Notre Dame

Press release:

In the third $7,500 "Dash for Cash," Lindsay Hilburger -- representing Notre Dame of Batavia High School with professional driver Dave McNeight III alongside -- led all the way to take the first-place scholarship check of $3,000.

The one-mile harness race for area high school seniors racing for college scholarship funds took place Saturday night (Sept 15.), at Batavia Downs Racetrack & Casino.

Sonia Nevinger (Alexander) took second place and a $2,000 scholarship check; Leanne King (Pembroke) was third and earned a $1,200 scholarship; Jessica Levins (Batavia High School) took the fourth-place spot and $800 in scholarship funds, while Jamie Marshall (Elba) was fifth and received a $500 check.

The final time of 2:08.2 was by far the fastest running time of any of the scholarship races.

“It was nice to see such a large turnout,” said Todd Haight, general manager of Live Racing.

The track apron was packed with fans of all ages as they came out to cheer on their classmates and favorite schools.

The scholarship race is a partnership of the New York Sire Stakes, the Harness Horse Breeders of New York, the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association, Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs.

Photo: Jamie Marshall, Jessica Levins, Leanne King, Sonia Nevinger, Lindsay Hilburger (courtesy of Paul White).

A Notre Dame offense propelled by Nick Taylor, Tim McCulley and Andrew Mullen dominated on the gridiron Saturday against Oakfield-Alabama.

With a 32-0 win, the Fighting Irish move to 2-0 while the Hornets top to 0-2.

Taylor carried the ball 15 times for 161 yards and one TD. McCulley tossed a 26-yard TD pass to Charlie Hebert, rushed for a touchdown and returned an interception for a score. He also rushed for 48 yards on seven carries. Mullen scored once on nine carries for 65 yards.

O-A's stats are not available, nor are defense stats.

Head Coach Rick Mancuso said his young team is still learning and needs to take each week of the season day-by-day.

"A lot of kids played in their first varsity game last week," Mancuso said. "Today, they played in their second, so I think we’re getting a little more experience as we go on so we can develop a little bit of an edge and we can get some momentum going through the season."

Oakfield-Alabama has talent -- such as Austin Schroeder, Chase Manzella, Chris Nanni, Ryan Emery and Allen Chatt -- and Mancuso said the Hornets should not be taken lightly.

"I think Brian (Palone) is doing a job with that group of kids," Mancuso said. "He’s got them motivated week-to-week. He’s got them playing very hard. It was not a walk over by any means."

In other local football action this weekend:

• Batavia beat Cardinal O'Hara High School 36-8 and is now 2-0 on the season. Justin Washington carried the ball twice and scored both times. Andrew Budlong had nine carries for 77 yards and one TD. Brandon Stevenson rushed for 74 yards and a TD. Nick Canzoneri carried the ball 10 times for 49 yards and scored once. Zac Bromley kicked four successful PATs.
• Le Roy dominated on offense and defense for the second week in a row, beating Warsaw Central School 42-0. Warsaw (0-2) was held to 99 yards of offense. Ryan McQuillen had four receptions for 115 yards and a TD. Dylan Johnson rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Peter Privitera scored twice with 57 yards on the ground. Johnson had seven tackles and Zack Fitzsimmons had five.
• Elba/Byron-Bergen (2-0) beat Pembroke 43-0 (0-2), jumping to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter. Zack DuBois had another solid game, rushing for 264 yards, scoring four times on runs of 58, 69, 59 and 35 yards. Zac Gillard tossed two TDs, one for 60 yards, completing four passes on seven attempts for 127 yards. Receiver Kyle Morse caught three passes for 97 yards, including that 60-yard TD pass from Gillard. For Pembroke, QB Tyler Bruning was 6-12 for 42 yards. Andy Underhill had 14 tackles for the Lancers, with 11 more for Nate Jonathan.
• Alexander (1-1) beat Finney 29-8.

Reminder: Each of the next two weekends, I'll be traveling so won't be able to cover any games.

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The Notre Dame girls softball team got a homecoming befitting state champions Saturday night with a police and fire escort from the Thruway, down Oak Street, east, then west on Main Street and finally down Woodward to the parking lot of their school.

The girls swept two games in Queensbury Saturday to become the state's Class D champions.

It's the third straight year the softball team had a chance at a title and it turned out truly to be a case of the third time's the charm.

"It took a lot of heart and dedication, waking up super early, getting to practice before games, hitting, throwing, the whole thing," Kaylin Young said. "It was definitely worth it."

In the semi-final game, the Fighting Irish beat Hamilton 9-2, but the championship game was much tighter with Notre Dame (19-7) taking a 1-0 victory over Deposit.

"We were the visiting team so I was the lead-off hitter and I got two early strikes," Laurie Call said. "I'm thinking, 'oh, my gosh,' and then I got a single. Then I just remember each time something bad happened, I just had to tell my adrenaline to go back down and make sure I'm focused on the game and not to worry about the state title. It's just another game."

It's the first state title in softball for Notre Dame.

"It means an awful lot to the Notre Dame community and the family that is Notre Dame," Coach Rick Mancuso said. "We're very proud of the girls and we would like to thank the community for coming out tonight, welcoming us as the newest state champions."

The newest state champions were greeted at the Thruway exit by Engine 12 and Ladder 15 of the Batavia Fire Department and three Batavia patrol cars. With lights and sirens, the caravan of players, parents and fans paraded through the city with dozens and dozens of people turning out along Main Street to cheer for the team.

Laurie said the city's greeting was really overwhelming.

"It’s really, finally like all that weightlifting you've been doing, all those pitches you’ve taken in the legs, like everything finally means something and you just kind of want to stop and cry," Laurie said.

The Notre Dame Girls Softball Team won the Far West Regional Championship today after defeating Forestville Central High School, 7-2.

Carly Pike fanned 10 and surrendered only five hits.

The team is now 19-7 on the season.

Notre Dame now moves on to the state semi-finals.

Photo submitted by Scott Grefrath.

Behind the four-hit performances of Laurie Call and Kendra Wall, the Notre Dame Girls Softball Team powered its way to an 11-1 win over DeSales in the quarter final game of the state Class D tournament.

The Fighting Irish, hungry for a state championship, will face Forestville at Monroe Community Colleg on Tuesday. Game time is 5 p.m.

The Notre Dame baseball team didn't fair as well, dropping a Class DD sectional title game to Arkport, 3-2, on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Batavia Blue Devils took a swing at a third-straight attempt to win a Class A Section V title, but dropped the Saturday game (a make-up for a rainout on Friday) to Honeoye Falls-Lima, 7-1.

The Notre Dame Girls Softball Team won the Class D1 Section V championship tonight in Keshequa by beating Arkport 17-14. 

Photo submitted by Linda Bartlett.

Pembroke eked out a narrow victory over Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Mock Trial Tournament Wednesday.

The four remaining teams faced off in Warsaw.

While Pembroke won on points against Notre Dame (101 to 99), splitting the match 1-1, Attica beat Warsaw handily, 124 to 88, taking both sides (prosecution and defense) of the match.

Pembroke and Attica will square off at 5:30 p.m., Monday, in the Genesee County Courthouse with Judge Robert C. Noonan on the bench.

Which ever team wins Monday, it will be the first time in the history of the local tournament that a team other than Batavia won. Batavia went 1-3 in early competition and was knocked out before the quarterfinals.

The photos in this post are of the Notre Dame and Pembroke teams.

Notre Dame team members: Meghan Zickl, Anneliese Aliasso, Andrew Fischer, Matthew Sausher, Kendra Wall, John Lapple, Ariana Aliasso, Rosalie Mortellaro, Jake Krajewski, Brittany Perzia, Caleb Nellis, James Spear, Anna Arner, Natalie Mouton, Katie Fischer, Andrew Cheverie and Rosemary Fulmerfeld.

Pembroke team members: Dean Cullinan, Patrick Burns, Joelle Fugle, Cale Fryer, Rachel Seweryniak, Andrew Renolds, Brett Jones, Brandon Kohorst, Bea Reiner, Christian Burns, Eva Reda-Kenrick, Karen Globm, Justin Sformo and Sabrina Sanner.

Previously: Batavia knocked out of Mock Trial Tournament early; four teams left to vie for title

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Sackets Harbor beat Notre Dame today in the semi-finals of the boys basketball tournament in Glens Falls.

The final score: 50 to 40.

It's only the second loss of the season for the Fighting Irish, who won their first Section V title since 2001 and the Western Regional title.

Genesee County will be well represented in the 8th Annual Scotty Bowman Showcase, a hockey tournament sponsored by the Buffalo Sabres, with five local players making the junior and senior squads.

Named to the teams are three players from Notre Dame High School-- Zach Blew, Tyler Kessler and Brett Perfitt -- and two from Batavia HS -- Tom Grammatico and Josh Marr.

The games will be played March 20 at First Niagara Center. Tickets for the event are $5.

The first game begins at 6 p.m. and pits all-star squads from Buffalo and Rochester made up of players in their junior year of high school.

The senior game is at 7:30 p.m. and the winner of that match will be awarded the Bowman Cup. Buffalo has a 6-1 advantage in the tournament.

All five Batavia-area players will be on the Rochester teams.

Scotty Bowman, a former head coach, notched more NHL wins than any coach in history. The coach will be on hand to present the Bowman Cup to the winning team.

Notre Dame Head Coach was also named a Bowman team coach.

Sparked by Tim McCulley, who scored 21 points, and Doane McCulley, who added 16, the Fighting Irish advanced to the state semi-finals Saturday with a win over Panama in a Western Regional Championship match in Buffalo.

Notre Dame won 62-51.

On Friday, the Irish will face Sackets Harbor in a state semi-finals match at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

Photos from the game by Bare Antolos.

Top photo is of Doane McCulley.

Tim McCulley

Jared Thornton

Jared Midwick

Zach Hotze

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame beat the Section VI champion, Panama, on Saturday by a score of 62-51 and will now advance to the state championship semi-final round.

Doane McCulley was named player of the game.

We anticipate having some pictures from the game to publish later.

For the third time in three meetings in 2012, Notre Dame beat Elba in boys basketball, but this time the game determined the Class D1 Section V champion.

It's the first sectional win for Notre Dame since 2001.

"They all laugh at me because I always say, 'you gotta dance with the girl you brought,' " said Coach Mike Rapone. "That's an old-timers saying, but we're not going to change anything. We're going to do what got us here."

After two previous meetings, both teams had to make adjustments, Rapone said.

"I give Elba a lot of credit," Rapone said. "They knew what we wanted to do and took a lot away from us."

Notre Dame (20-1) took a lead early, and though Elba (18-3) was often nipping at their lead, it wasn't until 3:42 left in the game that the Lancers held a 40-39 lead.

But after Doane McCulley hit a lay up and Zach Hotze sunk a three-pointer, Notre Dame didn't look back, holding on for a 50-45 point victory.

Zach Hotze and Tim McCulley had 16 points each for the Fighting Irish. Jared Thornton added 12 points.

"We're fortunate we hit our big shots when we had to," Rapone said.

One of the goals of the Irish, Rapone said, was to take the three-point play away from Dan Ramsey, whom Rapone said is one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the section.

Dan Ramsey was held to eight points for the game.

For the Lancers, Matt Ramsey had 14 points, Mike Ramsey nine. Mike Ramsey added nine rebounds.

The historic back-to-back championship match-ups between Elba and Notre Dame, with the Elba girls defeating the Notre Dame girls Friday night, was big for both schools.

"I don’t think it gets any better in small-school basketball than Notre Dame and Elba," Rapone said.

It's been a fun season at Notre Dame, according to Rapone, between the two basketball teams and the hockey team winning its Section V championship last week (the Irish skaters lost a regional playoff game Saturday night).

"We have a lot of school spirit and it’s been the most amazing winter ever," Rapone said. "I mean, the girls play for a championship, the boys make that miraculous run in hockey, everybody’s on cloud nine."

The Irish will face DeSales in a regional playoff game on Tuesday night.

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As we reported last night, Elba girls beat Notre Dame on Friday night, 44-33, to take the Section V title.

Photos in this post submitted by Bare Antolos.

Tonight, Notre Dame beat Elba for the boys Section V title. We'll have pictures and a story in the morning.

In hockey, Notre Dame lost their regional game tonight.

Intra-county rivals Elba and Notre Dame met in Letchworth tonight for a Section V title clash and the Lancers came out on top 44-33.

On Saturday, at 3 p.m., the Elba and Notre Dame boys teams will meet for the Section V title in Rochester.

As far as anybody knows, according to WBTA, it's the first time two schools from the same county clashed for a Section V title in both boys and girls basketball.

The Batavian will cover Saturday's game.

We expect some picture's from Friday's game later.

Playing a number-two seed with a reputation for getting physical and skating fast, Notre Dame Head Coach Marc Staley had a plan: Bottle up the neutral zone and force Churchville-Chili to pass.

"We forced them to dump the puck," Staley said. "They don’t want to dump the puck and grind it out. They want to score on the rush and use their speed. We took their speed out of it."

For three periods, the eight-seeded Fighting Irish skated as a team, and when they got power play opportunities in the third period, they made the most of it, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-2 victory and a Class B Section V crown.

Josh Johnston scored all three third-period goals, giving him seven total for the post-season, and securing the game's MVP trophy.

"We came in thinking, 'we’re not the underdogs,' " Johnston said. "Clearly, seeding-wise we were, but we just stuck together as a family and played together as hard as we could."

Three post-season wins have moved the once break-even Irish to 11-8-3 and a chance to play for a regional title.

"Nobody thought much of us three or four weeks ago, but we pulled this thing together," Staley said. "As we put one good game against another good game against another good game, these kids feel like a completely different team than they did three weeks ago. I’ve seen that transformation and it’s been very special to be a part of it."

The first goal in the game for Notre Dame came with 1:11 left in the second period on a shot by Zack Blew to tie the score at 1-1.

Johnston scored on a power play at 7:47 in the final period. Seconds after the next faceoff, Johnson scored again to make the score 3-1.

The nail in the coffin for the Saints (16-4-3) came with under two minutes left in the game, only 13 seconds after Churchville-Chili pulled into a point of a tie on a goal by Dan Kuter.

Tyler Kessler zipped a pass to Johnston who was skating just ahead of his defender giving him a one-on-one match with goalie Dylan Niewiemski.

Johnston faked to his left, and then flipped the puck from his right past the outstretched glove of Niewiemski, giving Johnston the hat trick and putting the game pretty much out of reach with time quickly winding down.

"We've been practicing that blow-out play," Staley said. "We always like to run this play right after a big emotional play because you tend to have a let down. They scored that one goal, we called that play, Kessler picks it up, hits Hosh and we go right back after them.

"Sometimes the best defense is to throw another punch," Staley added.

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The Fighting Irish won! The Notre Dame Boys Hockey Team beat Churchville this afternoon 4 to 2 to nab the Section V championship. Josh Johnston scored three goals.

The Fighting Irish just won their semi-final hockey game, played at Monroe Community College, against Irondequoit by a score of 2-1.

Mason Versage shot the game-winning goal at 5:36 in overtime.

We're expecting to have a few pictures and more information available later, hopefully tonight.

UPDATE 11:32 p.m.: Received a message from Coach Marc Staley. This is the third time in 20 years Notre Dame hockey advances to the Section V title game, which will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at RIT against Churchville-Chili.  This will be the first time in Section V hockey history that the #8 seed has made it to the finals. "Cinderella still has the slippers on!" Staley said.

UPDATE 11:52 p.m.: Photo added, Versage scores the winning goal. Photo by Bare Antolos.