. Tonight, I thought it showed."

With the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, Moran pulled many of his starters and gave his second string a chance to get some snaps.

A strong bench helps win championships and the non-starters came up big against Hornell.

Jake Henry had his first carries on varsity and gained 84 yards and scored a touchdown.

Brian Hodges took over at QB and kept the offense moving as Le Roy scored on runs by Henry and Nick Egeling.

Egeling, Henry and Chandler Winling all impressed Moran, he said, both with their second half play and their first half on defense.

"I thought our second group played very," Moran said. "We focused on that this week. We didn’t know we would get to our second group today, but they played very well and I’m impressed with that."

The Knights big offensive and defensive lines had a lot to do with Le Roy being able to dominate the way they did, Moran said.

"Obviously, you’re only as good as those two areas," Moran said. "The offensive line especially. I thought today they got off the ball very well. I thought they played together very well as a unit."

The Oatkan Knights have a lot of weapons to throw at even a good team.

"It makes it difficult on a defense when you’ve got John Pierce on one side and Ryan McQuillen on the other," Moran said. "Those guys can obviously score from anywhere on the field. You really have to think about them and that frees us up to do some things offensively."

Additional stats for the game: Tom Kelso carried the ball eight times for 43 yards and two TDs. He also had one catch for 16 yards. Pierce had two receptions for 77 yards and two TDs. McQuillen had two receptions for 51 yards and one TD.

On defense, Kody Lampkin had three tackles, two for losses and one sack and one fumble recovery. Steve Cappotelli had five tackles. Wingling had six tackles. Kelso, three tackles and Egeling had three tackles. Henry had seven tackles.

Paladino and Henry pull down Hornell's Jason Scialpa.

Privitera finds yet another big hole.

Hornell's Jake Henby brought down on a kickoff return.

Head Coach Brian Moran.

Le Roy's Marching Band always puts on a theatrical performance at halftime.

QB Mike McMullen.

Henry with another big run in the fourth quarter.

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Since its inception in 2009 with only eight schools and 100 participants, the 2013 Dash in the Dark has increased its size to 29 schools from all over WNY including Section 5, 6 and one school from Erie, Pa.

Oakfield-Alabama is the host to the "kickoff of the cross-country season" said Coach Rich Boyce of Batavia. There are four races in a relay format with three team members that run two miles each. There are some obstacles like those shown above -- hay bales and dark areas around the course. Each participant carries the baton and passes it off. Team members from Sweet Home in Section 6 pictured below.

Average race typically last about an hour. Stadium, portable, lighted towers and strobe lights were off in the distance used to help shine some light on the path.

Pictured above / below is the girls varsity race, which had about 170 runners in the event with 57 teams total. Boys varsity had similar numbers.

Girls JV had 29 teams and Boys JV had 63 teams participating. There were two divisions split between large and small schools.  

Large School Division: Albion, Batavia, Canandaigua, East Aurora, Gates-Chili, Grand Island, Lancaster, Orchard Park, Pittsford-Mendon, Starpoint, Sweet Home, and Webster-Schroder.

Small School Divison: Alexander, Attica, Avon, Byron-Bergen, Charter School for Applied Technology, Geneseo, GOW School, Holley, Kendall, Mercyhurst Prep, Mount Morris, Mount St. Mary Acadamy, Newfane, Nortre Dame of Batavia, Oakfield-Alabama, Wayland Cohocton, and Wheatland-Chili.

Winners of each race are pending results.

Photos and story submitted by Steve Ognibene.