Sports

Notre Dame and Batavia High alums will be getting together to play some basketball and raise money for a good cause on Saturday, November 29 at Notre Dame.

The Hometown Hoops for Hope game will feature Batavia and Notre Dame grads battling each other on the court.

The game is going to be held to raise money for the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, which is set up in honor of Michael Napoleone, who passed away from Burkitt's Lymphoma/Leukemia.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is just $2 at the door.

From the Batavia Muckdogs:

Today, Red Wings Management, LLC announced that Travis Sick and Casey Freeman will accept new positions as general managers of the NY-Penn League champion Batavia Muckdogs’ front office.  Mr. Sick and Mr. Freeman were both instrumental in running the operation throughout the 2008 season.

Freeman, 31, joined the Muckdogs in May as the Director of Food and Beverage.  In that capacity, he was responsible for the significant upgrade to the food service operation at Dwyer Stadium.  Freeman’s background is in food and facility management.  He studied Hotel Resort Management at Finger Lakes Community College and earned a B.S. in Sport Studies at St. John Fisher College.  He performed an internship with the Red Wings organization in 2003.  Freeman will become the General Manager of Stadium Operations, effective November 11th.

Sick, 23, spent the 2008 season as Director of Ticket Operations for the Muckdogs, after joining the team in April.  Travis was born in Wayland, New York and attended Wayland-Cohocton Central School. He graduated from St. John Fisher College with a B.S. in both Sport Management and Business Management.  Travis was an intern with the Rochester Red Wings organization in 2007, working in the Group Sales and Promotions departments. He will become the General Manager of Baseball Operations November 11th.

In their new capacities, both gentlemen will sell group tickets and advertising, with Sick’s additional focus being on marketing, public relations and baseball matters , and Freeman’s on concessions, merchandise, website and stadium management.

“I am excited about the opportunity that we’ve been given,” said Travis Sick.  “We’re both very eager to get out there and start doing the job we know we can do for this franchise.  We’ve spent a season getting to know Batavia and its people, and I am confident we will do a job that will make the community proud.   This is a great time to be with an organization - coming off a championship season.  I can’t imagine it being any better.”

Casey Freeman added “We’ve learned a lot this past year, and will continue to learn.  But this is a job that we are both well prepared for and looking forward to.  We understand that there will be challenges in turning this into a high functioning franchise, but we like the enthusiasm we see in this town. I just returned from a New York Penn League meeting, and my goal is to bring this franchise up to the level of some of the other successful franchises in our league.  The other teams are very supportive of our efforts and they promise they will do all they can to share insight into their success. With that and the support of the Red Wings, we certainly have a great start.”

“We are very pleased to be able to retain these two fine young baseball executives within our organization”, stated Naomi Silver, Chairman of the Board of Red Wings Management and the Rochester Red Wings, its parent company.  “They did an outstanding job for us this past season and we are confident that they will be effective in their respective areas of responsibility.  These are two individuals who have a good working knowledge of how a baseball organization should run, and they each have a genuine interest in providing the fans and sponsors of Muckdogs baseball with a quality experience.  They will do what is necessary to grow this franchise.”

Both men will continue to work closely with Red Wings’ General Manager, Dan Mason.  “I see real talent in these two gentlemen.  They both know that it takes a lot of heart and a lot of hard work to make an organization a success.  They have skills and a work ethic that is critical to our line of work, and they love their jobs.  I think they both have very bright futures, and I am very pleased to be able to keep them both on our staff”, said Mason.

The Muckdogs front office will be launching a significant sales initiative this month in anticipation of a very positive public response following the capture of the New York Penn League Championship.  Mr. Mason stated “An organization can wait years for the kind of success we had on the field in our first year running this team.  The fan response has been really great.  It is an exciting time in this franchise’s history, and that of this community.  To have gone from the team almost disappearing to being the best in the League is incredible. Experience tells us that the year following a championship is always a big year and Travis and Casey are ready for that job.”

We were wondering when the Muckdogs would make their appearance in the Holland Land Office Museum's countdown of the Twenty-Five Things that Made Genesee County Famous. Well, they've made it. They broke the top ten. They come in at No. 9.

So we all know why we here in Genesee County love the Muckdogs—and we loved them all the more after the brought home the league title this summer. But how do the 'Dawgs make Genesee County famous?

Here's Pat Weissend, director of the Holland Land Office Museum:

Although Batavia is one of the smallest cities in America to have a Minor League franchise, the team consistently ranks near the top of the merchandise sold list. More than 100 Little League and softball teams across the country use Muckdogs as their team name.

Not to mention the world champs:

Many major leaguers began their professional careers in Batavia including World Series champions and current members of the Philadelphia Phillies Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Kyle Kendrick, Ryan Madson and JA Happ. National media outlets visited Batavia in 1998 when Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams played left field for the team. Some of the early Batavia greats were Jack Tighe, Dick Fowler, Manny Sanguillen and Doc Ellis. Clarence (Cito) Gaston led Batavia and the league in homers and runs batted in while playing for the 1966 Trojans. Gaston won two World Series as the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1990s.

Congrats, Muckdogs!

OK, now that we're getting near the top of the list, it's time to start making some predictions. Surely, William Morgan will crack the top five. Bill Kauffman has got to be up there, too, as someone who has quite consciously made Genesee County famous with his book: Dispatches from the Muckdog Gazette. A controversy over a transgender science teacher at a Batavia city school has to be at least number three.

What do you think? What's your number one?

Be sure to keep your browser tuned to the Holland Land Office Museum in the coming weeks. We could see our number one by the end of the year.

On an unusually warm Friday`night in early November what better place to be than Paetec Park watching two of Western New York’s finest football teams slug it out for the Section V class C championship.

Squaring off were two perennial powers: the LeRoy Oatkan Knights and the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets.

The highly anticipated contest resulted in a large turnout of supporters for both teams, both on the field and in the stands.

Bill “Bilko” Pangrazio, a LeRoy native and twenty-four year member of the chain gang for the Oatkan Knights was working the sticks for this contest.

“This is the best seat in the house”, he said in reference to being on the sidelines for the game. When asked about the quality of this years Oatkan grid squad he added, “This team lost 17 starters from last years state finals team. They remind me of the 1998 team.” The admiration he felt for this year’s edition was obvious.

Lynn Gehlert works days as an instructor at the Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School. On this Friday evening she came out to support the Hornets and take sideline photographs as she does at all their games. “I still have siblings in school. My sister Michelle dates Brad (O-A running back Riner) so the whole family turns out for games.”

In what was a see-saw battle for most of the game, bursts of crowd noise alternated, with roars erupting first from one side of the field then the other. Both teams - or towns in this case - were equally loud.

Kelly Kowalcyzk, whose son Tyler plays offensive and defensive end for the Hornets, saw O-A quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck drop back to pass. She then turned and said to a fan seated beside her, “My son can’t catch the ball.” She turned in time to see Tyler catch a thirty yard touchdown pass in the end zone.

“This is more of a battle than last weeks game” she said in regard to some hard hitting and several lead changes. “Right now I think they’re playing for Tim”, she concluded, referring to O-A running back Tim Smith who was injured in a collision with LeRoy’s Travis Fenstermaker.

LeRoy’s next score gave them a lead they would not relinquish and the LeRoy faithful sensed the end was near. Among them were Steven Dumbleton and his son Steven Jr. Young Dumbleton plays for the LeRoy Jayvees and came to cheer on the varsity. “We’re here with everyone else in the stands to support the varsity team.” said his father. “The kids have a good coach and they respect each other.” he said in regards to LeRoy’s winning tradition.

While both teams gave their supporters much to cheer about, in the end it was the Oatka Knights who walked away with the sectional title. Still, its hard to imagine there could have been a loser in a game such as this. Both teams left it all out on the field.

 The Le Roy football team had allowed Don "Hooks" Robertson to hold the Section 5 championship trophy the last two seasons.

He didn't physically get to hold it this year, but he was without a doubt celebrating with the Oatkan Knights after Le Roy beat Oakfield-Alabama 27-17 in the Class C finals Friday night at PAETEC Park.

Robertson passed away last summer from cancer and Le Roy had the goal of winning the championship for him.

The game was an epic battle between two undefeated teams, with a lot of defense early in the game and a lot of offense after the half.

The Hornets forced Le Roy into a three-and-out on the opening possession of the game and then went executed the offensive game plan to perfection. O-A marched 66 yards on 16 plays, with Tim Smith breaking off a 32-yard run early in the drive. The eight minute long drive resulted in three points when Jon Fisher nailed a 27-yard field goal.

But the Oatkan Knights answered right back.

Travis Fenstermaker hooked up with Mike Humphrey on a 25-yard pass, and the 50-yard drive resulted in a score when Andrew Alexander dove in from a yard out. The extra point made the score 7-3.

Smith had a big return, but O-A had to punt the ball away.

Early in Le Roy's next drive, Smith was knocked out of the game when Fenstermaker took off on a scramble and hit him full-force. Smith's helmet was turned around, he attempted to get but flopped back down.

Smith - O-A's leading rusher - was diagnosed with a concussion and was obviously not coming back in the game.

Fenstermaker and Humphrey hooked up on another long pass, but this time the receiver, who was given the MVP award after the game, fumbled the ball away.

Oakfield-Alabama couldn't score and it was 7-3 at the break.

After Jason Stanley popped off a 20-yard run, the Hornets started off a series of scoring with a play-action touchdown pass. A.J. Kehlenbeck faked the hand-off and lofted a ball up fro Tyler Kowalczyk, who hauled in the 30-yarder for a score. That gave O-A a 10-7 advantage.

Fenstermaker then found Humphrey and he took it 54-yards for a touchdown, and the Hornets answered right back with a score when Stanley broke a 57-yard run, meaning Oakfield-Alabama had a 17-13 lead after three quarters of play.

The Oatkan Knights took the lead back when Fenstermaker hooked up with Quentin Humphrey on two passes, including a fourth-and-7, and John Casper scored a 1-yard touchdown.

Then, the biggest play of the game happened.

Le Roy was kicking off and bounced the ball off of one of the up-men, then recovered the onside kick.

Alexander caught a 26-yard touchdown pass with just five minutes left, giving the Oatkan Knights the 10-point lead.

O-A moved the ball a bit, but eventually turned it over on downs, meaning Le Roy wrapped up its 14th sectional title. 

And, they did it for Hooks.

John Koenig of O-A and Andrew Miller of Le Roy were given the sportsmanship award and Le Roy's Eric Stella was the game's top offensive lineman.

Fenstermaker, who had 28 rushing yards and went 15-of-19 passing for 201 yards and two touchdowns, was the game's most outstanding offensive back.

O-A's Chris Williams was the top defensive lineman and Derek Hicks was the top defensive back.

Humphrey was the MVP, catching 12 passes for 153 yards and the touchdown.

 I didn't know who the older man that was always at Le Roy practices for a few years. All I knew was that he seemed very nice and the kids liked him.

A few years back, he came up to me and shook my hand. He told me how much he appreciated what I did for the kids and how much he enjoyed reading my previews and coverage of Le Roy football.

That was the beginning of my relationship with Don "Hooks" Robertson.

I spend a lot of time at Le Roy games and practices during football season because it is the top program in this area, so I have gotten to know a lot of great people over the years.

Hooks is one of the most special.

I wrote a story about him in 2006 when he was battling cancer, and we became sort-of practice buddies after that. When the Oatkan Knights won the Class C title that year, the team gave the trophy to Hooks outside of the locker rooms at PAETEC Park, and the man was in his glory.

He had been through a lot, fighting off lung, throat, neck and back cancer. But when the kids that won that title showed him how much they appreciated what he had done, it was enough to render him speechless and make the tears stream down his face.

"It was a total shock to me," Robertson told me days after the contest. "I was thinking more about the kids and winning, not myself. I couldn't believe they gave me the trophy. Football is in my blood and I just broke down."

Hooks was back on the sidelines in 2007, and seemed to be in fairly good health. But the cancer had come back, not that he would ever talk about it. He always talked to me about football and the kids.

He passed away this summer.

I remember hearing that his days were numbered and wanted to get out and see him one last time. I had just had the first of two Carpal Tunnel surgeries when I heard his time was getting close. My second surgery came on the day that he died.

There were complications with the surgery and I was in a lot of pain. But I found myself thinking about Hooks more than the  minor health problems I was dealing with.

I never made it out to the funeral. It killed me, but I couldn't drive and getting a ride wound up being impossible. But in my mind, I was there.

Hooks is still with the Le Roy football team. Not physically, but so many players and coaches on that team have had special relationships with him that it is impossible for them not to think about him as Le Roy plays Oakfield-Alabama in the Class C finals Friday night.

I was never able to write about Hooks because of the surgery. But as the Oatkan Knights go into the finals, I find myself missing a good friend. Heck, I barely knew the man and I know how special he was. Just a good guy that loved Le Roy football and the kids that put in the effort. I couldn't even imagine what those close to him are feeling.

I put together a video that includes conversations with quarterback Travis Fenstermaker and coach Brian Moran, along with some amazing video of his grandson - Brock Pasquale - giving him the game ball after scoring a touchdown in the playoffs.

(special thank you to Ed Henry from www.leroyfootball.com for some video footage and photos) 

 Oakfield-Alabama (9-0) vs. Le Roy (9-0)

6 p.m. Friday, PAETEC Park

Oakfield-Alabama coach John Dowd has been saying for years that he wants to see his program have the wins, the respect and titles that Le Roy has.

There have been a couple Section 5 titles in there, and a couple of trips beyond sectionals, into the state tournament. But there is still a bunch of work to be done to catch up to Le Roy's 13 sectional championships.

Dowd's team, with its powerful double-wing offensive system that drives defenses crazy, will have to beat the Oatkan Knights Friday night to claim a Class C championship and get closer to the level he's looking to reach.

O-A does not have the numbers Le Roy does and that will be evident when you take a look on the sidelines. The Hornets have a small coaching staff, and about 25 players on the squad. The Oatkan Knights will have over 40 players dressed and a larger coaching staff than some Division III college teams.

It is tough to call a team that is 9-0 and ranked sixth in the state an underdog, but you kind of have to when they are playing another 9-0 squad that is ranked second in the state and has one of the most storied histories of any program in the state.

The Hornets have been great in recent years, making the Class D finals in 2003 while winning the title in 2004 and 2006.

But the Oatkan Knights have 13 sectional championships, including 12 under the direction of coach Brian Moran.

The game features two big, physical offensive lines and that might be the biggest advantage Oakfield-Alabama has as Chris Williams and Craig Campbell were all-state linemen two years ago.

The Hornets will attempt to pound the ball with the double-wing, take time off the clock and capitalize with touchdowns. Eight minute drives resulting in points in the best way to keep Le Roy's offense off the field.

The Oatkan Knights will try to stop O-A on first and second down and force them to pass on third-and-long situations.

Tim Smith and Brad Riner have been a great one-two punch carrying the football, with Smith currently at 1,040 yards with 16 touchdowns and Riner at 890 yards with 12 TDs.

Le Roy will be doing the opposite on the offensive side of the ball.

Class C Offensive Player of the Year Travis Fenstermaker and wide receiver Mike Humphrey will look to attack an Oakfield-Alabama defense that is great at stopping the run, but has been passed on in a couple of recent games. Pembroke moved the ball through the air in Week 6 and Dansville had a lot of success in the opening round of sectionals.

Fenstermaker has 1,030 yards passing with 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions and Humphrey has caught 37 passes for 592 yards and 11 TDs.

Running back Andrew Alexander is coming off a 300-plus yard rushing performance against Letchworth in the semifinals, and will still get plenty of touches. He has 1,347 yards rushing with 13 touchdowns.

There isn't much of a history between these two teams. The last time they matched up was in 1999 in the Class C finals, with Le Roy winning 34-3.

 The Batavia Muckdogs won the New York-Pennsylvania League title this past season with a sweep of Jamestown. It was Batavia's first championship since 1963.

Now the honors come rolling in.

Manager Mark DeJohn was named St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Manager of the Year by Scout.com for guiding the Muckdogs to the title.

"“To be very honest with you, I would put it right up there as probably one of my most rewarding years that I’ve spent in the game,” DeJohn told Scout.com.

It is DeJohn's second season in Batavia and the second year the Cardinals have been the parent organization of the Muckdogs.

Pitcher Scott Gorgen was named 2008 Minor League Rookie Starter of the Year after going 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA for the Muckdogs.

Adam Reifer was as good as they come in the closer role, making 23 saves for Batavia, including a 1 2/3 inning save in the championship win. He was named the 2008 Minor League Rookie Reliever of the Year in the Cardinal organization.

Everybody knew Travis Fenstermaker was going to be a good quarterback for the Le Roy football team. But it is almost impossible to imagine the season that he has had for the 9-0, second-ranked team in the state.

Because of his incredible season, he was just named Section 5 Class C Offensive Player of the Year.

The senior has completed 64-of-108 pass attempts for 1,030 yards, including 18 touchdown passes compared to just three interceptions.

He has also ran the ball 87 times for 425 yards and four touchdowns, is sixth on the team in tackles and handles all of the kicking and punting duties.

He is 20-1 as a starting quarterback in his high school career.

The Oatkan Knights will be playing Oakfield-Alabama in the sectional finals Friday night at PAETEC Park.