Sports

Alexander came away with a 2-0 win over Perry at Wheatland-Chili Tuesday night in what was less than ideal weather.  Williamson and Canisteo-Greenwood had played before at 5pm and the field was in very good condition despite the game prior to ours.

We cut our warmup shorter than usual to avoid getting completely soaked before the game even started and hoped to come out quick.  We attacked right away and put some pressure on Perry's net with 5 shots in the first 8 minutes of the game.  Alexander went ahead 1-0 as Junior Anna Dominick crossed the ball to Senior Rachel Pettys and she fired a shot high in the far left corner to make the score 1-0 in the 11th minute of the game.  Alexander dominated possession in the 1st half and had several chances to go on top 2-0 but none found the back of the net.

Alexander came out in the 2nd half and continued to dominate possession but could not find the net, as has been the case all year long.  Perry had some dangerous moments and had 5 corners in the game but Alexander's defense stood strong and Sophomore goalie Hannah Wilson came up big on several saves throughout the game to earn her 7th shutout of the year.

A trio of sophomores did a great job in the middle, none of which started at the beginning of the year.  Morgan Mattice, Claire Hartl, and Ashley Szymanski logged all the minutes in the center of the pitch, won a majority of the headers, and had some great quick movement of the ball in and out of the field.  9th grader Julia Pettys and 8th grader Abby Shilvock were both moved from the positions they have played all year to the outside mids and did a fantastic job creating as Alexander saw a great improvement in the overall play of their midfield.

Alexander iced the game with 55 seconds left as Julia Pettys sent a cross from the left side of the field to Anna Dominick who settled, took a touch and beat the keeper high over her to give Alexander the 2-0 lead.

Alexander's defense played qutie well and was lead by Sophomore Savannah VanSon who logged her 19th straight start at sweeper and kept things organized.  8th grader Gabby Kwiatek, Junior Leah Johnson, and Sophomore Tessa Bigelow all did a great job in front her sticking with marks despite difficult footing throughout the game.

8th grader Maria Dominick and Senior Rachel Nielans both contributed key minutes at outside mid throughout the game.

Alexander's record improves to 9-6-4 on the season and they move on to play Geneseo on Friday at 6pm in Geneseo.  Geneseo is ranked in the top 10 in the state in the last poll that was released.

 Le Roy's Travis Fenstermaker was named Offensive Player of the Week for Class C today for his efforts in Friday night's 41-19 thrashing of Hornell.

The senior quarterback completed 11-of-15 pass attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

The victory helped the No. 4 state-seeded Oatkan Knights finish the season undefeated and wrap up the top seed in the Section 5 Class C playoffs.

Le Roy will be hosting No. 8 South Seneca/Romulus on Friday night.

Chrissy Rennard was a rising star for the Attica girls soccer team last season as a freshman. She was the second leading scorer on the team.

But this year she has been slowed by an ankle injury and hasn't produced like she would like.

But it looks like she's back at the right time, and that's a good thing for the Blue Devils.

Attica is the No. 8 seed in the Section 5 Class BB tournament and because of Rennard's two goals and assist will be moving on to face No. 1 Hornell on Saturday because the Blue Devils topped No. 9 Dansville in the opening round 5-1.

Christina West, Kelsey Talley and Chelsea Lynch also scored and Attica improves to 2-13-4.

Oakfield-Alabama, Byron-Bergen, Alexander, Pembroke, Kendall and Lyndonville are all also playing sectional games tonight and results will be posted on the Section 5 Web site as they come in.

 Oakfield-Alabama graduate John Gerber finished in a tie for 27th out of 52 golfers at the McDaniel Fall Invitational this past weekend.

The tournament featured 10 teams from the East coast and the St. John Fisher College freshman helped his team to a sixth place finish.

Gerber shot an 82 in the first round and an 81 in the second, finishing 21 strokes behind medalist Robert Womble from Washington and Lee College, who shot even par at Piney Branch Golf Club in Hampstead, Md.

You can see the complete tournament results here. 

 Notre Dame junior Stephanie Lapple had a great showing this Monday at Ridgemont Country Club at the Section 5 Fall Golf Championships.

The guys play golf in the spring, but the girls play in the fall and she was the only Genesee Region League participant in the event. 

Lapple shot a 44 on the front 9 and a 46 on the back for a 90, which was good for a sixth place tie.

Penfield senior Sarah Tranelli fired an impressive 73 to win the event, which featured the top 28 female golfers in  Section 5.

Saturday's Class D semifinal game between Perry and Notre Dame was originally scheduled to be played in Waterloo.

Section 5 did the right thing and moved the game closer, and to a great facility.

The game between No. 7 Perry (4-3) and No. 3 Notre Dame (5-2) will be at East Rochester High School at 3 p.m. Saturday.

I will be there and encourage as many GR football fans to attend the game and give our local team support as they look to make the finals.

The Notre Dame Girls Cross Country Team placed fifth in the small school race at the Clarence Invitational held at Akron Falls Park.  Ashley Calarco, still bothered by a tender foot,  placed second in the race in 21:31.  Teammate Jill Marshall placed 20th with 23:34.  Meghan Zickl (24:25), Rachel Berggren (25:12), and Haley Alexander (29:53) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.  Other finishers included Teresa Jackson (30:52), Kate Spadaccia (32:55), Tia Arnold (34:47), and LeeAnn Tindell (34:47).

While the Irish Varisty Team took the race off, the JV's raced to place 13th among all schools.  Andrew Fischer led the charge placing 53rd in 20:37.  Vince Stadler (22:10) and Matt Sausner (22:15) placed 95th and 98th respectively.  Conlan Edwards (30:55) and James Barcomb (41:43) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.

All Genesee/Livingston County Cross Country Teams will be in action on Thursday at Genesee Community College for the GR/LC County Championships.  The Boys race begins at 4:30, with the Girls to follow at 5:05.

I am one of the few sports guys that will call cheerleading a sport, but I love hearing about these girls competing in what is a difficult, and dangerous sporting event.

One of the best sectional championships - that I never get to attend - happended this past weekend as the Section 5 cheerleading competition took place.

I heard Batavia took first in Class B, which is awesome. This Democrat and Chronicle story says they did in the photo, but that Geneva did in the story.

Hopefully the BHS girls took home the title and we will get to see them on the sidelines for a while longer during football season.

UPDATE:

The D&C updated the story with results and Batavia did win. Holley's Heather Kelly also won Coach of the Year for Class C.

Congrats to all the girls on the BHS squad!

The game counts as a non-leaguer because the Class D playoffs are underway, but Genesee Region League powers Attica and Pembroke still put on a show Saturday.

Both squads had big games moving the football, but it was the Dragons that defended their home turf, 38-15, and wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Class C playoffs next weekend.

Pembroke started the game with an 80-yard drive, but missed a field goal. The Blue Devils had a long drive of their own and were able to capitalize when Andy Ruddock finished off an 80-yard drive with a  5-yard TD run.

Pembroke drove again and this time got points as Andrew Wright had a 2-yard scoring run early in the second quarter.

After a stop, the Dragons added seven more points when David Kleckler tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ken Babcock.

Attica had a golden chance to score to start the third quarter when the team marched all the way down to Pembroke's 3-yard line, but then fumbled the ball away. Pembroke drove 98 yards and Kleckler scored on an 8-yard keeper.

Kleckler had officially taken over at this point.

He intercepted a pass and returned it 31-yards for a score on Attica's next drive and then put an end to the following Blue Devil possession with another pick.

Wright took the ball 71 yards for a touchdown to wrap up Pembroke's scoring.

Attica had a late touchdown run.

Wright finished the game with 14 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns and Mike Dibble added 90 yards on 17 attempts.

Kleckler completed 5-of-6 attempts for 51 yards and also rushed for 52 yards on nine carries.

J.P. Phillips had 48 yards on seven rushes.

The Blue Devils fall to 4-3 and will be at East Rochester/Gananda (not Bath) in the opening round of the Class B tournament next weekend while Pembroke improves to 6-1 and will host Bishop Kearney.

Travis Fenstermaker, Andrew Alexander, Mike Humphrey and the rest of the Le Roy football team is definitely prepared for the sectional playoffs.

The Oatkan Knights thumped Class B powerhouse Hornell 41-19 Friday night and extended the Hartwood Park win streak to 42 games.

Le Roy ends the regular season a perfect 7-0 and heads into the Class C playoffs with the top seed.

Fenstermaker connected on 11-of-15 pass attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns, including one to Mike Humphrey, who caught five passes for 77 yards. The two have hooked up on 10 touchdown passes this year.

Humphrey also had an interception.

Alexander gained 64 yards on the ground and 61 in the air and scored a touchdown.

Quentin Humphrey caught three balls for  75 yards and a TD, while making eight tackles to lead the defense.

The Oatkan Knights held Hornell's Austin Dwyer to 111 yards with one touchdown on 14 carries as the Raiders were forced to pass during the second half.

Hornell ends the regular season with a 5-2 record.

The Oakfield-Alabama football team wrapped up an undefeated season Friday with a 45-6 drubbing of Holley.

 It is the first time the Hornets have gone 7-0 since 1986 and the 10th seeded team in the state for Class C will enter the Section 5 Class C playoffs with a No. 2 seed.

Brad Riner had a great final regular season game, gaining 134 yards with three touchdowns on just six carries. His TDs came from 9, 40 and 52 yards.

A.J. Kehlenbeck had a touchdown run and threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight end Noah Seward and Joe Natalizia scored on a 5-yard run.

Jon Fisher kicked a 38-yard field goal.

Josh Athoe had 10 tackles.

Guy Hills threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Sean Baylor for the Hawks, who end the regular season with an 0-7 record and are heading to Pool Play.

Alexander and Holley played to a 0-0 tie Thursday and Holley earned the Division 1 title with the tie.  It was a great defensive game from both sides and arguably the two most skilled goalies in the league showed why they have earned that reputation as they each had one huge save to keep the other team off the scoreboard.  Hannah Wilson stopped Holley's Emily Troup with a quick reaction save diving to her left to get a hand on a shot that Troup ripped from 10 yards and Wilson collected the rebound to keep Holley off the board in the 1st half.  Julie Brooks stopped Alexander late in the game on a scramble in front of the net that was eventually cleared by a defender to keep Alexander from sneaking in a late goal to steal the win.

It was a very even game with both teams keeping fantastic shape in the back and holding strong on their marking to only give up a handful of shots.  Alexander will be the 6th seed in Class C Sectionals and Holley looks to be the 4th seed in Class B Sectionals.

 Attica (4-2) at Pembroke (5-1)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

Even though this game counts as a non-league contest, it is a big game between two top Genesee Region League squads that are still playing for a lot.

Pembroke lost out on the GR title with a loss to Oakfield-Alabama last week, but is playing for the No. 3 seed in the Class C playoffs. The Dragons would get the third seed with a victory and could drop to as far as No. 5, which would mean they lose that first round home game.

 Attica suffered two losses during the earlier part of the season and is going to be using this game to prepare for the Class B playoffs. The Blue Devils typically do not do well in sectionals but want momentum heading into the tournament.

Attica is coming off a 50-15 drubbing of Holley and is firing on all cylinders offensively.

Andy Ruddock leads the squad in rushing, picking up 847 yards with nine touchdowns on 87 carries. Nate Berry follows with 20 attempts for 225 yards and four scores. Luke Pariso has 143 yards and four TDs.

The passing game has really come into its own.

Brandon Rollins had his best week of the year last week and threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He has completed 45-of-70 attempts for 675 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions this year.

His big target is Shawn Dupuis, who caught seven passes for 137 yards and two TDs last week. Dupuis now has 23 receptions for 485 yards and six scores.

Pembroke's defense will have its hands full with this crew. But the Blue Devils also have a big challenge.

Andrew Wright and the Pembroke offense has been amazing this season. Even last week when Oakfield-Alabama was able to hold Wright in check, quarterback David Kleckler stepped up and nearly delivered his team a win with some amazing passes.

Kleckler now has completed 25-of-50 passes for 600 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He has 259 yards rushing, with a pair of scores as well.

Wright has huge numbers. He has ran the ball 51 times for 623 yards and eight touchdowns, has caught 13 passes for 340 yards and three scores and has returned two kicks for TDs.

Mike Dibble has rushed for 433 yards and eight touchdowns on 77 carries and J.P. Phillips has added 271 yards and six scores.

Ken Babcock has 11 receptions for 230 yards and four TDs.

Both teams will kick off the playoffs next weekend.

 Holley (0-6) at Oakfield-Alabama (6-0)

7 p.m. Friday

The Hornets won the Genesee Region League title last week with a thrilling 25-24 victory over Pembroke as the two undefeated squads went blow-for-blow in front of about 2,500 fans.

With the playoffs just a week away, the Hornets just need to avoid a major let-down to clinch the No. 2 seed. O-A can still get the top seed in Class C if they win and Hornell beats Le Roy Friday night.

Oakfield-Alabama is the 10th ranked team in the state.

Tim Smith and Brad Riner had huge games for the Hornets in the title-clinching win and will look to wrap up the regular season by adding to their impressive rushing totals.

Smith has 771 yards and 11 touchdowns on 95 carries and Riner has pitched in a solid 505 yards and seven touchdowns on 89 attempts. Riner also had the big 2-point conversion run to give the Hornets the win last week.

Jason Stanley has picked up 260 yards and Josh Athoe has 105 and will likely each get some carries.

With such a mismatch, O-A might try to work on some things before the playoffs start, and that could lead to some passing by A.J. Kehlenbeck.

The senior QB has had a very good year - going 13-of-26 for 145 yards and four TDs - and may get a chance to open things up a bit before the second team gets in the game.

Oakfield-Alabama's defense is as good as the offense as the team has scored 241 points and given up just 91.  That unit is led by a big, physical defensive line.

Chris Williams leads the way with 32 tackles with Riner and Noah Seward each pitching in 27.

These guys will have the job of shutting down the Holley rushers.

The Hawks have not had a lot of luck moving the ball this season and are looking to get through this game and attempt to contend in Pool Play.

Kyle Steadman has emerged as the top rusher for Holley and scored twice in a 50-15 loss to Attica last week. Guy Hills can also make plays for the Hawks.