Sports

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For 24 years, Paul Peck covered the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres as part of his duties as a full-time sportscaster for Channel 4, in Buffalo.

For less than a year, the New Jersey native has been the play-by-play man for the "Beat The Champ" show, which has been resurrected on WBBZ-TV (MeTV) out of Buffalo (channel 67.1 over the air and cable 72 in Genesee County).

Peck said he has been overwhelmed by the response from the bowling community and the popularity of the show -- which features the best bowlers in the area in scratch singles (no handicap) competition.

"It has been an incredible experience," said Peck during a break in taping on Wednesday at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, where four shows to be aired in December were produced. "I've had more people come up to me and more feedback than I did in 25 years of covering the Bills."

Peck and company's appearance in Batavia continued the wave of success the show has been riding since about a dozen or so bowling centers in Western New York put up $6,000 each to be able to host qualifying rounds and the actual taping of the shows on a monthly basis.

He said he has found bowlers to be passionate about their sport, and has come to realize than many bowlers throughout the region remember the original "Beat The Champ" show hosted by Chuck Healy and then Van Miller on Channel 4 in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

"The show has a cool place in people's memories," said Peck, who left Channel 4 about four and a half years ago and now is a financial professional for AXA Advisors in Buffalo and sports personality for the University of Buffalo.

Peck said he was apprehensive at first about joining the show -- since he has a limited knowledge of bowling -- but noted that he has received much encouragement from longtime bowlers, including his co-host Sue Nawojski, of Buffalo, one of the finest women bowlers in New York State.

"Things have gone very well thus far, and my friend and mentor, Van Miller, would be proud to know that we have kept this tradition alive," he added.

John DiSciullo, WBBZ-TV promotion and production coordinator, said the show is getting very favorable ratings and, just as importantly, has "created an awareness of bowling that we haven't seen locally in a long time." He indicated that the show has been renewed for another season.

Mancuso Bowling Center proprietor Rick Mancuso said he opted in as a way to bring "something that is good for the bowling community .... and I think that has been accomplished."

He also said he was pleased that two Batavia bowlers qualified for the TV show -- Rich Wagner and Fred Gravanda.

"Both of them are great guys, at two different spectrums of their careers, Rich being a younger guy (33) and Fred (at 66), the old war horse," he said, acknowledging both their accomplishments over the years.

He said he is contemplating staying with the show for another year, but would like to see it expand.

"We would love to see the show move a bit more east and northeast of Batavia so we can attract a larger market," he said, referring to the Rochester area. "That would definitely affect us in a greater way."

"Beat The Champ" officials said they are looking into the possibility of going into other areas of the state.

Photo at top -- The on-air trio of Janelle Sabin, left, scorekeeper; and commentators Sue Nawojski and Paul Peck spent the day at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia on Wednesday for the taping of four "Beat The Champ" bowling shows, which will be broadcast on WBBZ-TV (MeTV) during the month of December. Click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page for more photos by Mike Pettinella, bowling columnist and reporter for The Batavian, the region's No. 1 source for online news.

Press release:

Daemen College men's basketball player Jeff Redband (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia) has been named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week for games held Nov. 21-27. The official announcement was made via the league's weekly men's basketball report, which was released this afternoon from conference headquarters in Central Islip.

Redband, a 6-foot-7 redshirt-freshman forward, averaged 13.7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block per game in three contests last week, while also shooting 51.7-percent from the field (15-for-29) and 55-percent from three-point range (11-for-20). Redband's efforts helped Daemen pick up a pair of wins to push out to a 5-1 record this season.

Redband opened the week by posting the first 20-point outing of his career in Daemen's 90-79 road win at Edinburg University last Wednesday (Nov. 23). The sharp-shooting forward canned five three-pointers in the first half, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the opening frame. He ended the game shooting 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-10 from long distance, while adding five rebounds in what was the 300th win in the career of Daemen Head Coach Mike MacDonald.

Two days later, Redband started 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from three-point range as Daemen raced to a 19-point halftime lead over visiting Slippery Rock University. He ended up sharing game-high honors with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting (4-for-7 from three-point range) in the Wildcats' 12-point win (69-57). The victory moved Daemen to 5-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The Wildcats' winning streak was halted on Sunday with a 70-61 road loss at Mercyhurst University. Redband finished with five points, three rebounds and two blocks in a losing effort.

Redband's selection is the first weekly honor for a Daemen player this season. The Wildcats led the league in Rookie of the Week selections last season with six. Guard Jay Sarkis (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena), who is out for the entire 2016-17 season with an injury, was a four-time recipient, and Deion Hamilton (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) earned the honor twice.

Redband and the Wildcats begin ECC play this week with a pair of road tilts. Daemen visits Long Island University Post on Wednesday (Nov. 30) and the University of the District of Columbia on Saturday (Dec. 3).

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMBB on Twitter.

Photo courtesy Daemen Athletics.

UPDATE: I picked this up off of social media -- another former Batavia High School star having a good year so far at the college level is Jalen Smith, a guard at Hilbert College, who was the Alleghany Mountain Conference Player of the Week this week. "Jalen Smith led the hawks to a 1-1 record with averaging 27.5 points per game. He shot 57.7 percent from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line. He led the hawks defense with four steal per game."

None of Notre Dame's hockey players will need to sit out the 2016-17 season, at least to start the year, state officials determined after hearing an appeal by school officials on a Section V ruling on eligibility requirements for two or three players.

Officials with NYSPHSAA kicked the appeal back to Section V to reconsider after finding irregularities with the initial ruling.

Wade Bianco, principal for Notre Dame, said he hopes to know by the end of the day today when the school and Section V officials will meet again.

He said he doesn't know what the impact would be on this season if Section V officials again reach an adverse decision based on new perimeters.  

"This their first time through this process and it's our first time through it all, so it's really something for the lawyers to work out," Bianco said.

Bianco said a top priority is protecting the students, the integrity of the coach and the school.

The names of the involved players have not been released, but in early November, Section V officials issued a decision after a hearing that at least two players were deemed ineligible for this season, citing possible violations of recruitment rules.

Officials with NYSPHSAA (New York State Public High school Athletic Association) were out of the office today and not available to provide more information.

Batavia's own Mike Pettinella was edged out in the Genesee Region USBC Senior Masters tournament at the Perry Bowling Center by Bob Santini.

Santini is owner of Mount Morris Lanes and the title was his first senior masters win.

The 52-year-old bowler beat Pettinella 189-180.

Pettinella was trying for his third title in the scratch event for bowlers age 50 and over.

This year's tournament attracted 49 bowlers, the most in its 11-year history.

Santini, a 1994 Perry Bowling Association scratch memorial tourney champion, rolled a 700 series in qualifying to place third behind Joe Trigilio of Attica (721) and Paul Spiotta of Batavia (705). He followed that with 422 in the two-game semifinals to reach the round of six.

In that round, and as the lanes hooked more and more, he posted 187, second to Pettinella's 190, to reach the stepladder finals along with Oakfield's Scott Gibson, who shot 179.

In the first game of the finals, Pettinella defeated Gibson, 188-168, to earn the right to face the top-seeded Santini.

Santini earned $300 plus a free entry into the GRUSBC Masters in February, while Pettinella won $175 and Gibson took home $125.

Trigilio, Spiotta and Roger Stone won $75 each, while Fred Gravanda, of Batavia, Don Parrott, of Warsaw, Mike Kime, of Caledonia, Scott Shields, of Batavia, Bob Hodgson, of Medina and Bill Logan, of Albion, each won $60 for making the top 12.

Photo -- Mike Pettinella, left, and Bob Santini -- GRUSBC Senior Masters finalists.

Since Sept. 1, mixed martial arts competitions have been legal in New York, and Batavia will be at the forefront next month of hosting tournaments.

Rich Mitchell, of Le Roy, and originally from Stafford (far right in photo) is a former professional MMA fighter and for the past five years has judged fights. Now he's moving into the promotional side of the business, sponsoring his first tournament Dec. 17 at the Quality Inn & Suites in Batavia.

"I’ve been involved with this sport and it was just time (to become a promoter)," Mitchell said. "It’s a natural progression."

There was a promoter in Buffalo, but he's become a deputy commissioner for the sport in New York, so that opened up the WNY market to competition.

Mitchell is planning on promoting six events a year, three in Batavia and three in Buffalo.

At first, the events will be all amateur bouts because professional fights, especially for insurance, are a lot more expensive to stage, but moving up into the promotion of professional fights is definitely part of the plan, Mitchell said.

"It's a little way off," Mitchell said, "maybe a year or two."

The event Dec. 17 starts at 6 p.m. and will feature Morgan Cavanach and Tom Shelby. Tickets are $30 pre-sale, $35 at the door, and VIP cage-seats are $50.

For more information, visit groundforcefights.com.

Top photo: Eddie Ortiz and Pete Flanagan, both on the left, are two of the local fighters who will participate Dec. 17. Joe Loftus, second from right, was originally on the card but will have to sit out because of an injury; and Mitchell.

Bottom photo: Wrestling students and MMA participants at Main Street Fitness, Le Roy.

PRIZE FOR PERFECTION: Bill Hayes, left, owner of Turnbull Heating & Air and sponsor of the Turnbull Heating Junior Bowling program at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, presents a $100 gift card from Dick's Sporting Goods this morning to Jordan Fluker, the 19-year-old Batavian who rolled a 300 game last Saturday in league competition.

"This is a worthy accomplishment -- something to be proud of and something that can carry you forward to future success," Hayes said, as parents and youth bowlers looked on during a brief presentation.

A story about the achievement can be found by clicking on the Pin Points link at the top of the home page. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

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."

To purchase prints, click here.

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.

To purchase prints, click here.

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.