Sports

 When you look at the Notre Dame roster, the name Kevin Francis easily stands out.

The senior point guard has been one of the top players in the Genesee Region League over the last two seasons and was a GR all-star last year, pouring in 16.5 points with 5.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 5.1 steals per game. He dropped in 18 3-pointers.

There is no question that he is going to be the leader on the off the floor.

He had an established, solid supporting cast last season as the Fighting Irish, and the squad went 18-5 and earned the top seed in the Section 5 Class DD playoffs. ND ran into Elba in the semifinals and the Lancers came from 12 points back and sprung a 64-58 upset.

But gone are the likes of Christian Bochicchio, Joe Pawlak, Pat Mancuso and Mark Fanton. Instead, a strong group of youngsters will be taking the court to support Francis and try and get ND a sectional title.

There aren't a lot of returning scorers and you can expect junior Matt Thompson and sophomore Vinny Zambito to be major factors on the offensive end. Thompson is a pure shooter and Zambito is a scoring machine that led the jayvee squad a year ago.

Senior guard Kevin Schildwaster will also look to score. Backing up Francis will be junior Nick Bochicchio, who played quarterback on the football team and has the ability to lead things on the court when Francis needs a rest.

While Fanton was a true big-man for the Fighting Irish last year, standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 215 pounds, Notre Dame doesn't have anybody that can match his size.

But they might even be more physical in the paint.

Tommy Rapone is 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and very athletic for a big man. The junior will get a lot of playing time and try to keep a good group of big men in the GR out of the paint. His main focus will be defense and rebounding, but he also has the potential to score points when needed,

Senior Rick Lair is also 6-2 and weighs 185 pounds, but is a strong player that was a solid player on the football team. Senior Nick Weatherwax is the biggest player on the squad at 6-3 and is also physical.

A lot was made out of coach Mike Rapone's 500th victory last season, rightfully so, but this group doesn't have the pressure of trying to win that game for the legendary coach. 

Rapone became just the third coach in Section 5 history to get to the 500 win plateau (Jim Burke of Prattsburgh won No. 500 in the season opener this year) when Notre Dame beat Kendall midway through the season.

His current record is 509-133 and he is chasing Ed Nietopski of Bishop Kearney and Cardinal Mooney, who is the all-time leader with 545 victories. He has an outside chance of catching Scio legend Roger Bigby this season, as he ended his career with 527 wins.

In 29 years, Rapone has won 26 division titles, seven Section 5 titles, four Far West Regional championships and two state titles, with the last coming in 2001.

Rapone usually gets the most out of what he has, and this year's version of the Fighting Irish have a lot of talent. It is only a matter of getting the young players to mesh with the veterans and contribute with scoring.

 We have very exciting news here at The Batavian.

Mancuso Bowling Center will now be posting league bowling scores, starting soon, as manager Mike Sputore will be contributing league scores to The Batavian. Batavia has some great bowlers and The Batavian will now be the place to go in order to see your scores in a timely and accurate fashion. You will also be seeing some features and highlights from the bigger tournaments throughout the winter.

Leagues bowl at Mancuso's on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night as well as Monday and Friday mornings, and every-other-Saturday.

Please check for updates each night, or early the next morning if you aren't a night person, starting tonight.

Also, if any other area bowling leagues would like to post scores on The Batavian, please contact myself at brian (at) thebatavian (dot) com for information on how to do this.

It was a light night in area high school athletics, with only Kendall girls basketball playing in the Genesee Region League.

The Eagles hosted Medina and thumped them 45-25.

Meghan Fahy led Kendall with 12 points and seven rebounds with Samantha D'Agostino adding 10 points in Kendall's opener.

Brittani Reis also had seven points with six swipes and Lorna Brooks pitched in six points.

Kelly Pritchard had 10 points for the Mustangs, who fall to 0-1.

 I received an e-mail from my good friend Ed Henry from www.leroyfootball.com that is well worth sharing with The Batavian family.

Here are some of the crazy numbers put up by quarterback Travis Fenstermaker, running back Andrew Alexander and wide receiver Mike Humphrey in their high school careers.

Travis Fenstermaker – 3 years; 35 games

2008: 101 of 165 for 1544 yards and 24 TDs (61.2%)

Career passing: 178 of 303 (59%) for 2658 yards and 41 TDs – just 7 INTs in 303 passes
Career rushing: 204 carries for 1027 yards – 11 TDs – 5.0 yard avg.
Career receiving: 3 rec. for 46 yards – 2 for TDs
His 3731 yards of total offense (2658 passing + 1027 rushing + 46 receiving) gave him 106.6 yards/game average for 35 career games
Defense: 87 tackles

21-2 record as starting QB (91%): 2 losses by a total of 4 points to 2 state champions (1-point loss in 2007 to Bishop Ludden and 3-point loss to Southwestern in 2008).  Never lost to a Section 5 opponent.
2008 Knights averaged more points per game than any team in LR history: 41 ppg.

Accounted for 453 points in his career:
201 points he scored himself via 13 TDs (run and rec.)  4 field goals, 107 kicked PATs , and 2 run PATs.
252 points to others: 41 TD throws and 3 PAT throws

Mike Humphrey – 3 years; 29 games

All-time leading receiver in LR football history – season and career:
2008: 63 rec. for 892 yards and 15 TDs to lead Section 5
98 career receptions for 1421 yards and 25 TDs; 15 yards/catch

Career interception leader at LeRoy and likely among all-time Section 5 performers with 19 – his 9 in 2007 led NY state

108 career tackles on defense

Andrew Alexander – 2 years; 20 games

With ZERO prior VARSITY experience (3 carries for 6 yards as a junior as he was utilized as a receiver in 2007) he was placed at RB for the 2008 Knights and responded with:

207 carries for 1525 yards; 7.4 yards per carry  and 14 rushing TDs
9 receptions for 5 TDs and 1 fumble recovery (huge one vs. Avon) for 20 total TDs!

312 yards on 31 carries (10.1 yards per carry) in sectional semifinal win over Letchworth

One of the hardest hitters on defense for the Knights: 73 tackles in 2 seasons

Knights are having their finest decade ever.  Just one year to go in the 2000’s, the Knights are 85-13 (87%) from 2000 through 2008 (9 seasons).  LeRoy has never had a sub-.500 winning percentage in any full decade in their 112-year program – 1897 thru 1899 withstanding as they played just 7 games total in those 3 years, going 1-6.

Batavia grad Mike Chmielowiec had some key baskets and earned tournament MVP honors as  University of Rochester beat Lycoming College 63-59 in the finals of the UR/Holiday Inn Airport Invitational Sunday night.

Chmielowiec hit two free throws and a layup to turn a 1-point lead into a 5-point lead with just less than four minutes left in the game.

He ended up scoring 16 points with eight rebounds to lead Rochester, which improves to 4-1.

It is the second tournament of the season for the Yellowjackets, who lost to Ithaca in the finals of the Chuck Resler Tournament. Chmielowiec - a senior - made the all-tournament team in that one.

Chmielowiec is leading UofR in scoring at 21 points per game and rebounding with 6.4 boards per game.

 The Notre Dame hockey team had both offense and solid goalkeeping to start the season off with a 5-1 win over Bishop Kearney/Eastridge.

Ivan Madaferi, Jason Harasimowicz and Dylan Versage had a goal and an assist each with Jack Nenni and Sean Kota adding a gal apiece.

Thomas Dehr had 15 saves in net.

Riley Austin had the lone goal for the Kings (0-2).

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The Pembroke boys basketball team evened up at 1-1 in getting a huge performance by Andy Gabbey.

The guard drained nine 3-pointers to score a game-high 32 points as the Dragons thumped Williamson 64-46.

Andrew Wright scored 13 points and Ken Babcock pitched in 11.

Caleb Burlee scored 20 points for Williamson (0-2).

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The Blue Devils trailed by 18 points at one point, but cut the deficit to six points with just over a minute left and went on to beat Warsaw 54-46 in the consolation game of the Warsaw Tournament.

Tate Westermeier had 15 points and Matt Sheffield added 11 for Attica (1-1)..

Holden Case had 14 points and seven boards for Warsaw (0-2).

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Livonia jumped out to a 34-10 halftime lead and rolled to a 71-25 thumping of Alexander in the consolation game of the Alexander tournament.

Ryan Metz outscored the Trojans on his own, pouring in 14 of his game-high 26 points in the first half for Livonia (1-1).

Jared Quinn and Troy Shelnut had five points apiece for the Trojans (0-2).

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Wheatland-Chili won all four quarters, including a 20-4 run in the third quarter en route to a 65-36 victory over West Seneca in the consolation game of the Northstar Tournament.

Ricky Agosto (14 points), Andy Lund (13), Garhett Varin (12) and Evan Price (11) were all in double figures for the Wildcats, who improve to 1-1. Lund had 11 rebounds and Agosto added six.

Dylan Patterson had 17 points for West Seneca, out of Section 6.

 The Oakfield-Alabama girls basketball team only lost two games last season. Unfortunately, the second came in the Section 5 Class CCC semifinals, where Honeoye had a 10-2 advantage in the fourth quarter to knock off the Hornets 39-29.

Three Genesee Region League all-stars graduated from that team, but three players that had significant playing time return and step into leadership roles as O-A looks to repeat as the Division I champions. The team had a 20-2 record last year.

Senior guard Hillary Bates is the top returning scorer at 4.5 points per game and will probably be the top scoring option. She will be a score-first point guard after earning GR honorable mention status last in 2007-2008.

The other senior on the team is Dani Sage, who scored four points per game last year and will play small forward.

Junior Lindsay Chatt also scored about four points per game and will start at guard as well. 

Sam Kidder was the leading scorer for the Hornets last season at 13.3 points per game and the three aforementioned players will be looking to take much of the scoring responsibility.

Junior guard Brynn Perfitt was called up at the end of the season and had success putting the ball in the basket, and could also be somebody that handles the scoring duties.

Jeff Schlagenhauf - last year's Coach of the Year - has a team that looks very different than a year ago. The Hornets didn't have a single player over 5-foot-9 last season, but have a bunch of size this year and could look to pound the ball into the paint.

Sarah Scarborough is over 6-foot tall and Christina Palillo also has size, so O-A will be able to play a more physical style of play this season.

Schlagenhauf believes this year's squad has as much potential as last year's, but might take a little time to play together before reaching its full potential.

The Batavia girls basketball team is already feeling the impact of hiring Bill Wade.

The Blue Devils were down 22-14 at halftime, but went on a 12-0 run in the third quarter and went on to beat Alexander 57-48 in the opening round of the Attica Tournament Friday.

Brittany Mazurkiewicz scored all 16 of her points in the second half and Jaycee Shirk pitched in 19 points with 10 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Mazurkiewicz also dished out five dimes and had six steals.

Brittany Wormley and Kristen Klein added six points apiece for the Blue Devils (1-0), who will play Dansville in the finals.

Anna Dominick had 16 points to pace the Trojans (0-1), with Chelsea Turcer adding 11 points and Rachel Pettys finishing with 10.

The Mustangs (1-0) advance to play Batavia after thumping host Attica 55-25.

Ashley Amidon led the way with 17 points, with Margaret Infantino pitching in 14.

Jackie Algiers scored seven points to lead the Blue Devils (0-1).

The finals are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

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The Pembroke boys opened up with a non-leaguer against host Penn Yan and fell short, losing 57-54.

The Dragons got big games from stars Ken Babcock and Andrew Wright, but not much else. Wright had 23 points with seven boards and Babcock poured in 21 points with nine rebounds, but the only other players to score were Kyle Stocking (7 points) and Andy Gabbey (3).

James Wilson led Penn Yan (1-0) with 18 points and 13 boards.

Pembroke starts off 0-1.

Prattsburgh coaching legend Jim Burke knew victory No. 500 was going to come at a point, probably sooner than later.

His Viking squad overcame a tough Whitesville squad and got their coach that historic win with a 57-48 victory Friday night in the opening round of the Honeoye Holiday Classic.

"One reason why we are happy is that it puts us in the championship game tomorrow," said Burke, who now has a career record of 500-155. That was in the front of our minds. It was awesome because there were so many people here from Prattsburgh and there was a (celebration) afterwards. It was pretty awesome."

Whitesville only has eight players on the roster, but gave Prattsburgh everything they could handle, and the Vikings needed a big third quarter run to pull out the victory.

Burke and his team ended last season with a loss to Northstar Christian in the Class D finals, leaving him one win short of the milestone.

"What bothered us most last year was losing, not, not getting 500," said Burke, who is good friends with Notre Dame coach Mike Rapone, and even beat him when Rapone was at win No. 499 last season. "If you come back, you know you will win one more. It was tough for the kids with the great work ethic last year that didn't get a patch. That was the worst part of it."

When you have 500 wins, you have a lot of career highlights. Burke lists his top highlight as the 1991 season, when the Vikings went 29-0 and won the state title.

Prattsburgh will be playing Honeoye in tomorrow's championship game. Honeoye beat Genesee Valley 52-50 in the opening round.

"The weight is gone, especially for the kids" Burke said. "They had a card made up and everything before the game, so you know it was on their minds. It wasn't just the kids, but the community. They feel it and were talking about it. I'm so glad to get it off our shoulders so we can just go play."

Burke is not ready to commit to another year after this one, but if this is it would go out as one of the top coaches in Section 5 history.

"I will probably have some thinking to do over the summer," Burke said. "But it is getting close to the end. I'll know at the end of the season. There are a lot of factors involved."

Wheatland-Chili's Garhett Varin led his squad to an 18-3 record and the Section 5 Class DD championship this past soccer season.

The senior had 25 goals with 11 assists and earned Genesee Region League Player of the Year, which was announced by The Batavian in our GR all-star write-up on Oct. 29.

 The Democrat & Chronicle lists the Players of the Year for each league in Section 5 this morning.

Wheatland-Chili senior attacker Garhett Varin of Wheatland-Chili had 61 points, 25 goals and 11 assists, in leading his team to an 18-3 record to date and the Section V Class DD championship. He had five goals and an assist in the sectionals. Wheatland also beat Andover 2-1 in the State Class D Qualifier Game.

You can see the entire roundup of Players of the Year here.

 The Democrat & Chronicle this morning announced the Section 5 Players of the Year in every classification.

The only local player to receive the honor was Le Roy's Travis Fenstermaker in Class C. He won the Offensive POY, which was announced on The Batavian on Nov. 6.

Here is what the D&C writes about Fenstermaker.

Le Roy senior quarterback Travis Fenstermaker had 59 completions out of 98 attempts for 970 yards and 18 touchdowns through his team's first eight games of the season. He was also 1-for-2 on field goal attempts and 29-for-31 on extra point kicks. He will attend Buffalo in the fall, where he will play baseball and pursue a degree in physical education.

You can check out the entire write-up of the Players of the Year in each class here.

Senior midfielder Brittany Luckey had a fantastic high school soccer career, and will be ending it with a second big honor.

The five-year starter for Le Roy had already won Livingston Conference Division I Player of the Year and now is named to the All-Greater Rochester second-team by the Democrat & Chronicle today.

Luckey was a three-time captain for the Oatkan Knights, who won the Section 5 Class B title this season. Well, actually shared it with Greece Odyssey after playing to a 0-0 tie. Odyssey moved on to the state tournament after winning a shootout.

Luckey scored 31 goals and had 81 assists in her high school career and led Le Roy to a sectional title three times in five seasons. The Oatkan Knights went 12-2-6 this season. She scored 12 goals with 22 helpers this season.

No other local players made the AGR first or second team, but 17 players received honorable mentions for the Genesee Region League.

Julie Brooks (Holley), Hannah Wilson (Alexander), Abby Shilvock (Alexander), Lindsey Hall (Alexander), Christina West (Attica), Corinne VanSchoick (Holley), Rachel Warren (Pembroke), Rachel Pettys (Alexander), Chloe Smith (Wheatland-Chili), Emily Troup (Holley), Hillary Bates (Oakfield-Alabama), Julie Marshall (Elba), Todne Crowe (Byron-Bergen), Kaila Browe (Kendall), Chelsi Clark (Elba), Stacy Maskell (Byron-Bergen), Nicole Sharick (Pembroke).

Stacy Hein of Batavia received an honorable mention for Monroe County. You can check out the entire All-Greater Rochester girls team here.

 A common question I get when covering games is : How can I print stories?

I know a lot of parents and grandparents want hard copies of game coverage on The Batavian, and that ability is now here.

All you have to do is click on the title and at the bottom of the post there is a link that says "Printer-friendly version". Just click on that and then print. 

This new feature will come in handy in the future. And football fans can go back by searching for old stories, and then print them.

 The Democrat & Chronicle released its preview capsules for Section 5 hockey teams, including Batavia and Notre Dame. They can be read here. 

Notre Dame junior Stephanie Lapple has been named to the All-Greater Rochester team by the Democrat & Chronicle.  

Lapple had the lowest scoring average in Section 5 this past fall, averaging 39.75 during eight golf matches. She tied for sixth at sectionals with a 90, earning a trip to states. She also won the City-Catholic qualifier with a 42.

ESPN.com's Elizabeth Merrill has a very interesting piece on the Web site today that is well worth checking out.

Merrill talks with Buffalo Bills tackle Langston Walker about the difficulties that come with being an oversized NFL offensive lineman. 

It's Tuesday, an off day for the Bills, and Walker wants to demonstrate a few things he can't have as an NFL big man. He pulls into a car dealership and says he wants to drive a Mini Cooper. After a couple of laughs and nervous looks, he shoehorns himself into the car, pushes the seat all the way back, and turns the ignition. It is not a flattering -- or comfortable -- ride.

The 6-foot-8, 366-pound 29-year old is in his second season with the Bills.

 The first Genesee Region League wrestling match of the season took place on Monday as Kendall downed Alexander 51-27.

The quickest victory of the match took place at 112 pounds as Kendall's Gabe Sobiersky pinned Kyle Shea in 1:49. Complete results of the match can be found here.

 Byron-Bergen grad Mike McInally won all four of his matches at the 2008 Oneonta Red Dragon Invitation this weekend and because of that was named the Empire Conference Wrestler of the Week.

The RIT junior beat Niagara Community College's Jared Lemke in the finals, 6-1, to capture the tournament title.

McInally is 5-0 now on the season and has a career record of 73-17.

His RIT wrestling squad will be hosting the RIT Invitational this weekend. A full day of wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. at Clark Gym at RIT.