Sports

Now is the time to step up.

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame are in the semi-finals of sectional play, one of four teams remaining in their class, and that means the blue and gold will be facing some tough hombres.

Tomorrow, Notre Dame gets one of its toughest challenges of 2009 when the team takes on the Golden Knights of York. Both teams will enter Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester with 6-1 records.

Notre Dame comes in as the #2 seed vs. York's #3, but Head Coach Rick Mancuso isn't taking anything for granted.

"There’s only four teams left in our class," Mancuso said. "Everybody’s good now. We’re not playing an eight, we’re not playing a seven. We’re playing somebody else who has earned their way here. They’re 6-1. They come from a great league. They’ve beat some very, very good teams. The only loss they had came against a team in an absolute torrential downpour, so you can throw that one out the window. They’re a very good team and they deserve to be where they’re at. They deserve all of our respect, which we’re definitely going to give them."

Mancuso expects Notre Dame's defense to face a team that features an attacking, passing offense.

The Irish managed to win against a passing team -- uncommon in the Genesee Regional League -- this past week in Red Jacket, but gave up more than 200 yards.

"I’m sure they’re going to try and throw the ball," Mancuso said. "It looks like that’s what our weakness is. We’ve got to try and be a little more disciplined and stop that."

In its preview coverage, the Livingston County News also highlights York's passing game, shining a spotlight on wide receiver Adam Illerbrun.

Illerbrun, a 5-foot-9, 155-pound senior wideout, leads the Golden Knights’ air attack with 302 yards on 17 catches (18 avg).

The News also notes that Golden Knights are plus-16 on turnovers, among the best turnover ratios in the section.

Notre Dame's game time is 6:30 p.m..

The winner will face either #4 Cuba-Rushford (5-2) or #1 Dundee (7-0), who square off at 4 p.m. in Rochester.

In other Saturday games, in Class C, #6 seed Marcus Whittman (5-2)  visits #3 Holley (6-1) at 3 p.m. In Class DD, #3 Alexander (5-2) takes on #2 Avon (6-1) at 1:30 p.m. in Rochester.

Tonight, Attica played South Seneca, but that score is not yet available.

Award plaques on display at the Blue Devil Hall of Fame Banquet.

Hall of Fame Inductees include from left to right bottom row;  Joe Fiannaca, Nancy Platt, Ed Dawson.  Top row left to right;  Paul Sherwood, Tom Briggs, Tony Miceli, Pat Woodring.

In attendance were the Bosseler brothers, Bill and George who were selected to the first Blue Devils Hall of Fame induction in 2002.

Also on hand to celebrate the inductees selection was this contingent of 1960's Notre Dame Fighting Irish; left to right, Ron Francis, Bill Sutherland, Jim Fanara, and Bayne Johnson.

For three of four quarters today, Notre Dame dominated Red Jacket, leading to a 45-18 victory in the first round of sectional playoffs.

Before the Red Jackets could even get its offense going, Notre Dame's big play offense had 17 points on the board.

"We played three great quarters and that’s the kind of intensity we wanted to bring," said Head Coach Rick Mancuso. "After that lull in the game in the second quarter, we kind of got them back in the game."

That lull, Mancuso said, seemed to be as the result of an injury time-out in which a Red Jacket player was hit hard by a Notre Dame linebacker on a run play. The Red Jacket runner was slow getting up and then collapsed as he tried to leave the field.

"We lost some of our emotion, which was actually a concern to me," Mancuso said. "I was saying, 'Hey, don’t let this get you down,' but we did lose some intensity there and then we made a couple of mistakes and basically let them back in the ball game."

Red Jacket closed out the second quarter with 12 unanswered points.

Mancuso said he didn't say anything special to his players during half time, but from the start of the third quarter, the Fighting Irish were focused again and scored three consecutive TDs, and adding another 7 points in the fourth quarter before Red Jacket scored a touchdown in the final two minutes of play.

"We started the game fast. We played really well. We played with emotion," Mancuso said.

Notre Dame is now 6-1 on the season.

Running back Mike Pratt keyed the offense with 220 yards gained on 27 carries, scoring four touchdowns.

Bo Ricter scored Notre Dame's first TD on a three-yard run.

Notre Dame then surprised Red Jacket with an onside kick. On the very next play, Nick Bochicchio hit Gianni Zambito on a 51-yard TD pass. Zambito scored after the Red Jacket defender over committed to the ball, missed it and Zambito snatched it from the air and turned toward the end zone with no Red Jacket defenders between him and the goal line.

Matt Thompson closed out the first quarter with a 28-yard field goal.

Red Jacket scored in the second quarter on a 21-yard pass from Tyler Hixson to Trevor Sanders and a 32-yard pass from Hixson to Sanders. Both two-point conversion attempts were stopped by the Notre Dame defense.

The next four TDs all went to Notre Dame: Pratt had TD runs of 1 yard, 4 yards, 15 yards and 7 yards.

The final score of the game was a Chris Coslasurdo 35-yard pass to Sanders. Again, Red Jacket was unable to convert its two-point try.

Cam McDonald had eight tackles.

Kicker Thompson had eight points in the game, converting all of his PATs plus the field goal.

With Oakfield-Alabama and Cal-Mum trading scores through the first three quarters of their quarterfinal sectional playoff game tonight, and both teams seemingly able to run the ball at will, it became evident as the fourth quarter started that the winner would be decided when one defense or the other made a stand and stopped a drive.

And that's exactly what happened.

On its first drive of the fourth quarter, the Hornets couldn't get past the Red Raiders 40 yard line and Cal-Mum took over on downs.

Minutes later, the Red Raiders were in the end zone and with a two-point conversion, and obtained what would prove to be an insurmountable lead, 30-21.

The Hornets would score one more touchdown, but fall short by two points, 30-28.

"It came down to them just pounding the ball at us and not getting away from what they do best," said Hornets Head Coach Brian Palone after the game. "They made the plays when they needed to make the plays."

The two-point margin can also be explained by two failed point after attempts. In the second quarter, kicker Jon Fisher hit an upright, and in the third quarter, a high snap spoiled the attempt.

The Hornets got off to a quick start when Fisher placed a perfect onside kick down the far sideline and OA scrambled and took possession of the ball.

The offense then marched the ball 45-yards down the field for a score and a 7-0 lead. Matt Osmancickli scored that TD on a one-yard run.

But the home team answered right back, bringing the ball down to the one-yard line, where Trevor Haut was able to shove his way into the endzone. Cal-Mum tried for a two-point conversion, so the score was 7-6.

On its first possession of the second quarter, OA again looked like an offense with an unbeatable run game, taking the ball down the field until Matt Osmancickli capped the drive with a one-yard TD rush. After Fisher missed the PA, OA's lead was 13-6

Cal-Mum answered right back, putting a long drive together that ended with a Trevor Haut three-yard TD run. Jon Cappotelli carried the ball in on the two-point conversion, giving his team a one-point lead, 14-13.

OA grabbed back a one-point margin when a high snap on a Cal-Mum punt attempt was kicked out of the back of the end zone for a safety. That made the score 15-14 Hornets.

Both teams scored again in the third quarter. But with a muffed extra point attempt and a successful two-point conversion, Cal-Mum was able to convert another two-point try, so now the Raiders were up 22-21.

The Raiders were able to stop Oakfield-Alabama on its fourth-quarter drive and immediately answer back with another touch down. This time it was on a 19-yard pass from Mike Anderson to Dan Whiteside, plus they tacked on two-more points. The Hornets found themselves in a bit of a deep hole, down 30-21.

But OA kept fighting, engineering another drive that culminated in a one-yard rush by Osmancickli and an extra point from Fisher, making it 30-28, which is how the game would end.

The Hornets got off to a slow start this season with Coach Palone taking over the program for the first time and finding himself with few returning seniors. Palone and other coaches around the league will tell you that OA has been a team that has improved greatly every week as the season progressed.

Palone said tonight he's proud of the progress his team has made.

"I thought this was the best game we played all year and that’s all I can ask of them, to just get better every game," Palone said.

NOTE: About the video -- yes, I miss my high-def camera. It won't be repaired for another six weeks.

Tomorrow, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame take a 5-1 record into the quarter final round of Section V playoff football, the sectionals.

The Irish will host Red Jacket from the Finger Lakes West League.

Red Jacket comes into the game with a 2-3 overall record and ranked 61st in the section, while Notre Dame is ranked 23rd.

Even so, Head Coach Rick Mancuso isn't taking Red Jacket lightly.

"There's a good group of teams in their league," Mancuso said.  "They've earned their way here. They're going to be a real strong test. We know they throw the ball an awful lot. They run option. They've got a great defense. Their offense is really something to contend with because they spread you out and they've got the athletes to run that offense."

That offense is led by #18, Trevor Sanders, at quarterback, and Mancuso said he has a strong arm.

"He can really stretch the field," Mancuso said.

Notre Dame's offense is known as a big play unit, with the likes of Mike Pratt, Beau Richter, Gianni Zambito and Tony Bochicchio working hard to put points on the board.

Of course, getting breaks, not making mistakes, taking care of the ball and a defense that gets the job done are a big part of winning a sectional game, but Mancuso said special teams also play a big role at this stage.

"We spend about a third of our time working on special teams," Mancuso said. "Special teams are something that maybe gets overlooked by the fans, but it's something that's very, very important also."

Mancuso said his squad is ready to go and focused on this game.

"We're taking it the same way as we have all year long," Mancuso said. "Everybody says the same thing. It's cliche, 'week-to-week,' but I think that's truly what everybody has to do at this particular time. It's lose or go home. So you've got to come, you've got to play your A game, you've got to leave everything out on the field and you've got to hope for the best.

The game starts at 1:30 p.m. on the Notre Dame field.

Tonight is homecoming night for the Batavia Blue Devils. They take on Greece Olympia. If you go, please be sure to bring a donation for Don Carroll's Toys for Kids. The JV cheerleaders will be taking up collections at the gate prior to the game.

Tonight, we'll cover Oakfield-Alabama's play-off game against Cal-Mum at Cal-Mum.

In other weekend football action, Alexander hosts a playoff game against Lyons, and in non-playoff action, Pembroke is at Attica, Wellsville is at Le Roy, and tomorrow, Elba/BB is at Holley.

A young Elba/Byron-Bergen team had some lessons to learn tonight, homecoming night, according to Head Coach Michael Cintorino, so he kept his players on the field, fighting until the final second.

Cintorino didn't want the referees to let the clock run down at the change of possession with more than a minute left in the game and the 28-0 score favoring a bigger, more experienced Notre Dame squad.

"What we’re trying to do is get them that experience and really understand what a tough team like Notre Dame, what it takes to get them where they are," Cintorino said. "We want them to understand that they have a little work to do in the coming years to match a team like Notre Dame."

There was a lot of fight in the Lancer's tonight, but critical mistakes and an inability to string together enough consecutive good plays on the offensive side to sustain a drive had Elba/BB fighting uphill through all four quarters.

Trouble started on Elba's first drive when it was stopped short by an interception. On the next play, Mike Pratt had a clear 17-yard path to the end zone. A missed PAT put the score at 6-0.

On its next possession, the Lancers failed to move the ball and a high snap on a fourth-down punt turned into a two-point safety when the punter kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone. That made the score 8-0.

Pratt scored later in the first quarter on a four-yard run, and with another missed PAT, the Irish were up 14-0.

The Irish would score again in the second quarter on a 11-yard run by Mike Aina, and again in the third quarter on a three-yard rush by Pratt, making he score 28-0.

As the game wore on and the Irish showed more preference for the clock-devouring run game, Elba's defense displayed some grit in forcing more than one three-and-outs in the second half.

"(The defense was) very impressive," Cintorino "If you look at what ND has been doing this year, they’re a power running team and they throw quick passes. When they run, both Beau Richter and Mike Pratt are very hard runners. Their offensive line is big and strong and they get a great push and we were able to stand up to them."

Cintorino said he also came away from the game hopeful about his young team's offense, which features a promising junior quarterback in Eric Kowalik and an athletic junior receivers, Tess Schramm and Joe Burr.

"We have some young guys out there and they’re very close to making these big plays," Cintorino said. "We work on it the rest of this season, we work on it during the off season and we come back next a little bit more veteran and we get the job done."

Notre Dame (5-1) Head Coach Rick Mancuso said he's also seen the weekly improvement in Elba, which came into the game with a 2-3 record, and said his team didn't take the Lancers lightly.

"Week in and week out, every team is a test, and they’re very well coached," Mancuso said. "They’ve got a great group of guys in that coaching staff and they’ve got a really nice team. We’ve watched them -- this is the sixth week, we’ve got a lot of film on them, we’ve seen a ton of progress week-to-week. We didn’t come out here and expect to have an easy time, that’s for sure."

Mancuso said he was particularly proud of his offensive line in helping to establish the run game early

"Our linemen did a great job, I thought," Mancuso said. "We’re starting to come around. Those younger kids that started out the season for us, they’re not young kids any more. Everybody is pretty much seniors and four-year players now."

Notre Dame heads into sectionals with a 5-1 record, same as Holley (5-1) and Attica (5-1), who played a nail-biter of a game today, reaching the final nine seconds of game time in a 0-0 tie. Attica pulled it out on a 35-yard field goal by Zack Fleiss, ruining Holley's bid for an undefeated season and giving the three top teams a share of the Genesee Region league title.

Mancuso said he feels good about his team heading into sectional play.

"Our loss last week (to Holley) was very difficult to take," Mancuso said. "I was really interested to see how the kids would challenge themselves this week and get back in the saddle and I thought they did a nice job doing that."

Some of tonigh's stats:

For ND, Pratt had 111 yards on 19 carries.

For Elba/BB, Pete Pryzbl had 9 carries for 52 yards. Schramm, two catches for 37 yards. Joe Burr had two catches for 18 yards. Kowalik completed five passes in 21 attempts for 58 yards. On Defense, Burr had seven tackles and six assists. Brandon Shuknecht had five tackles and a fumble recovery. Tom Fowler had six tackles and three assists.

NOTE: My video camera is broken. I can't get the video out of it that I shot last night (well, I captured some, but only through the first quarter, so it's unlikely I'll be able to post video of this game. I'll have to see if I can get it repaired this week).

Not to take anything away from Cal-Mum -- a solid team that played well Friday night -- but the Le Roy Oatken Knights literally handed away its 2009 match-up its arch-rival.

The Knights, dealing with a disappointing season so far, looked like a team that could beat Cal-Mum, but as Head Coach Brian Moran said after the game -- teams that repeatedly drop the ball can't win.

"Turn overs was the whole game," Moran said. "You can't turn the ball over and win a game. You can't do it. It just can't happen."

Le Roy's fumbles robbed them of opportunities to put points on the board and set up both scores for the Red Raiders.

Moran's team drops to 1-5 on the 14-0 loss, while the Red Raiders (4-2) prepare of a playoff game next week.

"I thought our effort was there, but I thought we turned the football over too many times," Moran said.

Turn overs were also the first thought that came to mind for Raiders Head Coach Mike Monacelli.

"They're an awful rough team to try and stop," said Monacelli. "I'd like to think we are, too, but they happend to turn the ball over in some key spots."

The turnover started early for Le Roy. After the defense came up big and stopped Cal-Mum with a three-and-out on its first possession, giving the Knights the ball on about their own 40, six plays into the drive, the Knights gave the ball back to the Raiders on the Raiders 40.

The Raiders failed to capitalize on the turn over, despite marching the ball down to Le Roy’s one-yard line, where on a third down play, Brandon Monteleone came up big and stuff a Cal-Mum running play for a three-yard loss. Cal-Mum couldn’t punch it through on forth down giving back the ball to Le Roy.

Le Roy was unable to push the ball forward much on its first two downs and a muffed pitch on third down put them on their heels on the one-yard line. The subsequent punt traveled less than yards, giving Cal-Mum excellent field position.

A few plays later, Cal-Mum’s Tervor Hout busted through the line and into the end-zone. A two-point conversion gave the Raiders a 8-0 lead.

The Knights fight back on the next drive, pounding the ball from its own 20 down to the one-yard line where yet another fumble kills the drive.

Cal-Mum is unable to convert the turn over into a score however, and the half would end with the Raiders up 8-0.

The second half begins much as the first half did for Le Roy. On it’s first possession, Le Roy drives the ball down to Cal-Mum’s 40 yard line when a fumble squanders the opportunity to start the third quarter strong.

This time, Cal-Mum wouldn’t miss the opportunity to turn a Le Roy mistake into points on the board. The Raiders take the ball 60 yards to the end zone where Jon Cappotelli will race the ball in on a near-side sweep to give the Raiders a 14-0 lead (the Raiders fail on a two-point conversion try).

The only glimmer of life the Knights would show the rest of the game was an early fourth-quarter fumble recover by Monteleone.  It was a turnover to no where for the Knights, though and the game would end 14-0.

Cappotelli carried the ball for 102 yards on 24 rushes.

Offensive stats for Cal-Mum: Ben Anastasi carried the ball seven times for 29 yards, Cappotelli had 24 carries for 102 yards, and passing, Mike Anderson had two completions on seven attempts for 54 yards.

Offensive stats for Le Roy: Quentin Humphrey, carried the ball 11 times for 9 yards, Jon Casper five carries, 28 yards, Rick Henry, 11 carries for 52 yards, Mark Kelso, six carries and 20 yards. Kelso also threw the ball 7 times, connected on two for 18 yards

In other action tonight, Oakfield-Alabama beat Pembroke 17-13. Honeoye Falls-Lima beat Batavia 41-19.

Tomorrow's games have Attica at Holley at 1:30 p.m., Alexander at Barker at 1:30 p.m., and Notre Dame at Elba/Byron-Bergen at 7 p.m..

We'll be covering the night game.

Here are the players that played for the Batavia Muckdogs or Clippers:

TWINS

NICK PUNTO-1998 BATAVIA

PHILLIES

ANDREW CARPENTER-2006 BATAVIA

J. A. HAPP-2004 BATAVIA

RYAN HOWARD-2001 BATAVIA

KYLE KENDRICK-2004-2005 BATAVIA

RYAN MADSON-1999 BATAVIA

LOU MARSON-2005 BATAVIA

CHASE UTLEY-2000 BATAVIA

DODGERS
 

RANDY WOLF-1997 BATAVIA

CARDINALS

JESS TODD-2007 BATAVIA

This fall let’s remember how lucky we are to have players who started here playing at the highest level of professional sports.  Season tickets make great Christmas gifts, so get your tickets and see the stars of the future.

This just came across came across the wire:

St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer Alan Ahmady has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an amphetamine. The 21-year-old Ahmady played this season in Class A Batavia, N.Y.

Ahmady was one of my favorite players this past season. He's also the one who hit a home run over The Batavian sign in right field in the fifth inning, winning one lucky fan $250.