football

On a cruel April morning in 2011, Craig Tiberio looked at himself in the mirror. The man he faced stood accused of dealing drugs and assaulting a police officer. Looking at that mirror affixed as it was to a jailhouse wall, Tiberio didn’t like what he saw.

“I was at the end emotionally,” Tiberio said. “I knew there wasn’t anyplace to go but up unless I wanted to keep living the life that I was living. I obviously knew that if I got back on track, I had the potential — if I was motivated enough — to play sports again.”

As a high school junior, Tiberio had been a standout receiver for the Le Roy Oatkan Knights. He was at least a legitimate Division III prospect entering his senior season. All he wanted to do, or so he thought, was play football at the collegiate level.

Craig describes his childhood as challenging, chaotic, as anything but stable. Sports, especially football, was an escape.

“I always clung onto sports,” Craig said. “It was my time free from thinking about what was going on in my life.”

An injury changed everything. 

In the sixth game of his senior season, Craig Tiberio suffered a stress fracture in his spine.

That meant pain medication. It meant time away from the field, from his teammates, from everything that had kept him anchored.

It’s a familiar story in sports — injury, pain medication, followed by a need to self-medicate with whatever street drugs might be available. The pattern killed former Padres pitcher Eric Show. There are countless cases of high school and college athletes you never hear of whose lives were altered by drug use after an injury.

The story of Craig Tiberio is the story of a once-promising athlete who hit bottom and then turned his life around. He entered guilty pleas May 27, 2011 in Genesee County Court to assault, 3rd, criminal possession of a controlled substance, 4th, and to DWI. As he stood before Judge Robert C. Noonan that day, he faced a near certain four-year prison term. Back in court weeks later with positive progress reports, Noonan gave him a second chance. Step by step since, he’s made the most of it. He’s on the dean’s list at Buffalo State University. He volunteers with third- and fourth-graders in Buffalo. His assigned practice squad includes Buff State’s best players, and if he avoids injury, he has a shot of starting at tight end for the Bengals.

A passion for sports
It’s been long path paved by determination and family support since Tiberio gazed into the jailhouse mirror that April morning in 2011, with just the glimmer of a thought that maybe, maybe, he could rekindle his dream of playing college football and pursue a career in coaching.

He’s made it this far.

“You’ve got to ask yourself 'how bad do you want to be successful?' in any aspect of life,” said Tiberio after an early morning spring practice at Coyer Field.

He sat on a near-side bench under an optimistic blue sky while teammates who missed an earlier practice pushed 50-pound weights on their hands and knees up and down the sideline, from the 50 to the goal line and back, 10 times each.

“Some people are just completely content with working a minimum-wage job and being able to do anything they want, but for me, I appreciate freedom more than I ever did. Some people take that for granted. It comes with how much pain are you willing to deal with before you want your life to get better.”

When Craig was but a few months old, his mother moved him from Fairfax, Va., where he was born, to Le Roy. She started living with Art Nicomento, an electrician, and the couple stayed together until Craig was 5.

Then things started to unravel. According to Nicomento, Craig’s mother got hooked on drugs. The couple separated, but Craig stayed with Nicomento. Eventually, Nicomento became Craig’s legal guardian.

“He was a good kid, a smart kid,” Nicomento said. “I wanted to take care of him.”

Tiberio said he gravitated to sports at an early age. It was his salvation through years of turmoil. He doesn’t go into much detail, nor does Nicomento, but Craig clearly loves Nicomento, whom he calls “Dad.”

Talk to anybody in the community about Art and Craig and they will tell you, Nicomento was always there for his son.

By his sophomore year in high school, Craig Tiberio was turning heads on the gridiron, the hardwood and in track and field. Any sports story previewing Le Roy’s chances in the football or basketball seasons included Tiberio as integral to the team’s potential success.

As a junior, Tiberio stood 6’ 3” and weighted 175 lbs. He was athletic and fast. His junior year, he was the Section V champ in the long jump and the triple jump. He also ran on the team’s 400-meter relay team and won a few meets in the 3200 and the 100-meter dash. In basketball, there isn’t a game story that doesn’t list the strong forward as pouring in at least a dozen points and pulling down four or five rebounds.

In Le Roy, football is king and football was Tiberio’s passion. He combined speed, height and agility to haul in passes no defender could touch.

“I always had the attitude in high school, standing on the field across from another player, they can’t stop me,” Craig said.

Jim Bonacquisti, an assistant coach for the Knights, remembers Tiberio as a big play maker. A Tiberio TD reception helped stop a long Hornell home-winning streak. One of Tiberio’s big scores against archrival Cal-Mum came on a fourth-down reverse in a sectional semi-final. Then he intercepted a pass to help seal the deal.

Tiberio was named to the Livingston County Athletic Association’s all-star team on both offense and defense his junior year. (Le Roy is in the Livingston County footbal league). He was also named to the all-state team. He averaged 20 yards a reception and picked off seven passes playing free safety.

“I would rank him behind Mike Humphrey and Brandon Fulmer as far as the best we’ve had in my tenure,” Bonacquisti said. “Ironically, Craig getting hurt his senior season opened the door for Mike’s increased playing time in 10th grade. In Craig’s junior year, he caught anything near him, plus he was a pretty good safety. He wasn’t a big hitter, but he was usually around the ball.”

Unsportsman-like conduct
In his senior year, Tiberio said he was already hampered by a minor back injury, but continued to play. In five starts, he only had eight catches for 88 yards and one TD. On defense, he only had three tackles and two assists.

Friday night, Oct. 6, 2006 was homecoming for the Perry Yellowjackets. Unfortunately for the Perry student body, the Yellowjackets were scheduled to play their homecoming game against an undefeated Oatkan Knights team who would go on to win the Section V Class C title.

Tiberio was having one of his best games of the season with three receptions, including one for a TD, when late in the 4th quarter, with the Knights up 48-0, Tiberio snagged Heath Henrickson’s pass for an interception and returned it 33 yards before being tackled by a Perry player.

... More after the jump ... click the headline or the link below the picture ...

According to Tiberio, he was face down on the field after the tackle. The Perry player, he said, sat on his tailbone and then pulled up on his neck.

A flag was thrown for unsportsman-like conduct, but the damage was done. 

The next day, Tiberio went to a sports medicine clinic in Rochester where a doctor told him his season was over.

“I broke down in tears,” Tiberio said.

That spring, Tiberio graduated with his class. He enrolled at Genesee Community College, but also started hanging out with a party crowd in Le Roy.

Trouble didn’t start right away. 

When it did, Art Nicometo said he was slow to recognize Craig was using illicit drugs. He said his wife Renee picked up on it first, but Art was in denial.

“Once I became suspicious about what was going on, we started digging through his garbage,” Nicometo said. “We did this three or four times so he couldn’t deny it or say it belonged to somebody else. Renee confronted him and told him we knew he was taking pills. We had a talk and I told him he was heading down the wrong path. He was losing weight. It was impacting his grades in school. He agreed he had a problem and said he would work on it.”

It wasn’t until May, 2010 that Tiberio had a run-in with the law. Just before his 21st birthday, he was arrested for drunken driving. He was also accused of possessing a controlled substance and marijuana.

Yet, the drug use continued.

In October of that year, Craig was at somebody’s house on St. Mary’s Street in Pavilion and a fight broke out. Tiberio was charged with assault. The other person was charged as well, Craig said, and when both he and the other defendant said they wanted to drop the charges against each other, the case was dismissed.

As Craig Tiberio drifted through this period of his life, there was a family gathering one evening at the Nicometo home.

“They wanted to watch my highlight tape from high school,” Tiberio said. “I literally started getting really upset. I walked out of the room knowing that I was nowhere I wanted to be in my life.”

Drug-dealing suspect
Yet, Tiberio kept hanging out with the same crowd, doing drugs and not pursuing his dreams.

“I found it was easier to keep numbing up all of my emotions instead of taking the hard road at the time and getting clean and busting my hump to really get on track,” Tiberio said.

At some point in every addict's life, if they’re ever going to get into recovery, they hit rock bottom.

For Craig that point was April 19, 2011.

Somehow, Tiberio came to the attention of the Local Drug Task Force as a suspected dealer.

Using an informant, a buy was set up on Jackson Street in the City.

According to Sgt. Pete Welker, once the buy was completed and the informant walked away, plain clothes and uniformed members of the Task Force closed in.

Tiberio immediately realized he had been set up, Welker said, and he tried to assault the informant. Welker and his partner intervened. In the process, Welker’s finger was bent back and sprained and when his partner tried to mace Tiberio, Tiberio put his hand up, causing the mace to spray back into the detective’s face.

That evening, Welker and Sgt. Steve Mullen, then head of the task force, went to Art Nicometo’s house to execute a search warrant.

Nicometo said the investigators couldn’t have been nicer. They had all known each other for years, and Mullen and Welker were apologetic and explained the case was entirely about Tiberio and he was the only reason they were there to search the house.

The investigators told Nicometo what happened when the arrest went down and Nicometo said he was surprised that the scuffle was going to lead to a felony assault charge. He expressed some hope that the charge would be dropped, but the investigators were noncommittal.

Tiberio was found to possess cocaine, suboxone, drug paraphernalia, drug packaging, digital scales and $310 in currency.

“My first reaction was to call a bail bondsman, but when I called, he didn’t answer and later I was thankful he didn’t,” Nicometo said. “The next morning, Renee and I both said, the problem has got to stop. We’re not getting him out of jail. The only way he’s going to change his life is if he goes from bed to bed, from jail to rehab.”

At first, Nicometo said he couldn’t get any help from GCASA. He called several rehab facilities and couldn’t find a bed for his son.

“I was near giving up,” Nicometo said.

Then he finally reached the right person at GCASA and they were able to secure a bed for Craig.

His attorney, Tom Burns, had to be the one to escort Tiberio from the jail to GCASA, but Nicometo rode along and walked in the door with his son.

They were greeted almost immediately, Nicometo said, by four kids from Le Roy.

“One of them said, ‘hey, great, the old gang is all together again,' ” Nicometo said. “I didn’t have a good feeling.”

From GCASA, Tiberio transferred to Hope Haven. After he successfully completed that program, he transferred to a halfway house in Niagara Falls.

It was Craig’s choice, but Nicometo was against it from the start.

“As it turned out, it was a good decision, but it was tough dropping him off there,” Nicometo said. “It’s just around the corner from that casino and, well, you know what that neighborhood is like.”

During his six-months at the halfway house, Nicometo racked up quite a phone bill, since he allowed and encouraged Craig to call home every day.  

As he progressed in treatment, Tiberio started thinking about football again. Nicometo got his tapes together and sent them to the recruiter at Buffalo State.

Being coachable
One day a week, Tiberio was allowed to leave the halfway house for personal time with family. Typically, he spent the time with family in Le Roy, but one day, they set up a visit with Jerry Boyes, head coach of the Bengals.

Boyes is a Hollywood casting director’s idea of a college football coach. Tall, thin and as tough and straight as a 16-penny nail. On the field during practice, he talks with his players about dedication, hard work, commitment and discipline. 

To play for Boyes means you get to practice on time and learn your assignments. There is only one type of player on the field: the one who is coachable. Being coachable, Boyes told his players, means you don’t wilt when a coach yells at you. You learn your lesson, get better and never get yelled at a second time for the same mistake. Any other kind of player won’t be practicing with the team very long.

In the 1960s, he was an All-American QB for Ithaca. He was 1995’s NCAA Division III Coach of the Year. In two stints running the program, his record is 111-90.

“I was really nervous and really scared that with my situation he wouldn’t even give me an opportunity,” Tiberio-Shephard said. “As he said, he’s all about trust. I was completely open with him. He set some guidelines. He didn’t want me to be an issue or a bad influence. Once I had that in front of me, where he said I had an opportunity, that was just — well, I’ve always had a dream of playing college football and when I hurt my back, I just kind of gave up on it. Obviously, I had a lot of regrets.”

With those assurances, Boyes said of course he was open to giving Craig a second chance.

“I told him my expectation was that he stay true to what he promised me, that he stay clean,” Boyes said. “He made that commitment to me.”

As Tiberio continued his rehab, he volunteered at a soup kitchen in Niagara Falls.  Nicometo said that really helped the young man see a little clearer what the bottom of life was like and understand he didn’t want to go there.

As soon as he was able to, he enrolled at GCC again so he could work on raising his grades (having left previously with a GPA hovering around 1.0).  

Then, another setback.

Three weeks before the fall semester, an admissions councelor at Buffalo State said the college wasn’t going to admit a student with Tiberio’s criminal record.

That made Art Nicometo a little bonkers.

“I told them he’s already accepted at another SUNY school, at GCC,” Nicometo said. “He’s on the dean’s list. I told them, what you’re doing is wrong.”

He asked if there was an appeals process. They said there wasn’t. “Well, there is now,” Nicometo said.

Nicometo and the university wrangled back and fourth for two weeks before it reversed its decision.

That gave Nicometo and Craig a week and a half to find an apartment near the campus. They found one, but it wouldn’t be ready for another month, so for the first couple of weeks of college Nicometo shuttled the license-less Tiberio between his classes at Buff State and Le Roy.

Climbing a high hurdle
During the months of going through rehab, going back to school, planning for his future, Tiberio still wasn’t done with the Genesee County Court of Judge Robert C. Noonan.

He came to court in July 2011 knowing Noonan could sentence him then and there, but based on reports of his good progress, Noonan delayed his sentencing and ordered him back in court in November. At the November appearance, Noonan was again pleased with what he heard about Tiberio’s progress and set a new sentencing date of March 27, 2012.

Noonan isn’t the kind of judge to take lightly an assault on a police officer. While defendants with a history of drug abuse often get second, maybe even third, chances, Noonan takes respect for the law and those who enforce it seriously.

Tiberio knew, even with all of his progress and all of his family support, Noonan could still send him to prison. His attorney, Tom Burns, braced him for the worst and hoped for the best.

Burns stood up for his client in court.

"I've noticed he hasn't gotten all cocky about his treatment progress and he seems to accept the fact that this is something he is going to have to work hard doing for a long period of time, which is not only sobriety, but criminal-free living, which he intends to do," Burns said.

Rather than prison, Noonan put Tiberio on five years probation.

"The significance in not sending you to state prison tells me that you've climbed a very, very high hurdle to be here today and be in a position to get probation," Noonan told him from the bench.

The judge received dozens of letters of support for the defendant, but none were more important than the letter delivered to his office by Sgt. Pete Welker, one of the investigators Tiberio had assaulted.

“The gist of the letter is that I asked Noonan to give him a second chance, knowing that if he screwed up, Noonan would have a ability to send him to prison,” Welker said in an interview last week.

It’s routine for arresting officers to provide the Probation Department with letters about their interactions with defendants as part of the pre-sentence investigation. Welker’s first letter was a standard recommendation for a prison term. This was the first time in his 14-year drug enforcement career that Welker’s reversed course and retracted his first letter.

That simple twist of fate came about only because Welker happened to run into Tiberio at a Buffalo Bills game.

“I was walking through one of the tunnels and I saw him standing there,” Welker said. “I didn’t know how it was going to go, but I approached him and we stood there and talked for five or six minutes. He apologized and told me he was in some kind of assisted living, maybe a halfway house, in the area. He said he had been clean and wanted to go to college.”

After the chance meeting, Welker decided he wanted to know more about Tiberio’s progress and try to determine his sincerity, so he contacted Burns and asked for a meeting with the attorney and his client.

“The impression that I got that this was a kid who wanted to do the right thing,” Welker said.

In court, when Noonan spoke, Tiberio listened.

“Noonan put down some thick guidelines, pretty much a no-tolerance policy,” Tiberio said. “If I messed up at all, he was bringing the hammer down on me. I took that seriously.”

Handling adversity like a winner
By the time Tiberio was a Buffalo State Bengal, he had been away from football for six years.

A Le Roy football player is expected to be tough, disciplined, hard working and team-oriented, but Knights' Coach Brian Moran’s offense is built around the running game. 

Boyes prefers the faster-paced, pass-oriented spread offense.

The lack of playing time and the more complicated schemes had Tiberio feeling like a rusty fifth wheel his sophomore season.

“I didn’t know a thing,” Tiberio said. “It took me a whole season to understand my responsibility on a play-by-play basis.”

Even so, Tiberio impressed his coaches.

By his junior season, Tiberio was in line for regular playing time, but in the second game of the year, he broke his ribs and was out for the rest of the season.

This injury, this time, wasn’t a setback. He kept his nose in the books and his mind and body fit, focused on his goals. He made the dean’s list at Buffalo State and continued to do volunteer work in the community and on campus.

The way Coach Boyes sees it, what Craig has been through and how he conducts himself now shows a lot of character.

“Anybody can handle the wins,” Boyes said. “Faced with adversity, how do you handle that? And that’s one of the great results of athletics. You’re going to face adversity every game. I guarantee it. Dropped balls, fumbles, missed blocks. Guys are going to make mistakes. How do you handle that?

“I’m very proud of what’s going on here with Craig in overcoming this adversity that he’s had,” Boyes added. “I’m anxious to see him break out on the football field because he has all the physical tools to be a great football player for us. He just needs to stay healthy.”

At 24, Tiberio is the second-oldest player on the squad and Bonacquisti said it’s quite an accomplishment for any player at his age, especially after missing so many years of playing time, to come back and compete so well against 18- and 19-year-olds in Division III.

“I have tried to encourage him,” Bonacquisti said. “I know he got frustrated last fall (when he broke his ribs), but he is really fighting long odds to get on the field with his age. The fact he practices every day with kids much younger and he can hang with them is impressive. He is getting his degree; he’s on the dean’s list; and he’s hanging on the field with one of the better D3 schools in the area. I am real proud of how he has turned his life around.”

Academically, Tiberio is excelling. By the time he left GCC, he’d raised his GPA to 1.9 and now, in his third year at Buffalo State, his cumulative GPA is 3.6.

Education and football — that intertwined focus, Tiberio said, is a big part of why he stays out of trouble. At a Division III college, there are no football scholarships. Players need good grades to stay on the field. As Coach Boyes says, “Our players are here for the right reason.” On the flip side, football helps keep Tiberio’s non-classroom hours productive.

“I feel like if I were just going to school, I’d have more time to just get in a negative mindset or put myself in a bad situation,” Tiberio said.

Only a handful of Tiberio’s teammates know about his past. There are nearly 100 young men on the squad right now, many of them fresh out of high school. Tiberio said he’s found it easier to make friends with the older players, seniors mostly, and the ones who are easygoing and nonjudgmental.  

“They’re actually kind of amazed,” Tiberio said. “They see me today and the kind of person I am. They see I care about people so much and want to help them, so a lot of them don’t even believe what I came from. They just think I’m this nice suburban kid raised in a nice white family who had it easy. It was kind of shocking to most of them when I told them what I’d been through.”

And what he’s been through is a time and a place he swears he never wants to revisit. He’s got one more year of football eligibility and then he knows his playing days are over. He dreams of coaching, but makes no long-range plans. He’s focused on his senior year at Buffalo State, as a student and as an athlete.

“For me personally,” he said, “it’s just nice to be able to wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and be proud of myself.”

Batavia Blue Devils Head Coach Brennan Briggs sent along this photo of members of the football team following a 7-on-7 scrimmage last night in Rochester. The team played non-scoring scrimmages against Rush-Henrietta and Churchville-Chili. "The team did a great job competing," Briggs said.

Press release:

The board of directors and coaching staff of the Batavia Bulldawgs Youth Football & Cheer program are excited to announce the open registration dates for their upcoming 4th season. We look forward to welcoming new and returning athletes to the Bulldawg family.   

Registration will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at the Batavia City Centre (east entrance, near Sunny’s Restaurant). Boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 14, attending Batavia area schools (that are not affiliated with another NOFA team) are eligible to participate, with no weight restrictions. All athletes will be placed in developmentally age appropriate divisions based on the following league age rules: 

Football divisions (NO WEIGHT REQUIREMENTS):
Beginner (ages 6-7; must be 6 by 12/1, can’t turn 8 prior to 12/1)
Mini (ages 8-9; must be 8 by 12/1, can’t turn 10 prior to 12/1)
JV (ages 10-11; must be 10 by 12/1, can’t turn 12 prior to 12/1)
Varsity (ages 12-13; must be 12 by 12/1, can’t turn 14 prior to 12/1)

Cheer divisions:
Beginner (ages 6-7; must be 6 by 12/1)
Mini (ages 8-9; must be 8 by 12/1)
JV (ages 10-11; must be 10 by 12/1)
Varsity (ages 12-14; must be 12 by 12/1, can’t turn 15 prior to 12/1)

Football & Cheer Registration fees can be accepted via credit/debit card, check or cash and includes:

- high-quality, annually certified safety equipment
- full game day uniforms
- practice uniforms
- T-shirt & short apparel set
- accident & liability insurance
- Cheerzone competition
- end of season banquet
- participation trophy

**A multi-athlete family discount is available as well as payment plan options. Scholarships are also available for those who apply. 

The Bulldawgs eagerly anticipate the summertime announcement of our 2014 game schedule with locally affiliated NOFA teams in the surrounding areas of Attica, Alexander, Pembroke, Oakfield/Elba, Akron, Alden, Albion, Medina, Roy-Hart and Newfane. 

All contests will take place on Saturdays from late August through October. Every player will get the opportunity to participate in every game, where we never keep track of individual player statistics, only player participation and team records. USA Football certified coaches, using the Heads-Up Football philosophy to reduce the risk of injury, will coach our athletes. In addition, certified coaches will help to train our current grand-champion cheer squads towards continued great success in the 2014 Cheerzone competition.    

Batavia Bulldawgs Football and Cheer is a family-oriented volunteer, nonprofit organization affiliated with the Niagara Orleans Football Association, established in 1999. Since our inception in 2011, we have been committed to providing a high quality youth football program where we are dedicated to the instruction of football, the philosophy of teamwork, the development of sportsmanship and competition in a safe and respectful environment, while promoting personal responsibility and offering participants an opportunity to enjoy all that is best about youth sports.

An informational meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday March 19th in the Batavia Middle School auditorium. Board members and coaches will be available to answer any questions and discuss the upcoming season.

A small number of volunteer football and cheer coaching positions are currently available to interested adults. To learn more about this opportunity, or to answer and questions, please contact John Reigle, league commissioner (716) 228-5787, or bataviabulldawgsfootball@gmail.com.

Brian Moran, with 194 career wins and 14 sectional titles, announced at Le Roy's annual football banquet Sunday evening that next year, his 26th leading the Oatkan Knights, will be his last as head coach.

"At the end of next year, I'll be 55 and I'll have either coached or played since I was 12," Moran said. "When we hired Brian Herdlein (left in photo), we had a conversation with him as a district about taking over for me. He's been in the program long enough and it just feels like it's time for him to take over the program."

Le Roy will return to the gridiron with a pretty talented team for the 2014 season, which should give Moran a great opportunity to notch his 200th career win, a milestone he said is in fact something he'd like to achieve.

"You think about it when you're young, getting to 200, but when you get here what you think about most are the memories," Moran said. "People don't realize as you get older, those are the things that are important. I've had a lot of great memories with a lot of great coaches and players and the support of our community, which just makes it a privilege to coach here."

Each senior player, such as Brandon Van Grol, above, received a small football helmet on a plaque. In each case, Moran shared a word of praise for each player.

A cold, cold night, the ground frozen, what better conditions could there be for a flag football game among middle-schoolers?

Last night Oakfield-Alabama held its Turkey Bowl. There was no trophy, just a chance for students to a unique football game -- a chance to play under the lights of the varsity football field.

The event was the brainchild of teacher Dan Gilbert and was put together with the help of James Patrick and Katie Hilchey.

"We thought something like this around Thanksgiving might promote the family feeling of a small school," Patrick said.

In a room filled with friends, fans and supporters last night, former Elba Lady Lancers Head Coach Tom Nowak was all smiles.

"It's really special," Nowak said. "It's a little bit, I don't know, I want to say the word, 'imposing,' because you want to be in the background as a coach. It's difficult when you come out here and you're the person, but it's really nice to see."

Nowak was honored with a retirement party at the Elba Fire Hall that featured a collection of memorabilia and lots of memories from 26 years of serving the community by teaching young people how to compete and win.

In 1977, after two years at Dundee, Nowak joined Elba Central as a history teacher. He also became the varsity football coach and the varsity girls basketball coach.

His football record over 22 years was 130-60-6 with two sectional titles.

Leading the Lady Lancers, Nowak compiled a 457-132 record, eight sectional titles and, most significantly, a state title in 2012.

"Just that one precious one," Nowak said of the state championship. "It was special. We went in 2000 and lost in the finals. I always thought I'd never get a chance to go back and I got a chance to go back and the girls came through."

Teaching and coaching in Elba was a perfect fit, he said.

"I've always considered myself a shallow person," Nowak said. "I like history and I like sports. I first got to be a history teacher at Elba and then I got a chance to coach, so it really worked out well for me."

It takes time and dedication to be a successful varsity coach in any sport, and that means, Nowak acknowledged, that he maybe wasn't home as much as his wife might have liked over the years.

"We're going to do some things for my wife," said Nowak, who retired from teaching in 2009. "She spent so many years staying home on a Friday night watching Dallas and Falcon's Crest while I was out gallivanting around scouting football games. It will be nice to give her the opportunity to do some of the things that maybe we didn't get to do when I was a coach."

With all those wins and all those titles, surely young coaches could learn something from Nowak, and here's his advice:

"Find a mentor," Nowak said. "Find the people who are successes and spend some time and find out why they're successful.You will see something you can incorporate into your own plan. That's something I did. I looked at some role models because as a young coach you really don't know what to do and that was really beneficial to me."

Notre Dame's Tim McCulley was honored Saturday in Rochester with the Section V Player of the Year award. McCulley, a senior QB, led his team to the Section V semi-finals this year and threw for 25 TDs, setting a school record and placing him at #5 in Section V single-season record list. He's 55 career TDs are #4 all-time in Section V. Tim is pictured with his father Michael and mother Carolyn.

Also honored in their respective classes were Curtis Haught from Cal Mum and Ritchie Welch from Avon, pictured below with McCulley and Section V officials.

UPDATE: Here's some of McCulley's stats and accomplishments. He made GR League all team in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was the team's MVP 2011 and 2013. Team offensive MVP in 2012. His starting career varsity team record was 20-7 with the team making sectionals all three years, winning the title in 2012. In 2013, he completed 83 passes in 164 attempts for 1,390 yards and 25 TDs with only two interceptions. His QB rating was 170. He rushed for 471 yards and six TDs. career, he had 197 completions in 385 attempts for 3,441 yards and 55 TDs and only 11 interceptions over three seasons.  He had 216 carries for 970 yards and 14 TDs.

McCulley has served his church in a number of capacities; referring games and coaching at the now closed Holy Family School, St Joseph’s Elementary youth basketball program,  working at St. Peter’s Church and the St. Francis Cemetery. He has actively volunteered to complete his school service hours at a number of events and venues.  Tim is a 3.0 student and hopes to continue his playing career and is undecided in his major.

Photos submitted by Michael McCulley.

Trisha Riggi sent in this picture of Le Roy elementary school students who lined Wolcott Street in Le Roy to give the Oatkan-Knights a hometown send off for their big game in Rochester.

The Knights lost to Wayland Cohocton, but the whole community is proud of what they accomplished in 2013.

Le Roy’s football team came up just short as they fell in overtime to Wayland-Cohocton in the Class C championship, 14 to 8.

Head Coach Brian Moran was in search of his 14th sectional championship in 25 years, and a Section V record, 15th in school history, but it was not to be for the Oatkan Knights.

“They really worked hard and both teams were well prepared,” Moran said. “That led to a defensive struggle all day.”

The game was the definition of a defensive struggle for the majority of the game, as the game headed into the fourth quarter with a scoreless tie.

Class C Offensive Player of the Year Devon Harris entered the game averaging over 170 rushing yards per game and yet to be held under 100 all season long for Wayland-Cohocton. However, the Oatkan Knights managed to bottle him up for most of the game, holding him to 98 yards on 18 carries.

“I thought we played very well defensively against a young man who is an extremely talented athlete,” Moran said. “I thought we shut him down pretty well, but we just didn’t make plays when we needed to.”

The Eagles struck first, as quarterback C.J. Ellis found tight end Darren Becker for a 40-yard gain down to the Le Roy 15-yard line. Two plays later, Ellis found Reece Chapman for a 13-yard score. Harris would punch in the two-point conversion to give Way-Co the lead two minutes into the fourth quarter.

Le Roy wouldn’t need long to respond, as quarterback Mike McMullen found Ryan McQuillen two plays later, and he sprinted 70 yards down the sideline to put the Knights on the scoreboard. McMullen then found Nick Egeling for the two-point conversion to knot the game at eight apiece with nine minutes to play.

The Eagles appeared to be driving again, but Egeling managed to step in front of an Ellis pass to halt the drive at Le Roy’s 30-yard line.

After failing to move the ball, Way-Co drove the ball again deep into Le Roy territory, but it was the Knights’ defense who came up big again, stopping the Eagles inches short of a first down late in the ball game.

Le Roy took possession and marched onto Wayland-Cohocton’s side of the 50-yard line, but a rare Knight turnover halted a chance at a go-ahead score as McMullen and running back Peter Privitera were unable to complete at handoff late in the game.

“It happens, it's high school football,” Moran said. “It's 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids, and you can’t worry about it. You just have to pick yourself up and keep playing.”

The Eagles would take the first offensive possession on overtime and marched inside the Le Roy 10-yard line, but the defense would initially hold strong.

Zach Fitzsimmons came up with a big sack on third down to knock Way-Co back to the 12-yard line, but Ellis would find Chapman on the exact same play as the first touchdown to put the Eagles in front 14-8.

On Le Roy’s first offensive play of overtime, McMullen found Egeling for a gain of nine yards, but the Knights were never able to pick up that final yard as McMullen was unable to connect with Pierce in the end zone on second down, and Privitera was stopped short on the final two plays of the game to give Wayland-Cohocton their first sectional championship in school history.

“We just tried to get the first down,” Moran said. “We just tried to score and hopefully get a chance to kick an extra point to win, but today it just didn’t happen.”

The Le Roy trademark rushing attack was held in check all game, as the Eagles held them to a season-low 76 yards. Privitera finished with just 30 yards on 11 carries in the final game of his superb high school career.

McMullen finished the game 10-of-22 for 165 yards and a touchdown. McQuillen caught five of those passes for 108 yards.

Le Roy’s defense played well, holding the Eagles to under 200 yards of total offense, registering four sacks and forcing three turnovers.

Ellis entered the game having thrown only one interception all game, but the Knights managed to intercept him twice on the game, and he finished 5-of-12 for 73 yards to go along with his two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Wayland-Cohocton (9-1) will go on to face the winner of the Section VI championship game next week in the Far West Regionals.

Le Roy will finish their season at 8-2 as they fell in the Class C final for the second consecutive season.

“They had a great game plan defensively,” Moran said. “We played well, but obviously they made one more play than us and congratulations to them.”

Top Photo: Reece Chapman, Wayland-Cohocton's running back, crosses the goal line for the game's first points in the fourth quarter after catching a 13-yard pass from C.J. Ellis.

Ryan McQuillen outruns the Wayland-Cohocton defense after grabbing a swing pass from QB Mike McCullen for an 80-yard TD reception to tie the score in the fourth quarter.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

#4 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (8-1) vs. #3 Wayland-Cohocton Eagles (8-1)

Class C Championship, 5 p.m. Friday at Sahlen's Stadium

Le Roy will play for a Section V record 15^th football championship when they take on Wayland-Cohocton on Friday night.

Currently the Oatkan Knights are tied with rival Caledonia-Mumford (who lost in the finals last week) and Clyde-Savannah, who won their 14th title last week, for the most championships in Section V.

It would be fitting for Le Roy to break the record, with this being Head Coach Brian Moran’s 25^th season at the helm. Moran has led the Knights to 13 of their championships, but has not brought home a trophy since 2008.

The fourth-seeded Knights made it to the Class C finals a season ago, before losing to Hornell 21-7.

This season, they will face third-seeded Wayland-Cohocton in a battle of Livingston County schools.

Le Roy has garnered a lot of recognition for their passing game this season, but it has been the running game that has carried them during their sectional run, reminding fans of classic Knights football.

After carrying Le Roy a season ago, running back Peter Privitera got off to a slow start this season, in part due to an ankle injury. However, in the last two weeks Privitera has carried the ball 48 times for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

The senior has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the last two games after failing to eclipse that mark in three of the last four games of the regular season, including a 28-yard performance in a Week 7 loss to Cal-Mum.

“Peter is just getting to 100 percent,” Moran said. “He had ankle surgery and that’s not easy to come back from, but what impresses me most about Peter is that the four or five yards he gets are tough four or five yards. That’s what Le Roy football is all about, getting tough yards when you need it.”

Last week, Coach Moran relied heavily on his senior in the second half, and when Le Roy fell behind 14-13 late in the fourth quarter, it was Privitera who reeled off a 45-yard touchdown run to put the Knights ahead for good.

The Knights will be dealt with a tough task in stopping another tough running back on the other side of the field.

Wayland-Cohocton is led by Section V Class Player of the Year Devon Harris.

The junior running back has put up some impressive numbers this season, rushing for 1,531 yards and 29 touchdowns. Harris has also returned three kickoffs for touchdowns on the year and is a threat to score from anywhere on the field.

The Eagles also have a balanced attack, as quarterback C.J. Ellis has had an outstanding senior season.

Ellis has completed 75-percent of his passes this season for 1,023 yards, 13 touchdowns and only one interception.

Way-Co comes into this Class C title tilt outscoring opponents 88-14 in two sectional games.

Final Note: While this game will showcase two of the top running backs in Class C, it could be the passing game that decides the game.

Wayland-Cohocton’s duo of Ellis and Darren Becker was the fourth-best combination in Livingston County play, but Le Roy has their own superb tandem.

Ryan McQuillen has racked up 12 touchdowns on 25 receptions this season, and has caught a touchdown in each of the last five games.

Quarterback Mike McMullen has also tossed 25 touchdown passes this season and has thrown three or more in four games this season.

Clyde-Savannah Head Coach Nick Dercola said it: "Momentum is such a big thing in high school football."

In the second half of the Class D Section V championship game in Rochester, the Golden Eagles had it. The Alexander Trojans wanted it.

As a result, the final score favored Clyde, 30-24.

The Trojans had a chance to win Alexander's first Section V football title in school history, but a muffed snap on a punt deep in Golden Eagles territory on Alexander's first possession in the second half seemed to have a big impact on the game.

Clyde scored on a 10-yard pass from wide receiver Cal Felker to tight end Jarrod Faniel and with a two-point conversion, Alexander's half-time lead of nine points became a one-point lead, 24-23, and gave Clyde's players a little bit of hope.

Even a quick score on an eight-yard run by Dylan Scharlau following an 80-yard kickoff return by Same Browne didn't dampen Clyde's sense from that point that anything was possible.

"After the fumble on the punt, we had field position for the whole second half," Dercola said. "My kids loosened up a little and started getting after it a bit harder ... We got the momentum in the second half and kept it."

So much of Alexander's offense is dependent on senior running back Dylan Scharlau and after gaining 105 yards in the first half, scoring one TD, the Golden Eagles held Scharlau to just 39 yards in the second half.

It didn't help that Scharlau came into the game with a sprained right ankle and had been on a light practice schedule all week.

"It was a tough second half," Alexander Head Coach Tim Sawyer said. "We just didn't make the plays -- a couple of penalties, we dropped an interception and that was eight points the other way.  We've just got to make plays. We've got to finish."

Stopping Scharlau was an important part of the Golden Eagles keeping the second-half momentum flowing their way.

"We knew they were going to come at us and he's a heck of a runner," Dercola said. "We kept hitting him and he'd bounce off. We knew we had to stop him and we didn't do a very good job in the first half. I thought we did a much better job in the second half."

Alexander had a chance to grab that all-important momentum early in the 4th quarter when an 18-yard pass from Joe Faniel bounced off the chest of an Alexander defender and instead of falling to the ground it hung up long enough for Clyde's Kam Disanto to slip his hands under it giving the Golden Eagles a go-ahead TD.

That was a lead Clyde would not surrender as Alexander's offense was pretty much shut down on its following possessions and Faniel added to Clyde's lead on a two-yard TD run with six minutes left in the game.

It's the fourth straight win for Clyde over a team that came into the game with only one loss.

"I feel bad for our community," Sawyer said. "It was huge that our community was behind us. It's great to get this far. We won a league championship this year for the first time in 36 years. We beat Notre Dame in the semi-finals last week. All of those things are very good things."

Section V awards were given to Scharlau, QB Nelson Burke and Jonathan George.

Those seniors, and all the seniors on the team, made such a huge contribution to the Trojans' run at a Section V title, Sawyer said.

"I'm glad Section V recognized (George) as the best lineman out there today," Sawyer said. "He's been the best lineman in every game he's played in this year, and Nelson Burke, he loves the game. I know this hurts."

Burke finished 4-11 passing for 50 yards. He also ran the ball four times for 15 yards and Tyler Laird had four carries for 37 yards.

The Trojans out gained the Eagles 248 yards to 189 for the game and time of possession 30 minutes to 18.

Laird also had five tackles. Zach Laird had two tackles and a sack.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Photo by Jeff Strollo. Photo and information submitted by Kim Yauchzee.

Le Roy Junior Youth Football won their division's championship yesterday beating Livonia 18-12 in double overtime.

The Le Roy Oatkan Knights advanced to the Class C Sectional Semifinals with a win over Dansville, 26-12.

The Le Roy offense has traditionally been a run-based team under Head Coach Brian Moran. However with the growth of junior quarterback Mike McMullen, the Knights have become more pass-oriented this season. But Le Roy failed to get their passing game going early and we saw the return of old-fashion Knight football.

The Mustangs got off to a solid start, taking the opening kickoff 65 yards on 10 plays before Le Roy made a goal line stand to deny Dansville at the one-yard line.

After Dansville failed to capitalize on a McMullen interception, the Knights began to slowly pound away with their running game. The duo of Peter Privitera and Tom Kelso chipped away on a nine-play drive, capped off by a three-yard Privitera run to take a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, Nick Egeling recovered a fumble on the Dansville 26.

This time the Knights only needed six plays for Privitera to punch in another score, this time from four yards out to go up 12-0.

Kelso carried the load early in the second half, racking up 91 of his 95 yards in the first half before Privitera came in to close out the game.

The senior bounced back after only managing 28 yards in last week’s loss against Cal-Mum. This week, Privitera ran the ball 28 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

“Peter ran hard tonight,” Moran said. “That’s good for us. It’s good to have him around this time of year.”

After Le Roy seemingly took control of the game, the Mustangs responded, taking their next drive 83 yards, which was capped off by a 53-yard hook up from Ethan Mapes to Brad Quibell on third-and-six to cut the deficit in half, 12-6.

Le Roy looked as if they would crush any momentum from the Dansville touchdown as they came out for the second half, but McMullen fumbled the snap on a fourth-down play, giving the Mustangs the ball at the Knights’ 45-yard line.

Dansville needed only four plays before Mapes found Gage Koch on a 13-yard pass to tie the game at 12 early in the third quarter.

With the passing game struggling, the Knights continued to rely on the running game. Le Roy took their next possession and ran the ball 11 consecutive times before McMullen finally found his touch, hitting Ryan McQuillen on a beautiful 28-yard touchdown catch-and-run play. Egeling then found himself on the receiving end of a McMullen pass to pick up the two-point conversion, making the score 20-12.

The fourth quarter saw both teams struggle to sustain any success on offense, with Le Roy going three-and-out on three straight possessions, and Dansville turning the ball over on two straight, including Koch racing 25 yards before fumbling the ball away at midfield with just over eight minutes to play in the game.

After going 1-for-8 passing in the first half for just 42 yards and an interception, McMullen finally found his touch.

The junior found Egeling once again, this time capitalizing on Dansville stacking the line of scrimmage expecting the Knights to pound away on the ground. The pass netted 29 yards, down to the Mustang 11-yard line.

Two plays later, the pair hooked up once again, this time on a nine-yard scoring toss to go up 26-12 with just 2:32 remaining.

“We had to make a play,” Moran said of his play selection. “We have some good athletes and obviously when they started taking that safety out of the middle of the field, we knew we had to do something to take advantage of that."

McMullen went 4-of-6 in the second half to finish 5-for-14 for 112 yards on the night.

Kelso would seal the game on defense, sacking Mapes for a loss of 17 yards.

Mapes finished 8-of-16 for 153 yards, two touchdowns and interception, while Ryan Hurlburt ran for 66 yards on 13 carries for Dansville (5-3).

Egeling had strong all-around game for the Knights, picking up 52 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Le Roy (7-1) will advance to the semifinals to face top-seeded East Rochester/Gananda after they defeated Elba/Byron-Bergen, 34-6.

In other local high school football action:

Wayne 38, Batavia 21
Batavia's Brandon Stevenson ran for 153 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, while also throwing for another. Wayne scored 32 points in the second half, after trailing 8-6 at halftime.

East Rochester/Gananda 34, Elba/Byron-Bergen 6
Steele Truax scored the Lancers' only touchdown on a 59-yard run.

Wellsville 26, Attica 25
Seventh-seeded Wellsville scored a touchdown with :43 seconds left and added a two-point conversion to oust second-seeded Attica in the Class C Semifinals.

Top photo: A Dansville player coughs up the ball during a kick-off return, leading to Le Roy's second TD score (Privitera scoring below; #20 on Dansville is not listed on the team roster).

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

#5 Batavia Blue Devils (3-4) at #4 Wayne Eagles (4-3)
Class B Quarterfinal – Tonight at 7.

After facing a brutal Monroe County League schedule in which Batavia lost four straight games to Class A schools, the Blue Devils came away with two straight road wins to close out the regular season.

Batavia is led by do-it-all senior Brandon Stevenson, who has nine total touchdowns on the season. Stevenson splits time as a quarterback and a running back, and has scored on a pass, rush, receiving, interception return and kick return this season. He is also coming off of a solid outing a week ago, rushing for 204 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns in a 13-7 victory over Greece Olympia.

On the other side, Wayne enters sectional play on a two-game losing streak, and has failed to beat a team with a winning record this season.

The Eagles are led by quarterback Nathan Currier, who has thrown for 1,082 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. He has a number of weapons at his disposal, including dual-threat running back Justin Morrison. The senior has 757 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns, while adding 300 receiving yards and three touchdown catches. Currier’s favorite target is Mike Hollenbeck, who has 13 receptions for 307 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.

If the Blue Devils limit their turnovers and can get a big game from Stevenson, look for Batavia to spring the upset and advance to the next round.

#5 Dansville Mustangs (5-2) at #4 Le Roy Oatkan Knights (6-1)
Class C Quarterfinal – Tonight at 7:30.

Le Roy looks to bounce back from a difficult loss to rival Cal-Mum a week ago that cost them an undefeated season and the top seed in Class C.

These Knights may not look the same as past Brian Moran-coached teams. Le Roy is traditionally a running-based team, but this season they are led by quarterback Mike McMullen. The junior has thrown for 1,025 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, and was named Section V Class C Offensive Player of the Week in a losing effort a week ago.

McMullen’s favorite target has been junior Ryan McQuillen, who has 336 receiving yards and half of his 20 receptions have gone for touchdowns. Jon Pierce has also been a reliable weapon, making 13 catches for 256 yards and five touchdowns.

Despite the new high-flying attack, Le Roy still has a strong running game. Both Peter Privitera and Tom Kelso have had strong seasons, rushing for 587 and 460 yards respectively, while scoring six touchdowns apiece.

Dansville comes in with a strong record, but has yet to beat a team with a winning record. In two games against teams with winning records they have been outscored 59-6, including a 42-0 loss to Wayland-Cohocton last week.

The Mustangs have a strong running game, led by a stable of backs, including Ryan Hurlburt, Evan Dieter and Gage Koch. They also have a solid defense, which has given up the third-fewest points in Section V (67) this season.

#8 Elba/Byron-Bergen Lancers (3-4) at #1 East Rochester/Gananda Bombers (6-1)
Class C Quarterfinal, Tonight at 7.

Elba/Byron-Bergen picked up a big win against Finney last week to squeeze into Class C sectional play.

The Lancers will face a top-seeded East Rochester/Gananda, who played an impressive conference schedule, playing all seven games against Class B schools.

Elba/Byron-Bergen will need a strong overall game, starting with quarterback Garrett Chapell. The sophomore has thrown for seven touchdowns in his first season as the starter.

He will need help from the running game, from both Brandon Naylor and Steele Truax. Naylor is coming off of a superb game against Finney last week, rushing for 140 yards on 11 carries and scoring three touchdowns in the win. Truax has scored two touchdowns in the last two games.

East Rochester/Gananda has a balanced offense, starting with quarterback Zach Hauser, who has thrown 14 touchdown passes this season. His favorite target has been junior receiver Andrew Fischer, who has caught nine of Hauser’s touchdown passes.

The Bombers also boast a strong running game, headed by Jake Miller and Kendrick Watson. In last week’s victory over Wayne, Miller ran for 242 yards on 18 carries while Watson ran for 148 yards and a touchdown.

#3 Alexander Trojans (6-1) vs. #2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1)
Class D Semifinal, Saturday 1 p.m. at Caledonia-Mumford

Two of the three teams that took a share of the Genesee Region League championship will square off with a chance to go to the Class D finals.

This will be a rematch from earlier this season, which Notre Dame won easily, 41-12.

However since then, Alexander has rolled to four straight victories, outscoring opponents 172-23.

Notre Dame is coming off of their only loss of the season, a 28-14 loss to Attica, in which star quarterback Tim McCulley was held in check, completing only 12-of-34 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown.

In the first matchup, McCulley dominated the game, throwing for 175 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for another 107 yards and two touchdowns. However, Alexander’s quarterback Nelson Burke struggled, only completing 2-of-11 passes for 12 yards and two interceptions.

Burke has had a strong season otherwise, completing 32-of-63 passes for 527 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Trojans will rely heavily on the G-R League’s leading rusher Dylan Scharlau, who has racked up 1,297 yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Scharlau also picked up 166 yards and two scores in the first meeting.

The Fighting Irish will need another strong game from McCulley, who has thrown for 1,347 yards and a school-record 25 touchdown passes. The senior quarterback is also the team’s leading rusher with 488 yards and six touchdowns.

McCulley has a trio of receivers to throw to. Senior tight end Charlie Herbert has caught a team-high 22 passes for 391 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Josh Johnson has made 19 grabs for a team-leading 436 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Luca Zambito has made 17 catches for 244 yards and five touchdowns.

The winner of the quarterback battle between Burke and McCulley could be the deciding factor in who advances to play for the Class D crown.

The Akron Tigers rolled into Alexander Saturday trying to solidify the standings with only one more week of regular season games before playoffs.

The beginners: (No score / standing are kept at this level.)

Mini Division:

Akron (7-1-0) beat Tri-Town (5-3-0) by a score of 13-0

Scoring for Akron: Ty Nicometi reception from Aidan Smith (no extra point)

Travis Fry touchdown (extra point by Aidan Smith)

JV: Akron (3-5-0) beat Tri-Town (0-8-0) by a score of 26-0

Scoring for Akron:

Jacob Mazza (nephew of the legendary Daryl Mazza) (extra point by Adam Mietz)

Ryan Yager (extra point by Joseph Abrams)

Adam Mietz (no extra point)

Adam Mietz (no extra point)

Varsity:

Akron (8-0-0) beat Tri-Town (4-4-0) by a score of 32-0

Pictured above: A blocked field goal attempt.

Scoring for Akron:

Note -- I am doing my best to decipher the names from the roster, which was blurry.

Touchdown: #34 Jacob Sarow (extra point by #45 Morgan Smith)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (no extra point)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (extra point by #34 Jacob Sarow)

Touchdown: #99 Robbie Pequeen (no extra point)

Field Goal: #42 Dillon Adamczak

Field Goal: #42 Dillon Adamczak

This was the last home game for Tri-Town this year.

Thank You to all the coaches, players, cheerleaders, parents, fans, announcers and volunteers for a memorable season.

More pictures from this weekend can be found here: NOFA 2013 Alexander - Akron

After having difficulty yesterday while covering the Batavia Bulldawgs with the auto focus on my camera, I wanted to test some alternate settings while shooting sports, so I went out this afternoon to see if I could find any kids playing football or basketball.

There was a three-on-three football game being played by a group of Batavia High School students on Woodward Field.

Thanks to Ty Armison, Griffin Moore, A.J. Marcello, Richard Lamkin, Alex Snell and Alex Sugerman (all pictured in the bottom photo) for accommodating my experiments.

Top photo, Marcello celebrates his interception.

In its third year, the Batavia Bulldawgs football program is putting up some good numbers, both in the number of players on each roster and on the field.

Today, the JV and varsity squads posted big wins against the Hawks in Holley, with a 35-0 win for JV and a 35-6 win for varsity.

There are 120 kids participating. For the beginners (ages 6-7), the minis (8-9), JV (10-11),  there are 35 players on each team. Varsity (12-13) has 25 players and five cheerleaders.

Varsity is 7-2 and JV is 5-4.

"I think overall things are going very well," Head Coach Matt Della Penna said. "I think our numbers speak well for themselves. We've got some good numbers throughout and we're winning some games. We're beating some teams that have been in the league for awhile. I think that's a pretty good pat on the back for us."

The Bulldawgs wrap up the regular season next Saturday with games on Woodward Field at Van Detta Stadium.

For pictures of the minis' game against Holley by Pete Welker, click here.

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Friday night, under the bright lights of Hamilton Field, a clash of two historic rivals, the Oatka Knights of Le Roy and the Red Raiders of Caledonia-Mumford, was once again its own kind of Fall Classic.

The game was a back-and-forth battle between two well-stocked teams already guaranteed slots in sectional play. It was a fight to the end with the outcome uncertain until the Knights final drive stalled with 30 seconds left on the clock.

Only then, were the Raiders (6-1) assured their six-point lead would hold for a 34-29 victory over Le Roy (6-1).

"I thought it was a great atmosphere for high school football," said Brian Moran, in his 25th season as head coach for Le Roy. "It's just great for both communities. Obviously, we hate to come out on the down side of this, but you know what, it's great for the kids, it's great for the communities and I just thought it was a great atmosphere for high school football and this is what it's about."

The player of the game was Cal-Mum senior QB Kurtis Haut, who rushed for 248 yards and three TDs on 24 carries.

Play after play, it seemed at times, Cal-Mum called QB keepers and Haut would find a hole and exploit it.

Arm tackles couldn't stop Haut who ran through defenders like they were turnstiles in a packed subway station.

Asked for the key to the game and Moran said that was it: Haut.

"Hey that five is pretty good, isn't he?" Moran said. "That's the game right there. The whole story line is him. He's a great athlete and he played a great football game tonight. They made a few more playes than we did and they deserve the win."

Le Roy played well, but not quite good enough. Moran acknowledged the Knights needed to execute a little better, make a few more plays, play better defense, make better tackles and finish off the game offensively.

"We've got to finish it that's the main thing," Moran said. "In a game like today, you've got to be able to make those plays and you've got to be able to go to the last second. I thought we had a chance late but we just didn't make the play when we needed to."

Junior QB Mike McMullen showed a lot of poise with the game on the line, getting the ball with two minutes left and bringing his team deep into Raider territory, but with a minute left on the clock, one last completed pass to advance the ball eluded the Knights' offense.

McMullen finished 18 for 33 for 192 yards and four TDs.

The knights opened the scoring with 3:56 left in the first quarter on a nine-yard pass from McMullen to Jon Pierce, who had six receptions for 86 yards and two TDs on the night.

Cal-Mum answered near the end of the quarter on a 16-yard run by Haut, and so the game went until the fourth quarter, with both sides trading scores.

In the fourth quarter, the Raiders put together the only back-to-back, unanswered scoring drives of the game and that proved pivotal in this match.

A 30-yard field goal by Pierce with 3:09 left in the 4th brought the Knights within six points and a chance for a win those final minutes.

Tom Kelso helped carry the offense with 13 carries for 102 yards. Peter Privitera had 11 carries for 27 yards and Nick Egeling gained 17 yards on five touches. Egeling also had five receptions for 48 yards.

Ryan McQuillen scored twice on four receptions for 43 yards.

On defense, Zack Fitzsimmons had seven tackles, Anthony Paladino, five, Egeling, four, Kelso, four, Lamkin, four, and Steve Cappotelli, four, and a fumble recovery.

Also on Friday night:

Alexander (6-1) beat Pembroke 41-0. Dylan Scharlau, 17 carries for 141 yards and one TD. Will Burke seven carries for 52 yeards. Tristan Alding nine touches for 75 yards. Tyler Laird scored a TD and had 25 yards on four rushes. Burke was 5 for 8 passing for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Sam Browne, 2 catches for 61 yards and a TD.  He also had a 65 yard punt return for a score. Zach Laird had an 11-yard TD reception and Jacob Riggs had a 15-yard TD reception. Pembroke had only 49 yards total offense. Tyler Laird had seven tackles and one sack and one fumble recovery. With a share of the GR league title, it's the first time Alexander has come out on top in the division since 1977.

Elba/Byron-Bergen plays at Finney today. Oakfield-Alabama is at Holley. Batavia is at Olympia.

Lamkin forces a Joe Cappotelli fumble in the second quarter.

Haut scores on a 50-yard TD run late in the second quarter.

Pierce hauls in 52-yard TD pass from McCullen early in the third quarter.

McQuillen looks for and gets a pass interference call during the Knights' final possession in the closing minutes fo the game.

To purchase prints of photos, click here.

Attica took home a share of the Genesee Region League championship after defeating Notre Dame, 28-14.

Notre Dame came into the contest with a chance to finish undefeated in the regular season, and win the league outright for the first time since 2002. For Attica, a win would guarantee them at least a share of the league title. It would also guarantee them home field advantage in the first round of sectionals, and it would avenge a loss to the Fighting Irish almost exactly one year ago that cost them the league championship.

It would be Attica who would come out on top in this game, forcing a three-way tie with Notre Dame and Alexander.

The Blue Devils saw the return of star running back Matt Perry, who missed the last two games due to injury, and they felt his impact immediately. Perry ripped off a long run to put Attica deep into Notre Dame territory, before he finished off the drive with a 24-yard touchdown run less than five minutes into the game.

Notre Dame would respond a few minutes later after their star, quarterback Tim McCulley, took off on a 58-yard touchdown run to knot the game at 7.

Neither team could gain the upper-hand throughout the second quarter, with Attica getting the best opportunity of the frame after they stopped an Irish fake punt attempt inside their own 20 with five seconds left in the half. The Devils would miss a field goal as time expired and the score remained tied at halftime.

Perry would strike again, ripping off a long run to set up another seven-yard touchdown scamper early into the third quarter to take a 14-7 lead. Attica would strike again less than two minutes later after Jake Dollard scored on a 40-yard run to take a two-score lead.

The Irish refused to go away, however, as they cut the lead in half just before the end of the third quarter as McCulley found Jason Hart in the end zone on a six-yard pass just after McCulley found Josh Johnson on a 32-yard pass and catch on third down to move the chains.

Attica would once again respond, as they began their ensuing possession at midfield. Jake Strzelec, who scored two touchdowns a week ago, would scamper 23 yards to regain their 14-point lead just a minute into the fourth quarter.

The Blue Devil defense would hold strong in the fourth quarter, keeping Notre Dame out of the end zone, including a big stand on fourth down at the Attica 16-yard line with just four minutes to play in the game.

“We challenged our team,” said Attica Head Coach Rob Cusmano. “We had worked hard all season. It has been 366 days since [Notre Dame] beat us. They thought about that and worked very hard since then.”

Notre Dame struggled to find their rhythm on offense all night, as the Attica defense held the Irish to 163 yards of total offense, including 35 on the ground.

After throwing six touchdown passes a week ago, McCulley was held to just 12-of-34 passing for 128 yards and was sacked eight times.

“We didn’t execute,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso. “We dropped a couple of balls, missed a couple of blocks and they played well defensively. We didn’t make good of the opportunities when we had them, they are a very good ball club.”

The return of Perry was a key factor for the Blue Devils as he picked up 162 yards on 29 carries, and also caught two passes for 44 yards.

However, Attica’s team attack was just as potent on the ground as they racked up 302 rushing yards, 69 from Strzelec.

“Matt [Perry] makes a huge difference,” Cusmano said. “They were keying him in the second half so we hit Stzelec and Dollard for long runs. Perry is a great runner, but we have two other great guys, too.”

While the Irish failed to win the league outright, they still claim a share of the crown along with Attica and Alexander, who defeated Pembroke 41-0. The Trojans defeated Attica three weeks ago, while Notre Dame beat Alexander earlier this season. All three teams finish the regular season with a record of 6-1.

Notre Dame should also still maintain the top seed in Class D as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Alexander.

“Our goal was to make sectionals,” Mancuso said. “That’s our goal: to make sectionals and then win it, and hopefully we go a little bit further than we did last year.”