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Comden leads Hawks to 2-0 win over Bees

By Brian Hillabush

Brandon Comden scored with just under 10 minutes left in the game to give Holley a 2-0 win over Byron-Bergen in a boys soccer match.

The other Holley tally came on an own goal.

Keith Lutes stopped six shots to earn his first career shutout for the Hawks (5-3-1).

Tyler Sass had 12 saves for B-B (4-5-1). 

Muckdogs Championship T-Shirts

By Mollie Radzinski

Attention all you Muckdogs fans and supporters! if you haven't heard, Muckdogs championship t-shirts are available for purchase! Check out the website, muckdogs.com (direct link here: http://muckdogs.com/index.asp?orgid=67&storyid=315&sid=FD4A130C-FED5-441D-8157-560D0254FB2F), for more info!

Notre Dame's Bochicchio starting at Utica

By Brian Hillabush

Notre Dame graduate Christian Bochicchio made his first start at quarterback for the Utica College football team this past weekend.

The freshman stepped into the starting role which was held by Keith Barone, and had a rocky, yet productive, first start.

The Pioneers turned the ball over several times in losing to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, losing a 24-10 homecoming game in front of 2,835 fans.

 Bochicchio - who was the quarterback for the Fighting Irish when the team won the Section 5 Class D championship in 2006 - now looks to be the top option for Utica.

"He can do some things. Right now, he's our guy," UC coach Blaise Faggiano told the Utica Observer-Dispatch after the loss.

Bochicchio went 14-of-24 for 120 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in his  college debut.

The Pioneers (0-3) will be at Springfield College on Oct. 4.

Batavia announces 6 new members to athletic HOF

By Brian Hillabush

Six new members will be inducted to the Batavia Blue Devil Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 18 at Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility.

Nancy Viola worked in athletics and served as Athletic Director from 1981-1998, where 14 Batavia teams won Section 5 championships, including a New York State football title in 1981.

Viola was a chairperson for Section 5 girls basketball from 1975-1997 and NYS girls basketball from 1978-1982.

She earned the 1985 Jean Giambrone Rochester Press Radio Award, was inducted into the Section 5 basketball HOF in 2001 and is a member of the Rochester Red Wing Walk of Fame.

Jonathan Walton was a 1974 graduate after playing four years of varsity basketball and three years of both football and baseball, 

Earned all-county honors in both basketball and baseball. He earned second-team all-county honors when he helped the Batavia basketball team go 19-2 during his junior year.

Walton played baseball and basketball at Buffalo State College and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974.

1964 graduate Douglas King played four years of football, bowling and baseball at Batavia and earned the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as a co-captain during his senior year.

King led the 1964 bowling team with a 194 scoring average.

Compiled an 11-3-2 record on the mound as a senior, tossing a no hitter, four one-hitters and four shutouts.

He was named the best male athlete at BHS in 1964 and was awarded the Mary Delbridge Citizenship award.

King was scouted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, N.Y. Yankees and San Francisco Giants.

Thomas Vincellos is a 1961 graduate and ran four years of cross country and track, and wrestled one season.

He was the Section 5 cross country champion as a senior and led Batavia to four straight Genesee-Wyoming team titles, setting the course record twice.

Vincellos was the best athlete of senior class and earned the Babe Ruth Sportsmanship award in 1961. He was also a three-time recipient of the Dominic Valle Cross Country MVP award.

1943 graduate Don Johnson played football and ran track for four years while playing baseball and basketball for three each.

He was awarded the 1943 Cope-Dowd Award for excellence in Track & Field and was named to the 1943 Section 5 basketball tournament all-star team.

Johnson earned a letter in four sports in his junior and senior years.

Ralph "Buddy" Houseknecht is a 1968 graduate and played three years of baseball and two years of football and basketball.

He won the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as captain of the football team as a senior. Was also a captain on the baseball team.

Houseknecht was named best BHS athlete in 1968 and received a scholarship to Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania where he played football.

Has been a long-time Batavia High School and Blue Devil Athletics supporter as member of Batavia Rotary Club and as President of Pepsi-Cola Batavia Inc.

The 7th Annual Induction Ceremony has a social hour beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. dinner.

Tickets are available at the Athletic Directors office at Batavia High School. For more information you can call 585-343-2480 ex. 2003

Attica's Ruddock Player of the Week

By Brian Hillabush

 Well, it took three weeks but a local football player was finally named Section 5 Player of the Week.

Attica's Andy Ruddock rushed for 193 yards on 18 carries as the Blue Devils beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 Friday night and he earned the offensive honor for Class B.

Ruddock also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Attica is 2-1 and will be playing at Barker this Saturday.

Alexander falls to Wheatland 4-1, Drops 2nd Straight

By Chad Flint

Alexander dropped a 4-1 decision to Wheatland in Wheatland on Monday to see their league record drop to 5-2-1 and overall drop to 5-4-1.  The halftime score was 1-1 after Wheatland jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and Alexander tied it with around 10 minutes left to go in the first half.  The first half was very even possession wise but Wheatland had several chances that were saved by Alexander keeper Hannah Wilson in the games opening 10 minutes.

The 2nd half was a different story as Wheatland came out flying and never slowed down.  Wheatland buried a shot off a giveaway in the center of the field 10 minutes into the 2nd half and took only 4 minutes to make the score 3-1 after a great give and go that was finished off by Lauren Drago.  8 minutes after that it was 4-1 and the rout was on after Drago finished off her 2nd goal of the game.

Alexander struggled to complete passes in the 2nd half and Wheatland punished us for every mistake we made.  Alexander's best chance in the 2nd half came on a cross from Anna Dominick to Rachel Pettys but Pettys failed to get off a good strike and the keeper handled it easily.

Alexander's goal was scored by 8th grade midfielder Abby Shilvock.  Alexander finishes their 6 game in 10 day stretch Wednesday when they are home to Elba and are in need of a win to avoid falling further off the pace in the GR Division I race.  Wheatland improves to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the league and is undefeated against the Division 1 teams in their crossover games thus far.

Jermaine Curtis HR caught on video

By Howard B. Owens

Just found this video from he first game of the NY-P Championship in Jamestown.  The only real interesting part is at 2:35 in or so and you can see Jermaine Curtis hit his game-winning home run.

Here's another video of the final out of the championship.

September 22nd is Muckdogs Day!

By Philip Anselmo

It's official! City Council this evening proclaimed September 22, 2008: Muckdogs Day. The 2008 NY-Penn League champions have since dispersed, many of the young players heading to St. Louis for the Cardinals post-season training camp, so that means no go on a parade for this year. But plans are already in the works to hold a victory parade when the champs return to Batavia in June.

We'll be sure to pass along more info as it becomes available.


In other City Council news...

A public hearing has been set for October 14 to discuss a local law that would abolish the city's Board of Ethics. If the action goes through, the city will in future refer all "ethics issues" to the county's Board of Ethics.

Genesee Region Girl's Soccer Standings

By Chad Flint

The current Genesee Region Girl's Soccer Standings as of 9/21/08

Division 1:

Alexander 5-1-1

Holley 4-2-1

Bergen 3-1-1

Pembroke 3-1-1

Attica 1-4

Kendall 0-5

Alexander picked up 3 league wins this week beating Attica, Oakfield, and Kendall.  Bergen beat Pembroke in OT Saturday night meaning that in the loss and tie column Alexander, Bergen, and Pembroke are all tied at the current moment with Holley one loss behind.  Big games in the upcoming week that will have impact in the standings are Alexander @ Wheatland 9/22, Elba @ Alexander 9/24, and Holley @ Lyndonville 9/23.  The next couple weeks finishes up all the cross-over games and will set the stage for the last round of divisional games.

Division II:

Wheatland 5-1

Elba 4-1

Lyndonville 3-3

Oakfield 1-4

Notre Dame 0-6

Lyndonville knocked off Elba this week in what could turn out to be a big loss for Elba as they were out in front of this division and after knocking off Wheatland early.  The crossover games could really put one team out in front of this division if they can pick up a handful of wins against the division 1 teams.  Both Wheatland and Elba play Alexander this week and a win by either or both could further distance themselves from Lyndonville.  Lyndonville plays Holley and needs a win if they want to keep pace with the top two teams in this division.

Alexander Falls to York in Kendall Tournament Finals

By Chad Flint

For the 3rd straight year it was York versus Alexander in the finals of the Kendall tournament and for the 3rd straight year York took home the crown.  Most of the York lineup returned from the team that knocked off Alexander 2-0 in OT in last years championship game while Alexander returned just 2 starters and only three other players that saw action in the game but Alexander hung tough throughout the game.

For the 2nd straight game 8th grader Abby Shilvock drew defensive responsibilities marking #11 from York who is their leading scorer and limited her to only a handful of shots.  #11 managed to score the first goal of the game on a full volley after #8 won a header and there was not much either Shilvock or goalkeeper Hannah Wilson could do as she buried it in the top right corner of the net.  The score was 1-0 at the half.

In the 2nd half York got an early goal on a corner kick that was nearly headed in and the attempted clearance was fired into the right side of the net for a 2-0 lead.  York would pick up a 3rd goal about 10 minutes later as a ball was stolen on the right sideline and crossed into the center where an Alexander defender's clearance ended up in their own net for a 3-0 lead.

York kept the pressure up for the remainder of the game and Alexander managed to hold them off thanks to solid defensive efforts from the entire backline and goalkeeper Wilson who made 14 saves on the night.

For Alexander defender Savannah VanSon, Midfielder Tessa Bigelow, and Forward Rachel Pettys were named to the all tournament team while Abby Shilvock was named Defensive MVP of the tournament.  Fantastic performances were also turned in by Goalkeeper Hannah Wilson and Defender Gabby Kwiatek.

Alexander sits at 5-3-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the league going into another big week where they will face Wheatland (@ Wheatland) on Monday and Elba at home on Wednesday.

Barker no match for ND running game

By Brian Hillabush

 

After a slow start in the first quarter , the Notre Dame football team had multiple touchdown quarters in the second and third to beat host Barker 37-6.

Kevin Schildwaster started the scoring with a 1-yard dive in the second quarter, with Mike Pratt adding a 13-yard touchdown run in the frame.

Pratt had two touchdown runs and Kevin Francis caught a 3-yard TD pass from Nick Bochicchio in the third quarter.

Matt Thompson nailed a 30-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and also kicked four extra points in the contest.

Ray Paul had a touchdown run for Barker (1-2).

Notre Dame is 2-1.

Defensive game turns into offensive show for Dragons

By Brian Hillabush

 Holley's defense was solid in the first half. Pembroke's was throughout the game.

That meant the Dragons picked up a solid 41-0 victory in Holley Saturday afternoon, holding the Hawks to just 56 total yards of offense.

While Pembroke started slow, a multitude of players put up solid numbers.

Mike Dibble rushed for 92 yards on 18 carries and Josh Phillips gained 56 on seven rushes.

Andrew Wright had another huge day, rushing the ball 10 times for 118 yards and catching a pair of passes for 55 yards.

Quarterback David Kleckler ended up going 4-of-10 for 104 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 28 yards.

The Holley defense had done a good job of holding the Dragons in check early on the opening drive, but the first score of the game came on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Kleckler to Wright on a fourth-and-15.

Holley punted the ball away, then managed to force Pembroke to do the same thing.

Guy Hills picked up a rushing first down for the Hawks and then Mike Pernicano picked up 25  yards on a rush, but the play was called back on a holding call. The Hawks wound up attempting a punt, which was blocked.

The Dragons started at the Holley 20 and Wright went for 15 yards and Kleckler scored from five yards out, giving Pembroke a 13-0 first quarter advantage.

Wright broke off a 25-yard run early in the second quarter before Ken Babcock made the play of the game a few plays later, hauling in a 25-yard TD pass.

 

Babcock actually caught another touchdown pass in the first half, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference.

With the Pembroke defense shutting down the Holley offense, the Hawks were almost able to get a score near the end of the half because of their defense.

Hills intercepted a pass near midfield with 39 seconds left, allowing Kyle Steadman to get a 10-yard run. Unfortunately, time ran out on the Holley offense.

Wright had a 15-yard touchdown run and Phelps added one from six yards out to give Pembroke a 34-0 lead at the end of the third quarter.

The Dragons did add a final score midway through the fourth quarter.

Backup quarterback Andy Gabbey found Dibble on a screen and he took it in for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

The Dragons improve to 3-0 and will be hosting Elba/Byron-Bergen (1-2) next Saturday.

Holley falls to 0-3, but is showing signs of life, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

They will be at Alexander (0-3) next Saturday in a matchup of teams looking to win for the first time this season.

 

UPDATED WITH VIDEO

 

Batavia runner Kelsey Conn getting some notice

By Howard B. Owens

The College at Brockport web site has a short profile of Kelsey Conn, a runner originally from Batavia, who participated in Sophie's Run.

Conn was recently been named Female SUNYAC Cross Country Runner of the Week after finished 1st in the Brockport Invitational on September 13 with a time of 19:48.60. It was her first season running cross-country for the Golden Eagles and her first race of the season. The sophomore Communications major is also a key member of the Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field squads at Brockport and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and finished ninth in the 10,000 meter run.

Le Roy destroys Wellsville

By Brian Hillabush

Andrew Alexander found the end zone four times while picking up 163 yards rushing on just 17 carries as Le Roy demolished Wellsville 77-8 Friday.

Alexander also was a defensive star, picking off a pass and recovering a fumble.

Anthony Macaluso rushed the ball five times for 100 yards while Travis Fenstermaker threw two touchdown passes to Mike Humphrey and another to Quentin Humphrey, 

Quentin also had an interception returned for a touchdown.

Wellsville falls to 1-2 while the Oatkan Knights improve to 3-0.

Attica runs past Elba/Byron-Bergen, 40-6

By Brian Hillabush

 

Attica rushed for 376 total yards in blasting Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 Friday night.

Andy Ruddock led the way with a whopping 18 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown, with Luke Pariso adding 63 yards and a score.

Brandon Rollins went 8-of-12 passing for 85 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair to Greg Boxler.

Shawn Dupuis also caught a 34-yard TD pass from Rollins.

Brandon Spurling had the lone touchdown run for the Lancers (1-2).

Attica is 2-1.

Alexander wins 4th straight game

By Chad Flint

Alexander continued their recent strong play with a thrilling 2-1 victory in Kendall Friday night under the lights.  The game was a 1st round game of the Kendall tournament and Alexander will face off against York in the finals Saturday at 7pm.

Alexander didn't take long to get on the board as Senior Rachel Pettys blasted on home 10 minutes into the game off a pass from Anna Dominick.  Alexander came out strong and controlled play in the beginning of the 1st half.  Kendall started to settle down after the goal and got Sophmore Kaila Browe involved in their offense and forced keeper Hannah Wilson to make a leaping stop that went off the crossbar to keep the score 1-0.  Browe was in just her 2nd game of the season after being out with an injury.

The 2nd half saw some back and forth action with Kendall controlling the possession but failing to solve Alexander's defense.  8th grade Abby Shilvock was assigned to mark Browe for the majority of the game and did a great job limiting her chances with the ball.

With under 20 minutes left in the game Kendall got a corner kick and sent it into the middle.  Alexander failed on several attempts to clear it and the ball sat 8 yards off the line when Browe stormed through and blasted it into the net to knot the game at 1. 

The game appeared headed for overtime as neither team could finish off a chance at their 2nd goal.  With 90 seconds left Sophmore Autumn Atkinson played a ball to an overlapping Junior Leah Johnson who got the cross in front of the net on her 2nd attempt at it where Pettys was waiting to send the ball into the back of the net with 1:17 left on the clock.

Alexander managed to kill the time off from there and pick up the win.  It was a well played game by both sides.

Kendall will play Albion in the consolation game at 5pm and Alexander will play York in the championship at 7pm.  Alexander's JV team will play York's JV team in the finals of the JV tournament at 3pm after Alexander knocked off Kendall 4-1 and York knocked off Albion 3-1.

Oakfield-Alabama sets records in win

By Brian Hillabush

 The Oakfield-Alabama football team scored a school record 42 points in the first quarter and kicker John Fisher tied Matt Waldron's single game scoring mark for a kicker with nine extra points as the Hornets thumped Alexander 63-14.

O-A added 21 points in the second quarter before calling off the dogs.

A.J. Kehlenbeck completed 4-of-6 attempts for 72 yards and three touchdowns in the game. He also had a rushing touchdown.

"A.J. looked real sharp throwing the ball," O-A coach John Dowd said. "He had a nice night for a quarterback in our offense. We came out firing pretty hard."

Joe Natalizia made his first start at wingback and had a solid day, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He also caught a TD pass.

Fullback Brad Riner rushed for just 56 yards in the game, but scored  a touchdown on the ground, through the air and on defense, when he returned an interception 67 yards for a score.

Tim Smith rushed for 63 yards on six carries and also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass.

Tyler Kowalcyzk  made seven tackles - including two for a loss - and returned an interception six yards for a score.

Alexander falls to 0-3 while Oakfield-Alabama improves to 3-0 and faces Notre Dame next weekend.

"Notre Dame is an outstanding team," Dowd said. "They are a little more athletic than we are, but we are a little bit bigger than they are. It will be a nice test for both teams."

Blue Devils get win No. 1

By Brian Hillabush

A third straight home loss to start the season would have meant the Batavia football team was going to be looking at a nearly impossible climb to get into the Section 5 Class B Tournament.

But the running of Anthony D'Aurizio and Rob Williams made sure that that climb is going to be a little less difficult as the Blue Devils offense outgunned visiting Waterloo 41-28 at VanDetta Stadium Friday night.

The scoring output shows the ability of the offense, which put up 33 points in a difficult 34-33 overtime loss against Pal-Mac.

Williams rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries while D'Aurizio had 180 yards and two scores on 21 attempts.

After Rich Chilson kicked off the scoring for the Indians with a 15-yard run just 1 1/2 minutes into the game, Batavia got cooking.

D'Aurizio ripped off a 42-yard run that set up a 1-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown by Joe Canzoneri. The Troy Ireland extra point gave Batavia a 7-6 advantage.

Kevin Sessler punched one in from two yards out and after the two-point conversion failed, the Indians led 12-7 to end the opening quarter.

D'Aurizio scored from 2 yards out and had a conversion run to put Batavia up 15-12 before Sessler capped off the first half scoring with a two-yard run for Waterloo, with the extra point making it 19-15 Indians at intermission.

Batavia owned the third quarter.

After receiving the opening kickoff, D'Aurizio had a 12-yard run, Williams ripped one off for 21 yards and D'Aurzio capped off the drive with a score from 10 yards out.

Ireland pounded the ensuing kickoff and Waterloo didn't get much of a return. That was compounded by a block in the back penalty, which meant the following drive started at the 5-yard line.

Waterloo didn't move the ball and had to punt. 6-foot-1 Joe Schlossel blocked that punt and Batavia took over at the Indian 2-yard line.

Williams scored on the next play, giving the Blue Devils a 28-19 lead.

After Batavia's defense caused another three-and-out, Waterloo had to punt and Williams put the nail in the coffin when he ripped off a stunning 75-yard touchdown run. Ireland's kick made the score 35-19.

The Indians did drive and Chilson scored on a 10-yard run to get the score within 10 points early in the fourth quarter.

Waterloo then recovered the onside kick.

Jordan Cook nailed a 29-yard field goal and it was a one score game with about 4 minutes left to play.

Batavia struggled to move the ball and was in a fourth-and-2 situation with 3:21 left

Coach Dan Geiger decided to punt the ball away - despite the urging of several players to go for it with the ball at their own 38. But Canzoneri drilled a perfect punt, which was downed at the Waterloo 13-yard line.

The Indians never moved the ball and turned it over on downs, allowing Williams to cap off the game's scoring with a 13-yard TD run.

Waterloo had very little time to attempt to get back into the game, but Devonte Rolle intercepted a Cook pass to ice the game.

D'Aurizio led the defense with 11 tackles, with Ireland making 10 stops and Adam Hausfelder getting nine. Vinny Pedro had seven tackles and blocked an extra point for Batavia (1-2).

Waterloo falls to 0-3.

 

UPDATED WITH VIDEO

 

 

Football coverage tonight

By Brian Hillabush

 I just wanted to leave a reminder that I will be at the Waterloo at Batavia game tonight, so please check back shortly after the end of the game for complete coverage as well as results from other area games.

Brooks gets way more help than needed for Holley

By Brian Hillabush

 Julie Brooks didn't need much help, but she got plenty.

The Holley goalie earned her fourth shutout of the season, helping the Hawks improve to 3-2-2 with a 7-0 drubbing of Notre Dame Thursday.

Emily Troup had a hat-trick and pitched in with an assist, giving her nine goals and three assists this season. Hannah Page pitched in a pair of goals and a pair of helpers.

The Fighting Irish fall to 0-6.

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