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Week 4 Football Round Up

By Howard B. Owens

Elba/Byron-Bergen 28, Pembroke 6
Elba/BB was lead by Tess Schramm, who had 20 carries for 93 yards and two TDs, and Pete Pryzbl, who carried the ball nine times for 50 yards, scoring one TD. For Pembroke, Josh Phillips had 28 carries for 119 yards and one TD.  Elba/BB is now 2-2 and and Pembroke is 0-4.

Attica 30, Barker 12
Brandon Rolling passed for 127 yards, including a 77-yard TD pass to Matt Perry in the third quarter. Brad Clark rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries.  Zack Fleiss connected for a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter. Fleiss also scored on a 27-yard TD run in the second quarter. Overall, Fleiss accounted for 12 points.

East Irondequoit Eastridge 66, Batavia 7
Batavia scored first when Joe Canzoneri connected with Mitch Francis on a 10-yard TD pass. The rest of the game was all EIE. Akil Sanders rushed for 183 yards on 15 carries.

Previous Coverage

Week 5 Games:

Friday -  Batavia (0-4)  vs. Bishop Kearney (4-0)
Friday - Attica (3-1) vs. Oakfield-Alabama (1-3)
Saturday - Holley (4-0) vs. Notre Dame (4-0)
Saturday - Elba/BB (2-2) vs. Alexander (2-2)
Saturday - Pembroke (0-4) vs. Barker (0-4)

The Batavian will cover Attica vs. Oakfield-Alabama and Holley vs. Notre Dame.

Genesee Division Football Standings Team W-L Pct. PF PA Streak Holley 4-0-0 1.000 114 23 4 W Notre Dame 4-0-0 1.000 101 35 4 W Attica 3-1-0 0.750 104 53 2 W Elba/Byron-Bergen 2-2-0 0.500 50 74 1 W Alexander 2-2-0 0.500 100 88 1 L Oakfield-Alabama 1-3-0 0.250 54 81 3 L Pembroke 0-4-0 0.000 6 106 4 L Barker 0-4-0 0.000 56 125 4 L

 

Holley continues making team history beating Alexander for fourth-straight win

By Howard B. Owens

Up in Holley, an interesting story line is developing in the 2009 Genesee Region football season. A team that rarely won over the first few years of its young football program seems suddenly unbeatable.

The Alexander Trojans found out firsthand today just how invincible Holley seems to be at just past the halfway point in the season.

The Trojans were dominated on both sides of the ball for most of four quarters and dropped to 2-2 with a 32-10 loss.

The Hawks move to 4-0 and face a challenge next week to their seeming invincibility when they butt heads with the division’s only other undefeated team, the Fighting Irish, at Notre Dame.

Alexander Head Coach Dave Radley expressed some dissatisfaction with his team after the game saying his players didn’t come ready to play and seemed to take Holley for granted.

On the other side of the field, Chad DeRock said his team is bearing the fruit of three or four years of extra effort.

“Our focus this season was on making history,” DeRock said. “I don’t know what the past record was – two and 60 or something – but that doesn’t matter. I’m happy for my seniors who’ve put in the time. I promised them, if you put in the time, you’ll see results. They put in the time. My juniors put in the time. My sophomores and freshmen have put in the time. My seniors are the most dedicated group of I’ve ever worked with. I’m proud of them. They deserve it.”

Holley opened the game by methodically marching the ball down the field only to lose it on the two-yard line to a fumble.

The Trojans, however, were unable to capitalize on a potential shift of momentum, coughing up the ball on the 20-yard line a few plays later.

It didn’t take long, then, for Sean Baylor to put six on the board for the Hawks with a six-yard run.

Alexander made one last stab at making a game of it early in the second quarter when Lucas Czechowski booted an impressive 35-yard field goal to make the score 6-3, but except for a little spark late in the fourth quarter, the game was all Holley’s.

By the half, the score was 20-3 after TD runs by Baylor and Guy Hills.

Turnovers were a key factor (four total by Alexander), including an interception for a 40-yard touchdown return in the fourth quarter by Holley's Mike Pernicano, which pushed the margin to 32-3 (Baylor had another touchdown run in the third quarter).

After another Pernicano interception, Holley started moving the ball toward the end zone again when the Alexander defense managed to force a fourth down. 

Holley decided to try a long field goal, but the pop-up kick came up well short of the goal line and #88 Steve Schaffer found himself in an open field just waiting for the ball to come down. He then darted to the far sideline and carried the ball 80 yards before being forced out to put his team in the red zone.

Alexander capitalized on the opportunity, finally pushing the ball across the goal line on a one-yard run by Jared Quinn.

And that’s how the game would end – 32-10, Holley.

Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso had a keen eye on the game through all four quarters. It will be interesting to find out later this week what he thinks about the upcoming clash of two teams seemingly putting it all together in 2009.

More photos after the jump.

 

 

A Work In Progress repeats in Batavia Feature

By Howard B. Owens

Press Release:

BATAVIA, NY --- For the second week in a row A Work In Progress was victorious in the weekly trotting feature, Friday night (Sept-25) at Batavia Downs Casino.

Just like last week, Ken “Doc” Holliday put A Work In Progress on the lead and they put up all the numbers en route to a 1-1/4 length score, in 1:59.3.
The improving Manfromnantucket (Jack Flanigen) closed down the center to be second, while Jack Sparrow (Jim McNeight) rallied from last to be third.

A Work In Progress, a 5-year-old, altered son of SJ’s Caviar is owned Betty Tauber of New Brunswick, N.J. and trained by Sherri Holliday. The winner’s share of the $8,000 purse raised his season’s earnings to more than $39,000. He paid $4.30 to win.

Leading dashwinning driver Kevin Cummings extended his lead by driving four winners on the Friday program. Former Downs regular Sam Schillaci and Ken Holliday had driving doubles.

America’s oldest lighted harness track is currently racing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. Post time is 7:05 p.m., eastern.

Todd Haight
Promotional Marketing Specialist
Batavia Downs Casino

Photo: A Work In Progress with Ken Holliday winning the $8,000 Open Handicap Trot, Friday Night at Batavia Downs. Courtesy of Paul White.

Only in OT is Notre Dame able to preserve its unbeaten record against Oakfield-Alabama

By Howard B. Owens

Notre Dame moved to 4-0 tonight, but anybody who came into the Friday night showdown with Oakfield-Alabama thinking the Hornets (who entered the game with a disappointing 1-2 record) would be pushovers, they learned something about how a proud football program can rise to the challenge of a tough opponent.

The Hornets never trailed in the game until the end, with ND only pulling even twice, once at 7-7 midway through the second quarter and then at 17-17 in the final seconds of regulation time on a Matt Thompson field goal.

After getting the ball first in overtime, but failing to convert the opportunity into a score, OA saw the Fighting Irish preserve its undefeated season on a six-yard TD rush by Beau Ritcher.

The Hornets had every opportunity to even its record, but OA's defense was eventually worn down by a relentless Notre Dame running attack.

The Hornets scored first on a first-quarter drive keyed by a Jason Stanley 60-yard run, but ND pulled even midway through the second quarter when Mike Pratt capped a grinding Notre Dame drive with a three-yard TD rush.

As the first half drew to a close, there was a real sense that Notre Dame could lose the game. At a time when the Fighting Irish should have controlled the ball, at least well enough to preserve a tie going into half-time, ND went three-and-out with enough time on the clock for OA to push the ball into the red zone. With seconds left in the half, Jon Fisher put three points on the board allowing the Hornets to head into the locker room with a 10-7 lead.

In the third quarter, it really seemed as if OA was in charge of the game, taking the ball down on a scoring drive that was capped by a 15-yard TD pass from Tyler Tamblin to Brent Crawford.

In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's ground game began to take a toll on OA's defense. Pratt and Ricther eat up a lot of yards, and eventually Pratt plows into the end zone on a 10-yard run to put the score at 17-14.

After an exchange of downs in the fourth quarter, ND again moves the ball into striking range, and this time Thompson puts through his field goal to tie the game at 17-17.

OA got the ball first in OT, but only managed a first down before coming up short. The OA defense fought hard, putting ND in a third-and-long situation before Pratt bulled his way to a third down. With the ball inside the 10, Notre Dame fought for yardage and managed to get the ball to the one-yard line before a penalty forced the offense back five yards. On the next play, however, Ritcher burst through the line of scrimmage and into the end zone to keep the Irish undefeated.

There are more pictures after the jump below.

GCC proud of coach's induction into Golden Eagle Hall of Fame

By Billie Owens

Genesee Community College is pleased to announce head softball coach and sports information director Kristen Clark will be inducted into the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagle Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, Sept. 26. The highly decorated coach and athlete will be inducted for her performances in basketball, softball and for her participation in the 2003 Women's Basketball team.

Clark joined Genesee's athletic department in 2004 as the head coach of the Lady Cougar Softball team. She is a 2003 graduate of SUNY Brockport with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration, plus 54 credits toward a sports management concentration. She received her Master's degree from California University of Pennsylvania.

While at Brockport, she was a two-sport athlete in basketball and softball, where she was an All-American and broke many school records. These included career records with best Earned Runs Average (1.18), most games pitched, most wins (69), and most strikeouts (639) for the Eagles Softball team. For the basketball program, she holds most points in a season (596), highest scoring average in a season (20.6), second career all time leading scorer (1780), and second career all time rebound leader.

Clark was also nominated for the 2004 College Sportswoman of the Year and was inducted into the J.P. Morgan Chase Basketball Tournament Hall of Fame. She has also earned State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors multiple times.

"Personally, I would say that Kristen is incredibly hard-working and a role model not only for the women on the College's softball team, but for all athletes," said Becky Dziekan, Genesee's director of Health and Physical Education. "I think Genesee Community College is very lucky to have her on staff."

Before joining the Cougar team, Kristen was the assistant basketball coach at Brockport where she helped with recruiting, planning and fundraising throughout the season. She is on the SUNY Brockport Alumni Association Board. She was recently married to David Schuth and they reside in Spencerport.

For further information please contact Margaret Sisson, athletic director at Genesee Community College at 585-343-0055 x6239.

Oakfield facing tough challenge entering Week 4 game with Notre Dame

By Howard B. Owens

Oakfield-Alabama, already off to a slow start in 2009, will have its hands full tonight when it meets undefeated Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish (3-0) has averaged 20 first-quarter points so far this season, while the Hornets are averaging only 3. Overall, Notre Dame's per-game scoring average is 26 points compared to 12.3 for the Hornets.

OA comes into the game with a 1-2 record.

"We're confident in where we're going and what we're doing right now," said OA head coach Brian Palone. "We're continuing to make progress each week. We lost a lot of experience from last year. We had only one returning player on defense. We really worked on defense this week, because the defense really struggled last week."

Alexander beat OA last week 42-17.

Notre Dame's head coach, Rick Mancuso, isn't taking the Hornets lightly, though.

"From our standpoint going into this game, Oakfield is always one of the perennial powerhouses in our league," Mancuso said. "Regardless of what their record is, like every team in our league, they work week in and week out to improve, and Oakfield is no different."

Mancuso praised the OA coaching staff and said he knows Palone will have his crew ready to play.

The Fighting Irish need to rebound, he said, from a sloppy effort last week.

"We made a lot of mental errors," Mancuso said. "Defensively, we did not play tight. We didn't play really disciplined. We need to be a more disciplined team going forward."

Norte Dame beat Barker last week 43-18. The 18 points represented the first scores against ND this season, after the team beat Pembroke 21-0 and Attica 14-0.

We'll have coverage posted by the morning. This weekend, The Batavian will also cover Alexander at Holley. Alexander comes into the game 2-1, but Holley is one of the surprises, if not THE surprise of the Genesee League so far this season. Holley is 3-0, opening a season undefeated for the first time in program history.

Section V vs. Section VI

By J Clark

Big game tonight for Batavia Boys soccer team , taking on Medina for a cross-over game . The game is slated to start at 6:30PM in Medina under the lights .

This a big game for both teams as they are entering the half way point of the season . Some crucial points are needed for both teams with sectionals just around the corner . This should be fast paced and highly emotional game that will be a very good game to come out and watch .

I hope see a lot of Batavian's at the game . Come out and support Batavia Boys Soccer on a nice fall night .

Genesee ARC 5K - Full of Family Fun

By Genesee ARC News

Organizers are calling the Genesee ARC Friends & Family 5K, that was held September 19th  in Elba a BIG success!  Perfect weather conditions resulted in a record number of people participating in the event which featured a 5K race, 5K walk and a 1 ½ mile fun walk.  A great family event.

The Post Race Party had plenty of kids’ activities including Magician, Adam Michael

and music by the Buffalo Road Show.

Many area farmers contributed to our “Taste of the Elba Area” produce display, giving everyone who attended  the chance to have some fresh grown fruits and vegetables to take home with them.

Special thanks to: Torrey Farms, G. Mortellaro & Sons, MY-T-ACRES, Fenton’s Farms, Schwab Farms, Halat Brothers, Domoy Farms, Harringtons, Porter Farms, Panek Pumpkin Patch, Swanson Farms, Lamb Farms

 

The top male and female winners were Michael Richenberg of Elba and Kimberly Mills of Basom.  Richenburg ran the 3.1 mile course in 18:24 and Mills came in :20 later at 18:44.  Complete race results are posted at www.pcrtiming.com.

 

The Batavia High School JV Cheerleaders added a lot of excitement to the finish line!

 

Funds raised in the Genesee ARC Friends & Family 5K helps support disability services provided by ARC and funds the Genesee ARC Mary Anne Graney Memorial Scholarship.  Two past scholarship winners, Misty Stratton of Elba and Nichole Longhini of Batavia attended the event. Mary Anne Graney was a parent, educator, advocate and friend of ARC and was committed to helping enrich the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families.  Pictured below are Graney family members.

 

In addition to the event’s many sponsors, runners and walkers, Genesee ARC wants to thank the Elba community, neighbors, Elba Town Board and Highway Officials, Genesee County Sheriff’s Department and Mercy EMS.  A big salute goes out to our crew of 45 volunteers who coordinated parking, registration, photo coverage, food, the kids’ zone, and ensured safety along the route.  The biggest thanks of all, goes out to the Graney family, the driving force behind the success of this event.    

Alexander Starts Slow, Finishes Strong Against Notre Dame

By Chad Flint

Alexander picked up their 4th win on the season with a 6-0 win at home against Batavia Notre Dame Wednesday afternoon.  Alexander dominated the possession on the ball, especially in the 2nd half, and didn't allow Notre Dame to get a shot in the game.  Alexander's keeper never handled the ball with her feet or hands, Alexander did not take a goal kick.  Notre Dame did have one corner kick midway through the 2nd half but it was headed away by an Alexander defender.

Alexander's first goal of the game came in the 31st minute when Senior Anna Dominick found Junior Autumn Atkinson in front of the net and she found the net.  7 minutes later 8th grade Lydia Spiotta (up from the JV team for the game) finished off an assist from Junior Amber Finan.

In the 2nd half Alexander played much better soccer and found the net 4 more times.  In the 43rd minute Finan finished off a cross from Sophomore Julia Pettys.  One minute later Pettys scored from Finan.  In the 50th minute Junior Morgan Mattice scored a header on a cross from Freshman Abby Shilvock.  In the 68th minute Spiotta netted her 2nd of the game from Sophomores Megan Schmieder and Ashley Szymanski.

Alexander moves to 4-1 on the season while Notre Dame falls to 1-4.  Alexander hosts Kendall on Friday as they begin a stretch of 7 games in 17 days.

Outlaws Ransome up in time in Batavia Feature

By Howard B. Owens

Press Release:

Batavia, NY --- The pocket rocket, Outlaws Ransome, was up in time to win the featured $8,000 Open Handicap, Saturday night (Sept-19) at Batavia Downs Casino.

Recently claimed for $10,000 by Richey Edward Myers of Phoenix Arizona, Outlaws Ransome continues to pay back high dividends as he’s moved all the way up to the handicap ranks. Tom Agosti was in the sulky for trainer Alex Giuliani.

Getting away second behind the front running Robin of Locksley (Ron Beback Jr.), Outlaws Ransome simply bided his time in the 2-hole until the field of six turned for home. Down the lane Agosti guided Outlaws Ransome to the passing lane and they were able to reel in “Robin” by a head in 1:55.3. Arson Ant (Troy Boring) who finished fourth was placed third.

Outlaws Ransome ($9.70) notched his 8th win of the season and raised his 2009 earnings to over $33,000.

Batavia Downs Casino is currently racing Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday and Saturday nights, post time is 7:05 p.m. In addition to live harness racing Batavia Downs Casino offers simulcast wagering from some of North America’s top tracks. The casino floor featuring over 600 slot machines is open 7 days a week from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 a.m.

Todd Haight
Promotional Marketing Specialist
Batavia Downs Casino

Photo courtesy Paul White

Downs driver hurt during Friday training notches four wins that night

By Howard B. Owens

Tom Agosti had quite a Friday.

The Batavia Downs driver was thrown and dragged after the horse he was training broke his bit.

Agosti was taken to Erie County Medical Center for examination.

He returned to the Downs in time for the evening races.

And he he drove home FOUR winners that night.

Agosti suffered some minor scrapes and some back discomfort, but is fine according to Todd Haight, Downs spokesman.

The horse, according to Haight, is fine, too.

Alexander dominates Oakfield to notch win

By Howard B. Owens

Alexander continues to impress early in the 2009 football season.  Today, the team pushed its record to 2-1 with a dominating 42-17 when over Oakfield-Alabama.

It didn't take long for Alexander to get on the board today. On the third play of the game, Jay Schafer swept left while the Oakfield defense rushed right, giving Schafer open space all the way to the end zone.

The Hornets never closed the deficit.

On its first series, Oakfield was forced to punt, but it was blocked by Alexander's Troy Shelunt.

A few plays later, Lucas Czechowski scored on a pass and Shelunt crossed the goal line on a two-point conversion.

On the first play from scrimage in the second quarter, Alexander pushed the score to 21-0 with a pass to Stephen George.

During the second quarter, Oakfield got on the board with a field goal.

After the score, Oakfield attempted an on-side kick, but Alexander recovered on its own 40-yard line. Schafer carried it into the end zone on the next play.

When Oakfield got the ball back, Matt Smith fumbled, allowing the Trojans to mount another scoring drive.

On the subsequent kickoff, Oakfield's Matt Smith returned the kick for a TD, making the score 36-10.

On the next series, Oakfield forced Alexander to punt, but Brandon Topocrczky stripped the ball from the Oakfield returner and Alexander recovered the ball.

In the fourth quarter, Oakfield managed another TD on a rush by Matt Osmancickli, putting the score at 36-17.

Oakfield started to move the ball on the next series, but a fumble gave Alexander the ball back on its own 2-yard line. Alexander drove back down the field until Schafer scored again, making the score 42-17.

After the game, Schafer said, "It felt good to win because we haven't beaten them in a long time. We'll be taking it to Holley next week because they run the same type offense."

Oakfield's coach, Brian Palone told his team after the game "Don't get down.  Stay positive. We need to get better - and we will."

Alexander's coach said his team will work on "finishing the game."  He said they played well in the first three quarters.

Victor rolls past Batavia, 40-0

By Howard B. Owens

It was a tough night for the Batavia Blue Devils in Victor.

A Victor team that executed well on both sides of the ball held Batavia scoreless through four quarters while running up a 40-0 tally.

Batavia could never really get anything going on offense, while the Victor team (also nicknamed the Blue Devils) were able to both run and catch through most of the night.

Victor also benefited from four turnovers.

Coach Dan Geiger said after the game it was a tough, tough loss for his team, but that they will be ready to get right back to work preparing for the next game. He said as always, Batavia has tough schedule, but that's no excuse. Each game, he said, the Blue Devils are ready to snap on their chin straps and fight to win.

The Victor team (now 3-0) scored on its first possession on a 30-yard pass from Richie Chute to Matt Koval.

On the next position, after an interception, Josh Maves scored on a one-yard run.

Batavia was down 14-0 as the first quarter ended. Victor added 13 more points in the second quarter on a Sean Hackel 3-yard run and on a blocked punt, which Ray Ali recovered in the end zone.

On its first position of the third quarter -- following another Batavia turnover -- Chute hit Connor Kimball on a 38-yard TD strike. Victor's final score came in the fourth quarter when Tommy Wagner punch over a 1-yard TD run.

Batavia drops to 0-3.

(At about 2:30 minutes into the video, Victor is credited with a touchdown. I've watched several times, and I don't see how the RB got within a half yard of the goal line. See what you think.)

Alexander Hands Pembroke 1st Loss

By Chad Flint

After suffering their first loss of the season on Tuesday at home Alexander tightened the GR Division 1 race back up handing Pembroke their first loss of the season with a 2-0 win in Pembroke on Thursday.  Holley picked up a win over Attica meaning that both Holley and Alexander have 3-1 records and Pembroke is 2-1-1 (Pembroke beat Holley and tied Bergen earlier in the season).  Both Pembroke and Holley have beaten Kendall (who sits at 2-2) and Alexander will play Kendall next week.

Alexander came out quick in the 1st half and got on the board early as Junior Keeper Hannah Wilson hit a booming punt that landed past midfield, bounced over the head of the sweeper, and streaking Sophomore Midfielder Julia Pettys ran onto it, took a couple dribbles and beat the Pembroke keeper low into the left side of the net for the 1-0 lead.  Alexander nearly made it 2-0 when Senior Forward Anna Dominick hit an excellent shot that was stopped by a diving save.  Junior Midfielder Tessa Bigelow hit the cross bar on a shot just before halftime again nearly doubling the lead.

Alexander continued to attack in the 2nd half and again nearly found the net to make it 2-0 as Junior Forward Morgan Mattice found Dominick in front of the net but her first time shot was stopped by the keeper again.  Alexander had another cross that Dominick nearly got on the end of but the keeper punched it away.  Finally with 11 minutes left in the game Dominick found Mattice on a cross at the top of the 18 and Mattice finished with her first touch chipping the keeper who was out challenging the play.

Alexander's defense was strong and organized throughout the game with Senior Leah Johnson, Senior Jamie Neth, Freshman Gabby Kwiatek, and Junior Amber Finan doing most of the marking and Junior Sweeper Savannah VanSon keeping things organized in the back.  Junior Goal Keeper Hannah Wilson made 7 saves in picking up her 3rd shutout of the season.  Freshman Midfielder Abby Shilvock had a great game on the outside marking one of Pembroke's quickest and most dangerous attackers.

Alexander is off until next Wednesday when they are home against Notre Dame.

Elba-Byron Bergen Lancers Modified Football Season Starts

By Valerie Patrick

September 15, 2009:  Today at 4:15 P.M., the Elba-Byron Bergen Lancers
Modified Football Team began their season with an exciting scrimmage against Barker.

The team is made up of seventh and eighth graders from Elba and Byron-Bergen schools.  These kids have been working hard every day,  except
Sundays, practicing for hours and it looks like they are banding together as "A Force To Be Reckoned With."

The first touchdown of the year was made by #5, Chad Bobzin, a seventh grader from Byron-Bergen.  He plowed his way through a wall of gray jerseys to bring in the first score of the season.

Good Luck to our local boys and make sure you catch a game this year.

Alexander Falls to Holley

By Chad Flint

Alexander suffered their first loss of the season Tuesday at home 2-1 to Holley.  Alexander held a large advantage in shots (12 to 6) but the only thing the matters is the final score line and that was in favor of Holley.

Alexander got off to a quick start putting a large amount of pressure on the Holley net but was unable to get one in the back of the net.  Around the 10 minute mark Holley got their first good push down the field and Alexander Goalkeeper made an excellent diving save on the first shot that was hit, but a crashing Holley midfielder cleaned up the rebound and it was put in the net for a 1-0 Holley lead.

Alexander nearly tied it 5 minutes later as midfielder Autumn Atkinson hit a great direct kick from 19 yards but Holley keeper Julie Brooks made a great diving stop and the rebound was knocked away by Holley to keep it at 1-0.  Alexander looked strong possessing the ball throughout the remainder of the first half but couldn't put the final pass together or get the finish around the front of the net that they needed.

The 2nd half started in a similar fashion to the 1st half for Alexander as they immediately went down the field and put pressure on Holley.  However 3 minutes into the half Holley came down the field and had a quick give and go in the middle of the field that resulted in Holley's midfielder Emily Troup putting a ball in the net for the 2-0 lead.

Alexander continued to control the ball but still struggled to complete the final dangerous pass or get a shot on frame (several were sent over and wide) to get back in the game.  With 20 minutes left Forward Morgan Mattice found Forward Anna Dominick who beat 2 defenders and stuck the ball in the net to make it 2-1.  Alexander continued to push forward but the bad play in the final 3rd continued and they fell by a 2-1 score.

With the loss Alexander drops from 1st to 3rd in the GR standings.  Pembroke beat Kendall 1-0 and jumped to 1st while Holley moves into 2nd.  Alexander faces Pembroke on Thursday in Pembroke.

Notre Dame wins over Keshequa

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Boys and Girls Cross Country Teams opened the regular season up on winning notes in beating Keshequa in a meet held at Avon High School.  Kevin Pawlak was the race winner in 17:39.  The Irish took the next four spots with Nate Flumerfeldt (18:23), Andrew Fischer (18:50), Nick Flumerfledt (19:38), and Luke Calla (19:57).  Jason Harasimowicz (20:37) and Matt Sausner (21:27) finished 9th and 10th respectively.  Conlan Edwards and Woody Clark (24:19) finished neck and neck with Conlan out-leaning Woody to take 12th and 13th in the race.  The final score was ND 15 and Keshequa 44.  The score of Cross Country is based on places so that the team with the low score wins.

The girl's had an easy day as the Keshequa girl's had an incomplete team.  The top four Irish ladies all finished within 15 seconds of each other.  Rachel Berggren was second in the race with a 24:30, with Bailee Welker in third (24:32), Meghan Zickl fourth (24.35) and Kristen Antolos fifth (24:45).  Teresa Jackson (30.19) placed 6th, Jenny Calarco (31:13) was 7th and Sydney Moag (41.28) placed 8th.

The Irish will be off this weekend and back in action on next Tuesday in Livonia.

Arm and a Leg does it again at Batavia

By Howard B. Owens

Press Release:

Batavia, NY --- It was a special night in Western New York as the Downs honored former leading driver Gaston Guindon, and a special horse, Arm and a Leg won the featured $8,000 Open Handicap.

With 2009 leading reinsman Kevin Cummings in the bike, Arm and a Leg notched his fourth Open win of the 2009 Summer-Fall meet in 1:55.3, for owners Mark Jakubik and John Cummings Sr.

Arm and a Leg ($3.70) fired out of the gate from his assigned outside post and put up all the numbers, including a :30.2 second quarter breather, enroute to a neck victory over a  fast closing Triple Bars with Jimmy Whisman, Sparky and Tom Agosti wound up third.

The victory was the 11th of the season for Arm and a Leg who raised his seasonal earnings to almost $70,000. The 6 year-old altered son of Nobleland Sam is trained by John Cummings Sr. 

I had a great evening “The Gasser,” Gaston Guindon said, “I can’t believe how many of my friends came out to see me.” The French-Canadian raced in Western New York for 29 years. “The memories I have of this track are incredible, I want to thank all the people I drove for especially Dennis Cummings, I think we won about 700 races together.”

America’s oldest lighted harness track is currently racing every Tuesday-Wednesday-Friday and Saturday nights, post time is 7:05p.m.

Todd Haight
Promotional Marketing Specialist
Batavia Downs Casino 

Photo of Arm and a Leg with driver Kevin Cummings holding off Triple Bars to win Downs feature. Courtesy of Paul White

ND Harriers open up in Plattsburgh Invite

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Cross Country Team opened up in great fashion over the weekend at the Pre-State Invitational held at SUNY Plattsburgh.  The girls finished in a tie for 7th place, but lost the tie breaker to North Warren.  Rachel Berggren finished in 33rd place on a great kick to the finish.  Meghan Zickl set the pace for the Irish early on to hold on to a 36th place finish with 8th grader Bailee Welker just ahead in 34th.  Kristen Antolos was just behind to finish 45th and Teresa Jackson rounded out the Irish top five in taking 66th.

The boy’s team also ended up in a tie for 8th place and won on the tie-breaker over Lake George.  Kevin Pawlak led the Irish with a 20th place finish with Nate Flumerfeldt close behind in 23rd place.  Andrew Fischer fought hard to finish 42nd, Nick Flumerfeldt held on to finish 56th and Luke Calla 59th.  Jason Harasimowicz was the deciding factor in the meet for the Irish and won the tie breaker over the sixth runner of Lake George.  Matt Sausner rounded out the top seven with a 77th place finish.  In the JV race, Woody Clark was 46th and Conlan Edwards 50th. 

The Irish Cross Country Team opens open its regular season tomorrow in Avon against Keshequa.

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