football

In every hard-fought football game, there's usually a turning point -- it may not decide the game, but it seems to seal the fate of one team or the other.

Late in the fourth quarter Friday, with about four minutes to play, and Elba/Byron-Bergen down by nine points, and seemingly in the midst of an end zone to end zone drive, Attica's Dave Clark punched the ball from the arms of running back Andy Underhill.

Clark recovered the fumble and the Lancers never ran another offensive play the rest of the game. Final score, Attica 15, Elba/BB 6.

The loss eliminates the Lancers (5-1) form a chance to win outright the GR League title. Elba/BB could claim part of a three-way tie if  Notre Dame (4-1, and playing a non-league game this afternoon) beats Attica (5-1, but the one loss came in a non-league game) next week.

As for Friday's turning point, even if Clark doesn't dislodge the ball from Underhill's grasp, and the Lancers are able to go on to score, that still wouldn't have meant a victory for Elba/BB. At best, a TD and two-point conversion would have still left the Lancers a point short of a tie.

That potentially critical point was picked up by the Blue Devils in the first quarter when a muffed snap on a punt led to an end-zone safety, giving Attica an early 9-0 lead (Attica's Matt Perry scored earlier on a 81-yard run).

"Give them credit, they played hard," said Lancer's Head Coach Mike Cintorino. "Little things tend to add up and when you’re playing a good team and a rival team, you can’t have that addition, you can’t let those little things add up."

For the most part, Attica's success was driven by Perry, who finished with 182 yards and two TDs on 29 carries.

Elba/BB's star running back, Zach DuBois was held to 112 yards on 25 carries and no touchdowns. DuBois did have a 50-yard dash to the end zone called back on a holding penalty. That was just a few plays before the Underhill fumble.

"Attica’s a great team," Cintorino said. "We knew that coming in. They’re well coached. They have good athletes. They play hard. They’re physical. We knew that we had to come in and we could not shoot ourselves in the foot. We talked about it all week, limit the penalities and no turnovers."

For Attica, Jake Dollard carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards. Besides the fumble recover, Clark had 10 tackles and Evan Krawcyk added seven tackles.

For the Lancers, Zac Gillard was 7-19 passing for 130 yards and one TD. That 50-yard TD reception went to Kyle Morse, who had three catches for 71 yards. On defense, Underhill had 25 tackles (12 solo) and one forced fumble. Brandon Nayler had 10 tackles, Mike Shanley, nine and Nath Jonathan, eight with a fumble recovery.

In other Friday night action:

• Le Roy moved to 5-1 with a 55-22 victory over Bishop Kearney. Peter Privitera gained 208 yards and a TD on 15 carries. Ryan McQuillen had two TD receptions. Tom Kelso carried the ball 15 times for 144 yards. On the night, the Oatkan Knights gained 481 yards on the ground. Stevie Cappotelli had seven tackles.
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Alexander 6-0.
• Batavia lost to Way-Co 21-14.

In today's match-ups, Notre Dame hosts Wellsville and the Pembroke at Holley game is canceled.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here. To purchase prints of these photos, click here. (Note: Not as many publishable shots of this game -- lighting conditions on the Attica field are horrendous.)

There was not a lot of faith expressed in Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick in our contest last week. Only four people picked him to lead the NFL in points scored, but the fact of the matter is, among the 10 possible choices in our contest, Fitzpatrick came out on top. In a random drawing of those four people who picked Fitzpatrick, Jason Reese won the contest.

Here's the link to this week's contest.

Pembroke has been forced to cancel its Genesee Region match-up with Holley in Holley on Saturday.

For Holley, that apparently means no homecoming game.

Athletic Director Ron Funke said the team came out of its last game with only 16 healthy players -- the bare minimum required by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. Then on Tuesday, a player was scratched after reporting he had mono.

"The rules say we need 16 players," Funke said. "We apologize (to Holley) for that, but there is nothing we can do. It is what it is."

Funke said the school looked at all of its options, but without a JV team there was just no chance to get enough players on the roster for Saturday's game.

It's been a tough year for the Dragons, who are 0-5, being shut out twice, scoring more than seven points in only one game and giving up 30 or more points every time out.

A parent who contacted The Batavian said he traced the problem to the addition of boys soccer to Pembroke's varsity schedule.

Two years ago, coaches, parents and students lobbied the board of education to bring soccer back to the school.

Funke said there is no correlation between the addition of soccer and the shortage of football players.

Last year the team had 24 players and 20 of them were seniors. This year, the team has only three seniors.

"I'd like to see what kids on that team who want to play football that aren't (playing football) anyway," Funke said. "They're very different sports."

Dan Courtney, athletic director for Holley, hasn't responded to our request for information on what Holley's plans are for Saturday and homecoming without an opponent.

A win by Elba/Byron-Bergen and a loss by Attica on Saturday puts the Lancers atop the Genesee Region Conference.

The Lancers beat Oakfield-Alabama 56-0 behind another big game fro Zack DuBois, who gained 331 yards on 25 carries, scoring touchdowns of 14, 3, 86 and 63 yards.  DuBois now has 1,198 yards rushing.

Zac Gillard was 4-6 for 67 yards and two TD passes. He had two carries for 36 yards.

Kyle Morse caught of Gillard's TD passes and gained 51 total yards.

Andy Underhill had 10 carries for 84 yards and one touchdown.

For the Hornets, QB Chase Manzella was 6-16 for 20 yards and five carries for 24 yards. Paul Ferraro had three receptions for 13 yards

On defense, Underhill had 17 tackles, including four tackles for a loss. Brandon Naylor, 13 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Nate Jonathan, eight tackles, five for a loss, one sack and one interception. Jon Levchuck had five tackles, two for a loss and half a sack. Chad Kowalik, two tackles and one interception.

On defense for O-A, Manzella, six tackles, Chris Nann, five tackles, Dominic D'Alba, one Interception and Danny Monachino had five tackles.

With the win, Elba/BB moves to 5-0 and is the last undefeated team in the GR.  Attica, who started the day 4-0 lost to Livonia 6-0.

In the only other local game on Saturday, Alexander lost to Holley, 44-12.

When Batavia scheduled Hornell for its homecoming game some people thought it was crazy, Head Coach Brennan Briggs admitted after last night's 30-14 loss to the Raiders.

Hornell came into the game with a 43-game winning streak and is arguably the best team in the state of New York in any class.

But at the half, with the score tied 14-14, and the Blue Devils' defense coming up big on some key plays, it didn't look so crazy.

The theme for the team all week in preparing for the game, Briggs said, was "great moments come from great opportunities."

The second half didn't go as well for Batavia, but Briggs came out of the game believing the Blue Devils, in his first season as head coach, are ready to play with anybody.

"These kids showed they can come out and play with the best and compete with them," Briggs said. "Yes, obviously, we got beat by 16. We’re not super excited about getting beat by 16, but we know we can play with them. We really do."

Justin Washington and Brett Scheuerlein had big games for the Blue Devils.

Washington snagged an interception in the first quarter and returned it 30 yards for a TD. He also nabbed a 20-yard reception from Scheuerlein in the second quarter for a touchdown (top photo).

Scheuerlein was 7 for 12 passing for 93 yards.

The Raiders played a tight, disciplined defense all night however and the Blue Devils were forced to punt four times in the second half.

In the third quarter, Brendan Buisch hit Richie Harkenrider on a 40-yard TD play. A Batavia defender got a hand on the ball as Buisch hauled it in, but when he couldn't strip it, there was nobody between Harkenrider and the end zone.

With the lead, the Raiders turned their offense over to Zach Bacon, their big, strong full back, who wasn't unstoppable (defenders a couple of times took him down for losses), but could also shake off tackles (or jump over) and get big gains.

In the fourth quarter, Bacon (#40 in photos)  scored on a 50-yard run, just plowing through blue jersies for the first 20 yards like a combine in a cornfield.

"The kid’s a stud," Briggs said. "You can’t really coach against that. You do what you can against him, but he’s one heck of a football player."

In preparing the Blue Devils for Hornell, Briggs reminded them that 31 years ago, Batavia (Correction: It was Notre Dame) snapped Cal-Mum's 49-game winning streak on Woodward Field.

"I told them, 'this field's made for breaking winning streaks,' " Briggs said.

While the final score was disappointing, Briggs said the game will give Batavia great confidence going into the final two games of the season and into, hopefully, sectionals.

"We know that if we continue with the same intensity, the same enthusiasm, the same execution, we can have a great ending to our season," Briggs said.

In other football action on Friday:

• Le Roy's winning streak was snapped by Perry, 44-36. Perry's QB Cory Dillon hit Jake Kiehle on a fourth-down, less than two minutes to play, 11-yard TD pass to put Perry in the lead. Dillon passed for 299 yards and 4 TDs. He was 25 of 40 passing. Perry, now 4-1, last beat Le Roy in 1991. Peter Privitera carried the ball 18 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Le Roy is now 4-1.
• Notre Dame is 4-1 after beating Pembroke 35-7. Andrew Mullen carried the ball 14 times for 180 yards and one TD. Jason Hart also scored on the ground and had 13 attempts for 14 yards. (Nick Taylor apparently did not play Friday). Tim McCulley was 4-7 passing for 105 yards and three touchdowns. Hart had one TD reception of 12 yards. Josh Johnson's only reception was for a 46-yard TD, and Jared Thornton's lone catch was for a 29-yard score. John Lapple notched Notre Dame's only sack. He had three tackles. Anthony Paladino had 5.5 tackles. Peter Thomas had 10.5 tackles for Pembroke.

This afternoon, Oakfield-Alabama is at Elba/Byron Bergen and Alexander hosts Holley. The other game of significance is Attica at Livonia. Both Elba/BB and Attica are undefeated. The Genesee Region rivals meet next week.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here. To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

In Week 3, Robert Tretter was among 13 people who correctly picked Arian Foster of Houston as the top rusher (amongh players eligible for picking) in the NFL.

Tretter wins a prize from T.F. Brown's.

To enter this week's contest (deadline is tomorrow at 1 p.m.), click here.

Elba/Byron-Bergen took a 24-7 lead into the final three minutes of its game Saturday against Notre Dame and barely escaped with a victory.

The Fighting Irish mounted a pair of scoring drives and then recovered an onside kick before the Lancer defense snuffed Notre's hopes of going 4-0 on the season.

Instead it's Elba/BB that is 4-0, tying them for the Genesee Region Conference lead with Attica, which beat Alexander 39-6.

Zach DuBois again dominated on the ground, carrying the ball 35 times for 245 yards and one TD. QB Zac Gillard was 5-8 passing for 108 yards. Gillard tossed a 55-yard TD reception to Kyle Morse and scored on a one-yard run.

Notre Dame's Tim McCulley led the Irish offense with 225 yards in the air, completing 11 passes on 20 attempts. His big strike came with a minute left in the game, hitting Jared Thornton on a 12-yard TD pass.

A minute earlier, Andrew Mullen scored on an 18-yard run. Mullen scored twice on 11 carries for 56 yards.

Nick Taylor also carried the ball 13 times for Notre Dame for 73 yards. Mullen and Taylor also each caught the ball twice for 55 and 43 yards, respectively.

Charlie Hebert caught the ball three times for 38 yards and Thornton had two receptions for 38 yards.

For Elba/BB, Kyle Morse had three catches for 88 yards and Ryan Morse caught the ball twice for for 21 yards.

On defense, for Notre Dame, Josh Johnson had five tackles, Aaron McDonald, 6.5, Taylor, 6.5, Hebert, 5, and Mullen, 4.5. Hebert also had the team's lone sack.

For the Lancers, Brandon Naylor had 15.5 tackles, Nate Jonathan, 8, Andy Underhill, 5.5, and Jon Levchuk, 5. Naylor and Jonathan also each had two sacks and Underhill and Levchuk also both got to the QB once.

In other local football action:

• The Batavia Blue Devils moved to 3-1 on the season, beating Albion (0-4), 22-12. Brett Scheuerlein scored twice TDs on nine carries and James Soggs had 115 yards on the ground and one TD on 24 carries. Cody Swimline notched seven tackles and an interception and Scheuerlein recorded had 10 tackles.
• Le Roy continued its seeming domination over the Livingston Conference with a 42-12 victory over Bath. This is the Oatkan Knights first 4-0 start since 2008. Peter Privitera rushed for 158 yards and one TD on 27 carries. Marcus Mistersaro had 46 yards and one TD. Ryan McQuillan had eight tackles and Dylan Johnson, seven.
• For the second week in a row, Oakfield-Alabama secured a victory with a 30-6 win over Pembroke. Chris Nanni rushed for 101 yards and two TDs on 10 carries. Nanni also returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown. Allen Chatt also had an interception return of 101 yards for a score. Danny Monachino had 14 tackles.

Next week: Batavia hosts Hornell; Le Roy is in Perry; O-A is at Elba/BB; Attica plays Livonia; Pembroke travels to Notre Dame; and Alexander is at home against Holley.

The Blue Devils dropped off the list of the undefeated in Genesee County on Friday with a 30-12 loss to Livonia.

Le Roy kept its perfect record in tack with a 35-28 over Avon, while in the Genesee Region Conference, three teams sit atop the standings at 3-0 -- Elba/Byron-Bergen, Notre Dame and Attica.

Elba/BB beat Holley 27-7 with Zack DuBois rushing for 156 yards on 22 carries, scoring once. QB Zack Gillard was 7-14 for 167 yards and two TDs. He also carried the ball five times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Austin Yockel had four receptions for 141, including a 44-yard TD reception. Ryan Morse had a 10-yard TD reception. Andy Underhill made 23 tackles. Brandon Naylor had 14 tackles.

Notre Dame moved to 3-0 with a win over Alexander 36-6. Tim McCulley completed 11 passes on 20 attempts for 187 yards, including TD tosses of 14 and 35 yards to Charlie Hebert and Jared Thornton. Nick Taylor had TD runs of 26 and 89 yards. Andrew Mullen carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards. For Alexander, Dylan Scharlau had 18 carries for 117 yards and QB Nelson Burke was 8 of 17 for 128 yards, including a TD pass to 36-yard TD to Sam Browne. Burke was intercepted twice.

Pembroke dropped to 0-3 with a loss to undefeated Attica 47-0. Four turnovers by the Dragons led to four Attica TDs. Pete Thomas had 12 tackles for Pembroke and Caleb Patterson and Jared Kolmetz each recovered two fumbles.

For Batavia, in the Blue Devils 30-12 loss to Livonia, Nick Canzoneri rushed for 40 yards on eight carries, scoring once. James Soggs had 11 carries for 85 yards.

Le Roy's third win was highlighted by Peter Privitera's 181 yards on 39 carries and two touchdowns. Both Marcus Mistersaro and Dylan Johnson scored on the ground. T.J. Crye was 13-of-27 for 173 yards.

Oakfield-Alabama improved to 1-2 with a win over Finney (1-2), 20-16. Ryan Emery scored twice and carried the ball for 99 yards. Chris Nanni rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Danny Monachino and Tommy Geiss each recorded 12 tackles.

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.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here. To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

On the legs of Zach DuBois and the arm of Zac Gillard, Elba/Byron-Bergen opened the 2012 football season in dominating fashion with a 40-13 win over Alexander.

The Lancers, who advanced as far as a semi-final game last season, look like a contender again this season.

Dubois, coming off an impressive 2011 campaign, picked up where he left off, rushing for 223 yards on 16 carries, running the ball for TDs of 24 yards, 75 yards and three yards.

Gillard had seven completions on 12 attempts for 133 yards, which included TD passes of 40 yards and 35 yards.

"A lot of people had us written off because of what we graduated on our offensive line," said Lancer Head Coach Michael Cintorino. "I think these new guys stepped and filled that position and did a nice job today."

Injuries played a key role in the game for Alexander. Already hammered by the loss for the season of standout Mark Farnsworth, four Trojans were knocked out of Saturday's game, including the team's two tight ends and two linebackers.

"I had my starting quarterback playing outside linebacker," Tim Sawyer said. "He's a free safety and I cringe at that."

Sawyer, who coached the squad from 2000 to 2007, is the Trojan's third head coach in three years.

Still, Alexander scored first and looked strong in the first half, playing physical, disciplined football, and Nelson Burke's two TD passes, including one to Zach Laird, showed the team is not without resources.

Sawyer didn't want to make excuses of injuries, a young team (only six seniors, and three of them are first-year football players), or even the weather. He said the Lancers are a good team and the game was a good learning experience for his players.

"I thought we played hard and we competed hard," Sawyer said. "We need to go to another level now. I think our kids now realize that varsity football is one step tougher. There's more expectations on these kids. We'll get better. It's learning."

Cintorino said Alexander played a tough game and it showed his team also has some learning to do if they're going to compete for a playoff spot in the tough Genesee Region.

There were some defensive mistakes in the first half, Cintorino said, but players stepped it up in the second half and did what they needed to do, which is do their jobs.

"We've been talking this year, just come out and do your job," Cintorino said. "Do your one-eleventh and we'll be OK. In the first half, we were a little bit sleepy. We didn't necessarily do that. We were focused on making the big play."

Of course, with a running back like DuBois, the Lancers are going to play any team tough this season.

"Zach is a special kid," Cintorino said. "He’s a blast to coach. He’s a polite kid, a nice kid, a humble kid, and he runs the ball very, very well. He’s very talented, and he has lot of help from up front."

With traditionally strong teams from Attica, Notre Dame, Pembroke and Holley, and well-coached, rebuilding teams from Alexander and Oakfield-Alabama, the GR league will present another tough challenge in 2012, Cintorino said.

"I always say GR is kind of a hidden gem in Section V," Cintorino said. "We've got some great teams. We've got some great kids in the whole Genesee Region, very good athletes, tough, strong kids, and they do a nice job, and we've got some coaching staffs that really prepare their kids well."

Also in Saturday's game, Kyle Morse had three receptions for 63 yards and one TD.

For Alexander, Burke completed five passes on 10 attempts for 53 yards and two TDs. Laird had two receptions for 25 yards and one TD. Sam Brown had one reception for 23 yards and one TD.

Defensive stats for the Lancers, Andy Underhill had 17 tackles, including three for a loss and one forced fumble. Nate Jonathan had 10 tackles, including three for a loss and two-and-a-half sacks. Garrett Chapell had five tackles and a fumble recovery. Austin Hynes-Fisher had three tackles and half a sack. Kyle Dougherty had five tackles, one sack and one interception.

In other local football this weekend:

• Attica rolled to a 52-0 win over Oakfield-Alabama.
• Le Roy crushed Genesee 74-6. Tom Kelso carried the ball three times for three TD and 86 yards total rushing. Jon Pierce had 87 yards rushing on four carries and two touchdowns.
• Batavia beat Bath 34-24. QB Brett Scheuerlein completed 10 passes on 15 attempts for 201 yards. Justin Washington scored two TDs on two receptions for 55 total yards. Brandon Stevenson carried the ball 14 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.
• Notre Dame turned a half-time deficit into a 30-29 win over Holley.
• Pembroke dropped its opener to Finney 30-12. Tyler Brunning and Jacob Patterson both scored for Pembroke.

If you can't view the slide show below, click here. To purchase print copies of these photos, click here.

A new high school football season opens tonight, but if you were hoping to see a game, you'll need to get out of Genesee County to do it.

All three local teams with games this evening -- Batavia, Oakfield-Alabama and Le Roy -- are starting the season on the road.

The only home game this weekend is Elba/Byron-Bergen hosting Alexander. Game time is 1:30 p.m., Saturday.

Tonight, the Batavia Blue Devils open a new era under Head Coach Brennan Briggs, the son of a Section V Hall of Fame head coach who had great success over two seasons as the JV coach at Batavia.

Game time in Bath is 7:30 p.m.

Oakfield-Alabama is in Attica at 7 p.m. and Le Roy's game is at 7:30 p.m. in Geneseo (WBTA will broadcast this game).

Other games tomorrow include Notre Dame at Holley (1:30 p.m.) and Pembroke at Finney (1:30 p.m.).

Coverage note: The Batavian will cover tomorrow's game in Elba. I know there are many Blue Devils fans eager for us to cover BHS, but that won't be possible until week 5. BHS is on the road tonight and next week, and I'll be out of town during weeks three and four. Next week we'll cover O-A at Notre Dame. Week 5, we'll cover Hornell at Batavia. Coverage for weeks 6 and 7 will depend on which games will most likely determine who's going to sectionals.

Pulling into Alexander on Saturday we were greeted with the sign: "First home game in 30 years!" The Tri-town organization (http://tritowntrojans.com/) has brought back youth football -- and judging by the turn out, it is back to stay.

Four games were played against the Pembroke Dragons during the sunny and hot afternoon. There was a chicken barbecue that ran throughout the day, a concession stand with a large variety of baked goods and 50/50 raffles and a drawing for a game-worn Bills jersey.

The beginners saw Alexander scoring from Connor Scott, Mason Bump and Ricky Townley.

Scoring in the minis for Pembroke were: Adam Dulski (no extra point), Owen Mileham with a defensive touchdown, Garrett Totten with two TD's, and Alec Skeet adding an extra point.

The JV game saw touchdowns from Trent Smith, David Colby (2) and Jordan Brown for Pembroke.

The varsity game was a hard-fought battle between two huge teams. There was a little bit of everything in this game, which Pembroke won 20-7. The first score was Pembroke's Mike Natalzia who broke a tackle and took the ball most of the field and into the end zone. Kyle Ludwig kicked the extra point.

Second touchdown was a run by Dakota Dieter of the Dragons. The extra point kick was blocked by Zach Jasen, of Alexander. Alexander's touchdown came next, run in by Zach Jasen, and PJ Brennan added the extra point. Mike Natalzia put the game away in the fourth quarter with his second touchdown of the day. More pictures from the day can be found at Francletography.com

Over the weekend, Genesee County children had the opportunity to compete in the NFL's Punt, Pass and Kick competiton.

Among the girls (by age group), winners were: 6-7, Lily Martin, 32’11”; 8-9, Riley Martin, 99’9”; 12-13, Briana Janes, 164’3”. Boys: 6-7, Jonah Martin, 17’; 8-9, Ethan Taylor, 156’8”; 10-11, Noah Martin, 133’6”.

Winners in each age group may elect to participate in the Sectional Competition, Nov. 11 at the Buffalo Bills practice facility in Orchard Park.

Photo, submitted by Steve Fancher: Front row, left Riley Martin, Lily Martin; back row, left Briana Janes, Ethan Taylor, Noah Martin.

Press release:

It is with great sadness that for the first time in 45 years we must cancel the 2012 Batavia Youth Football Season. We simply do not have enough players to keep the league active at this time. We are canceling this year and are hopeful that next year Batavia Youth Football will once again be a part of the youth football activities in the area.

We apologize to those football players, cheerleaders and families that were planning another season with Batavia Youth Football. We would also like to thank the entire Genesee County area and the thousands of kids for their support of Batavia Youth Football.

Refunds will be sent ASAP and any questions can be directed to byfinc@gmail.com.

Over the past five days, 400 boys from throughout the GLOW region were in Elba to do something that doesn't happen much in June -- practice football.

But that's not all the camp was about. The players also were given talks on a few life lessons, such as integrity, good grades and time management.

The camp is jointly sponsored by the NFL and the National Guard and organized by local coaches.

"The NFL and National Guard have gone off chart (on funding the camp)," said Dan Geiger, now an assistant coach with Elba/Byron-Bergen. "No other professional sports program is that willing to put out this kind of money to really go after what they claim is their goal. You know, they talk about character, well they put their money where their mouth is and provide a camp like this."

The players don't need to spend a cent on the camp and the sponsors provide jerseys and workbooks that serve as a time-management tool (mainly, it's a calendar) along with advice on everything from homework tips to exam advice, an NCAA eligibility guide plus action shots of NFL players.

"There’s a lot of great football going on here, a lot of great football learning, but on top of that, there’s a lot of every night the kids learn about character and integrity," Geiger said.

At 400 participants, the local camp is almost certainly the best attended in New York and perhaps the United States.

The week began Sunday night with a some guest speakers, both motivational and inspirational, and players said they found the talks meaningful.

"I personally like the guest speakers," said Nate Jonathan, a senior defensive end from Alexander. "I think it’s cool – a little motivational stuff."

Alton Rupp, a junior fullback and outside linebacker from Alexander, said one inspirational speaker was especially touching.

"Recently my mom passed away," Rupp said. "It kind of helped me because yesterday we talked a little about faith. I believe that my mom is still with me, so it kind of helps out a little bit. I’m doing this right now to help get better for the season and just help make my faith for the season a little bit better."

Austin Schroeder, a senior from Oakfield-Alabama, focused most on the football aspect of the camp.

"It's awesome how many kids are here and it’s set up really cool," Schroeder said. "I get to practice fundamentals of the line that I need to and it's nice to be able to hit before the season."

Asked how much he loved football, Schroeder said, "It's the only sport I play, so that sums it up, I guess."

The camp is one of about 180 throughout the nation and Elba/Byron-Bergen Head Coach Mike Cintorino said teams participating this year came not only from his school, but Batavia, Alexander, Alabama-Oakfield, Holley, Brockport, Albion and Barker/Roy-Hart (Gasport).

Area college football coaches Rocco Salomone, of Buffalo State, and Buddy Sims, of St. John Fisher, also helped out with the camp, Cintorino said.

"It gives them a chance to come out and talk to the kids and tell them what they’re looking for, not just as an athlete but also for students," Cintorino said. "(They tell them) the fact that you’ve got to be a good kid and have to do well in the academics to get into the school."

Geiger said the camp, which he started promoting a few years when was coaching the Batavia Blue Devils, is so popular because so many coaches in the area support and believe in the lessons it aims to teach the boys.

Cintorino said he hopes it's those life lessons that have the most impact on the players.

"We talk about how there’s more to football than just the game," Cintorino said. "There’s a lot of life lessons to be learned -- teamwork, trust, relationships, integrity, honesty, character -- all of those things, so I hope that first and foremost they get to take that way from it."

Batavia High School football players volunteered their time Saturday to help with the Batavia Youth Football spaghetti dinner. Varsity and JV players helped with set up at the YWCA, helped serve and helped clean up afterward. Photo provided by Head Coach Brennan Briggs, on the right.

UPDATED with comments from Bromley at 2:01 p.m.
UPDATED at 4:43 p.m. with comments by Briggs.

Brennan Briggs, who led the Blue Devil's JV squad to an undefeated season in 2011, has been named the varsity's head football coach.

Briggs replaces Dan Geiger, who had a 16-35 record over six seasons as the Blue Devil's head coach.

The board of education approved the promotion of Briggs on Monday.

Athletic Director Michael Bromley said Briggs is somebody he's had his eye on since Brennan's student-athlete days at Batavia.

"It was easy to see as a young kid he was a great leader," said Bromley.

Briggs was a standout athlete in football and hockey, helping lead the hockey team to two sectional titles.

Bromley said when Briggs decided to major in physical education in college, he saw him as a potential teacher and coach at Batavia.

"He's got a lot of great experience and I have no doubt he will be a success," Bromley said.

The promotion, Briggs said, is exactly what he had in mind for himself.

"It’s been a goal of mine since I got into coaching to become a head football coach, to get out under the lights on Friday night and there’s no place better to do it than Batavia High," said Briggs.

Brigg's is the son of a former Gates-Chili coach Jim Briggs, a Section V Hall of Fame member.

Jim Briggs was also a standout athlete at Batavia HS and is in the schools hall of fame.

Bromley doesn't anticipate the senior Briggs being involved officially the football program, but he's sure father and son will talk a lot.

"It's obviously a great resource to have somebody with his knowledge and his level of success available as a dad," Bromley said. "I'm sure there will be a lot of dinner table conversations."

Brennan said you can rule out any idea of Jim becoming an assistant coach.

"He's got two grand sons he helps take care of and he's quite content doing that," Briggs said.

But they will talk.

"Obviously, I'll listen to anything everything he has to say, but he also does a good job of stepping back and let me be Brennan Briggs," Briggs said.

The players received the news of the promotion for Brigg's well, Bromley said. 

It was important to get Briggs started as coach this month, with players already beginning training and weight work for next season.

"Winning football isn't just about what you do during the season," Bromley said. "It's also what you do during the off season."

Fans shouldn't read too much into the undefeated JV record, Briggs said. There are a lot of JV teams in the area that have undefeated seasons, but that doesn't necessarily translate into winning varsity programs.

"I don't want everybody coming here thinking, 'Oh, Coach Briggs is undefeated on JV and they're going to be undefeated on varsity.' It doesn't work that way," Briggs said. "It's not going to be a complete transformation over to varsity."

That said, Briggs said he's already established a relationship with a lot of his players, both from coaching JV football and coaching baseball at the school.

His goal: Establish a winning culture.

"It's about discipline and hard work and it doesn't always show up on the score board, but inch by inch, we'll get there," Briggs said.

Briggs is pretty young at 26 to take over a varsity program, and he sees his age as offering both pros and cons.

When you're a young coach, he said, you can relate to a lot more of what the kids are going through away from campus, but they can also come to see you too close as peer.

"There's a fine line where these kids see you as a young person, you’ve got to establish that you’re the coach," Briggs said. "Yes, I want a good relationship with them, but there’s a fine line and you establish that by expecting discipline, not accepting any excuses and being hard on  them and just expecting the best from them every single day."

Bromley anticipates working with Briggs and putting together a coaching staff for Briggs over the next month.