Attica

 Daily News sportswriter Alanna Stage previews all of the local wrestling tournaments this weekend on the Daily's Web site today.

Batavia will be hosting its 35th Christmas Tournament and is looking to repeat after winning it for the first time in 16 years last season.

Attica hosts the 2nd annual Sgt. Richard Romesser Attica Blue Devils Dual Meet Challenge. Nine teams will compete in a dual-meet, round-robin style tournament.

Holley swept the Holley Team Tournament last year and has won the tournament 13 out of 15 times.

From the Batavia City School District:

Students at Attica Central School donated 150 holiday ornaments to the patients of United Memorial Medical Center.  Children in Mrs. Goliszek and Mrs. Nowak’s fourth grade classes created candy cane reindeer ornaments for hospital patients as part of a project to demonstrate compassion, the theme for the month of December. The goal of the project is to provide compassion to friends and neighbors who are unable to be home for the holidays.

The ornaments will be placed on patient meal trays at United Memorial where they will certainly brighten the spirits of those who are hospitalized during the holiday season.

Over 600 ornaments were completed by the students and donated to United Memorial, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and Wyoming County Community Health in Warsaw. Attica Middle School students annually donate pillowcases to United Memorial’s Pediatric Department which they make using fun juvenile fabrics.

Attica's Dylan Dabolt made it to the quarterfinals at the University at Buffalo Open to start the season.

The UB sophomore lost to Joe Langel of Rutgers in the quarters, but has not had any results posted on the UB Web site since.

He had a 3-4 dual meet record and an 8-10 overall record as a freshman according to Dabolt's UB profile. 

He won the B bracket at the NYS Collegiate Championships at 125 pounds with a win over Army's Lance Penhale.

Dabolt - a pharmacy major - was a three-year captain for the Blue Devils and had a 40-6 record as a senior. He had 172 victories while wrestling for Attica. The three-time sectional champion earned All-American honors in high school twice.

Former Attica star Derek Wolfley's only two points in a loss to Fairfield 78-76 on Sunday was nice enough to be called "nifty" on the Iona basketball Web site.

Here is what was written in the story:

Iona jumped out to an 12-8 lead a little more than five minutes into the game on a nifty layup by freshman Derek Wolfley off a feed from teammate Devon Clarke at the 14:58 mark. 

Wolfley is averaging 7.8 minutes per game with one point and one rebound per game for the 2-5 Gaels, who wraps up a three-game road trip against Long Island tonight. The game can be heard by clicking the link on this page. 

 A lot of people that follow Genesee Region League basketball had Pembroke, Oakfield-Alabama and Notre Dame is a category all their own - top three teams in the league.

Well, you can throw Attica into the mix after the Blue Devils won a thriller at Pembroke, 52-48, proving that the team can move on from the Derek Wolfley era and be one of the better teams in the league.

Pembroke's Andrew Wright and Attica's Shawn Dupuis had six points apiece in the opening frame with the visiting squad holding a 14-9 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

But by halftime, Attica opened up a 10-point advantage because of some sloppy play by the Dragons. The score was 14-10 before Bryan Thompson scored two consecutive buckets to open things up a bit. This happened when Pembroke big men Andrew Wright and Ken Babcock were trying to avoid serious foul trouble.

The lead got as big as 12 points because Matt Sheffield and Tate Westermeier had back-to-back baskets.

Had Matt Phelps not gotten a steal and basket in the final seconds of the half, the Blue Devils would have been up 12 at the break.

With Sheffield in foul trouble in the third quarter, Pembroke got back in the game.

Wright had seven points in the third quarter and Babcock pitched in six, giving the Dragons a 38-37 lead by the end of the period.

Babcock scored in the first minute of the fourth to give Pembroke its biggest lead, 42-39.

Westermeier had consecutive baskets a few minutes later and the game wound up seeing Attica take a 45-43 lead. Babcock tied the game at 45 with a pair of free throws with 1 1/2 minutes left. 

There was a confusing call just after that when it appeared Sheffield was called for a blocking call, and then it was overturned and the Blue Devils got the ball back.

Attica converted after getting another shot with the ball.

Shawn Dupuis was waving his hands in the air right in front of the Attica bench and he got the ball, knocking in a 3-pointer with just 48 seconds to go.

Pembroke missed a shot, then Attica turned the ball over on an over-and-back call.  

When the Dragons tried to get the ball in the basket for a two--pointer, Dupuis came through again with a blocked shot. He was immediately fouled and hit a pair of free throws, giving Attica a 50-45 lead.

Pembroke's Matt Seward hit a running 3-pointer with just over two seconds on the clock, but Westermeier hit both foul shots at the other end to ice the victory.

Westermeier led all scorers with 20 points, with Thompson getting 16 and Dupuis adding 11 for the Blue Devils (2-2).

Babcock scored 17 points with Wright pitching in 14 for the Dragons.

 For the past three years, Derek Wolfley has been one of the top players in the Genesee Region League and a big reason why the Attica basketball team has had success. 

But now Attica's best player ever is at Iona, where he is playing Division I basketball. He was the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,474 points and had 932 career rebounds.

Life without Wolfley begins this season for the Blue Devils.

While it is no easy task to replace a legend, Attica now has a chance to develop a new identity around some very talented players that aren't in one players shadow anymore.

The most talented of those players is junior guard Tate Westermeier. The 6-foot, 155-pound shooting guard has a natural ability to score and is going to be the focus of the Attica offense.

Westermeier plays basketball year-round and was productive as a sophomore last year, on Attica's 15-6 squad. He even scored 16 points in the season-ending 62-52 loss to Freddie Thomas in the sectional quarterfinals.

While Westermeier is going to be responsible for a lot of the scoring, senior Shawn Dupuis will also be a top option.
 

Wolfley is the biggest name Attica lost from last year, but Dustin Keicher was a solid point guard and the Blue Devils will be filling that role with a pair of sophomores.

Brad Clark looks like the top option to run the point and led the team in scoring during Wednesday's loss to Midlakes. Classmate Zach Fleiss is also going to be running the point.

Even though Attica lost the 6-foot-6 Wolfley, there is still plenty of size in the paint.

Senior Matt Sheffield is 6-foot-5 and Bryan Thompson is 6-foot-2, with both expecting to see a lot of playing time.

The other big man has a familiar name - Craig Wolfley. He is the younger brother of Derek, but is a different type of player.

Derek could pull up and hit jumpers from anywhere with his trim and athletic frame. Craig - a junior - is 6-foot-4 and weighs 242 pounds. He handles the ball well for a big man and is a decent scorer, but doesn't have Derek's scoring ability. Any forward for Attica will have a lot to live up to, but when you share a last name with the school's best player of all time, it can be that much more pressure.

Attica has a long history of sectional playoff failures in the "big 3", but the football team won a quarterfinal game this past fall and the basketball team took notice. They will be trying to win the GR Division I title, and then make some history of their own come playoff time.

This year's Batavia wrestling team has the potential to be one of the best the school has ever had, and the season started off on a very positive note Wednesday.

The Blue Devils beat Victor 35-28 as Batavia had two pins and another tech fall win.

Ryan Darch had a huge pin fall victory at 160 pounds, beating Nick Payne in 1:40. Trey Henderson had the other Batavia pin as he dropped Dakota LaRue in 5:16 at 130 pounds.

Joe Muoio had the tech fall victory at 135 pounds, taking care of Matt Acquilano 17-0.

You can see the rest of the results here.

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After dropping its season opener, the Pembroke boys basketball team has gotten hot, winning the next two games.

The Dragons thumped visiting Holley Wednesday night 53-34 as Ken Babcock scored 14 points and pulled down 15 boards to lead the way.

Andrew Wright scored a game-high 16 points with Matt Phelps pitching in nine.

Holley lost its season opener and was led by Jeff Lutes, who scored 10 points. Brian Mitchell added nine. 

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No player scored in double figures for Attica as the Blue Devils lost a road game at Midlakes 54-34.

Brad Clark had nine points with Tate Westermeier and Craig Wolfley adding eight apiece.

Derek Reafsnyder had 15 points to pace Midlakes (1-0).

Attica falls to 1-2.

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A total of five Holley wrestlers pinned Alexander grapplers as the Hawks scored an easy 61-17 win.

Defending state champion Quenton Murphy led the way with a :58 pin over Brandon Toporczyk at 125 pounds.

Tim Banks, Dillon Murphy, Kyle Steadman and Sean Baylor had the other pins for the Hawks, who improve to 1-0 while the Trojans dip to 0-2.

 Three Genesee Region League teams will tip-off the high school boys basketball season Friday night in tournament play.

Alexander is hosting a tournament and will be playing Geneseo at 7 p.m. Wellsville and Livonia are the other two squads in the tourney and are scheduled to play at 3 p.m.

The winners will be in the finals on Saturday.

Wheatland-Chili is in the Northstar Tournament and Attica will be in the Warsaw Tournament.

Attica grad Derek Wolfley only played two minutes in his college debut.

But he spent a lot more time on the floor in his second game and his Iona basketball team thumped Valparaiso 75-55 Saturday night.

Wolfley played 15 minutes and went 0-for-1 shooting the basketball, but had an assist and two blocked shots. 

 Former Attica star Derek Wolfley made his NCAA Division I basketball debut last night for Iona.

He actually started the game for the Gaels, playing the first two minutes of the game.

Wolfley had a turnover and a personal foul. Iona nearly surprised No. 24 ranked Wisconsin, leading during regulation. But Wisconsin came back and tied the game at 52 in regulation.

The Badgers went on to win 60-58 in overtime.

Iona falls to 1-1.

A pair of local athletes suffered some pretty serious injuries during the Section 5 playoffs and I've got updates on both.

Attica's Andy Ruddock was knocked out of the Class B semifinals contest with Bath. He had some tests last week and tore his ACL. He will be in a cast for six weeks and hopefully can get back to playing football in the future.

(UPDATE: Ruddock actually went to the doctor today and received some great news. What was thought to be a torn ACL, is actually a stress fracture in his tibia. He will be in a brace for two weeks while doing rehab. The injury is significantly less severe and he will be just fine for baseball season)

Oakfield-Alabama's Tim Smith was knocked out of the Class C title game when trying to tackle Le Roy's Travis Fenstermaker. The hit looked very serious and Smith was in rough shape. He was diagnosed with a concussion and did not return to the game. Coach John Dowd confirmed that he is doing well and should be good to go for basketball season.

 Attica (5-3) vs. Bath (7-1)

6 p.m. Sunday, at PAETEC Park

Not many people thought Attica stood a chance against East Rochester/Gananda last weekend in the opening round of the Class B playoffs.

After all, the Blue Devils have never had success in the playoffs.

But Jeff Cusmano and his coaching staff came up with the perfect plan to keep the ball out of Neil Dotterer's hands and shocked Section 5 with an 18-0 win over East Rochester/Gananda.

That game was the Andy Ruddock show as the senior pounded the ball 37 times for 164 yards and his Blue Devils easily won the time of possession battle.

Ruddock has carried the ball 141 times for 1,098 yards and 10 touchdowns this season and the GR all-star has defined the term featured back. He will get relief on occasion from Nate Berry, who has picked up 272 yards on 30 attempts. Luke Pariso (144 yards) and Dave Jennings (130) are both over 100 yards rushing as well.

The reason Ruddock had so many carries last week was because of the strategy to keep the ball away from the high-powered ER/Gananda passing offense.

The Blue Devils are facing a totally different type of squad this week.

Running back Andre McCloud has almost 4,000 career rushing yards and has so far gained 1,118 yards and scored 17 touchdowns this season. He gained 1,489 yards with an incredible 28 TDs as a junior.

A big-physical offensive line opens holes for a pair of other backs other than McCloud. Cody Hutcheson has 100 carries for 720 yards and nine scores with quarterback Jake Kuver adding 415 yards and three TDs.

Kuver is not a huge passer, but has hit on 31-of-64 attempts for 4-2 yards and three touchdowns. Two have gone to McCloud, who has seven receptions for 196 yards.

Oh yeah, and McCloud has also tossed a touchdown pass, going 1-for-1 passing for 62 yards. That halfback option play could be in the playbook.

Attica stresses defense first and has had two Defensive Players of the Week this season. Kevin Gallinger received the honor in Week 6 and Jennings won the award this past week. Gallinger has 54 tackles and Jennings has 48, with the squad being led by Pariso's 64 tackles and three fumble recoveries.

They will have their hands full this week.

Bath's defense is also pretty good as junior T.C. Carroll has 87 tackles and is second all-time in the school's history for career tackles.

That unit will obviously be looking to slow Ruddock so that quarterback Brandon Rollins is forced to beat them. Rollins has completed 57-of-89 attempts for 802 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

His main target is Shawn Dupuis, who has caught 28 balls for 553 yards and eight TDs.

Bath is ranked ninth in the state for Class B while Attica has not received any votes.

You would expect a game between a fourth and fifth seeded team to be close. That was the case in the Section 5 Class B playoffs Wednesday.

Katie Boxler led No. 4 Attica to a 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 25-19 victory over No. 5 Waterloo in quarterfinals action.

Boxler had 19 kills, nine aces and 16 assists in the marathon game as the Blue Devils improve to 15-5.

Margret Lefleur pitched in 11 kills and eight digs.

Waterloo ends up 10-10. 

Le Roy and Byron-Bergen both cruised to easy three set victories while Batavia was knocked out of the Class BB playoffs by Aquinas 27-25, 22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 23-25.

You can see the results of all of today's sectional volleyball action here.