It was the running game that once again carried Le Roy to victory.

The Oatkan Knights rushed for 1,975 yards this season. Peter Privitera ran for nearly half of those yards, but with the junior out due to injury, the Knights leaned on a stable of backs to run past Holley in their Class C first round matchup, 26 to 18.

After averaging 282 yards per game on the ground during the regular season, Le Roy pounded the Holley defense for 314 yards on 58 attempts.

In the absence of Privitera, Coach Brian Moran used Tom Kelso, Marcus Mistersaro, Dylan Johnson and Kylan Carter to fill the void. While Mistersaro and Kelso have played an integral part of the offense all season long, it was Carter who stepped up with several big runs.

Coming into the game, Carter had only carried the ball two times all season.

On the last home game of his career, he exploded for 110 yards on nine carries, including a 52-yard dash that helped set up the second touchdown of the game.

“This was our last home game and I held nothing back,” Carter said. “I played like a senior tonight.”

Another senior stepped up to the plate for the Knights, and that was fullback Dylan Johnson, who accounted for all 26 Le Roy points. Johnson scored four touchdowns and added two extra points, including the game-winning 18-yard run and PAT with 2:16 remaining in the ball game.

Le Roy got a break early, as Holley marched into Knights’ territory on the first drive of the game, but Mistersaro recovered a Nick Conklin fumble on a short yardage play.

After a few Kelso runs, Mistersaro burst free for a 35-yard scamper to set up a Johnson scoring plunge. Johnson would score again to put the Knights up 13-0 at the end of the first quarter

It appeared as if Le Roy might run away with the game, but the Hawks responded quickly.

Holley senior running back Cadizsh Norford took control of the second frame, cutting the lead to 13-6 as he darted up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown run.

After forcing Le Roy to punt on their next possession, the Hawks got the ball on their own 38 with just before halftime. On the first play of the drive, Norford took a direct snap, faked a pass and sprinted 62 yards for another touchdown to make the score 13 to 12 at the half.

“I’ve been here 24 years and [Norford] is as good as I’ve ever seen,” Moran said.

In desperate need of keeping the ball out of Norford’s hands after running for 124 yards on nine carries in the first half, the Knights proceeded to march 60 yards on 18 plays, consuming 10:45 of the third quarter. The long drive was capped by Johnson’s third touchdown of the game.

Even after a chop block penalty pushed them back 15 yards, the Le Roy offense continued to pound at the Hawks' defense until reaching the end zone.

“That’s old-school Le Roy football,” Moran said. “It shows that our kids are physically fit and it shows their mental preparation.”

Norford fired right back, receiving a pass from Kyle Bell for a 43-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 19-18.

After trading punts, the Knights embarked on an 80-yard scoring drive that took up 5:31 on the clock, and was finished off by Johnson’s final touchdown with 2:16 remaining to seal the game.

Moran made a point to control the clock in the second half, particularly with the explosive Norford on the opposite side. Le Roy dominated the time of possession down the stretch, ticking off 20:49.

When Holley took possession down 26-18, they had run only six offensive plays in the entire half.

“It does two things,” he said. “It puts pressure on them to score touchdowns and it puts us in a good situation to win because we have used up so much time.”

Holley (4-4) played a hard-fought game, with Norford finishing with 10 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while catching four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Kelso finished the game with 80 yards on 26 carries, while Mistersaro racked up 90 yards for the second consecutive week.

Le Roy (7-1) advances to the Class C Semi-Finals next Saturday at Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester for a 1:30 p.m. start.

They will play the winner of today's Elba/Byron-Bergen and Bath game.

In other Friday night sectional play: Batavia fell to East Rochester in a Section V playoff match, 35-20. Justin Washington scored on a 14-yard pass from Brett Scheuerlein in the second quarter. In the fourth, James Soggs scored on a six-yard run and Cody Swimline caught a five-yard pass from Scheuerlein for another TD.

In Connors and Ferris Bowl games, Cal-Mum beat Alexander, 36-6, Oakfield-Alabama beat Bolivar-Richburg 42-0 and Pembroke topped Geneseo 26-0.

In other Section V playoff action today, Notre Dame hosts longtime post-season nemesis Dundee.

In other games of note on Friday, Attica stomped Mynderse 61-8, and Hornell, which dropped down a class this season, continued its 40+ game winning streak, beating Wayland-Cohocton 41-13. Elba, Le Roy, Attica and Hornell are all Class C teams. Hornell and Attica face off in a semi-final game next week in Rochester.

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

Photos by Howard Owens.

If you want to go east or west on Griswold Road between Caswell and Route 237 in Stafford, you're going to have to wait a year.

An aging bridge has just become too unstable to handle heavy traffic and the county won't be able to replace it until next June.

"At least the detour around it is not that long," said County Highway Superintendent Tim Hens. "It's not a huge inconvenience. All bridge closures are an inconvenience, but this is not as bad as some are."

The steel multigirder bridge was built in 1941 and widened in 1976. The girders have rusted through to the point that they can't even support two tons.

A few years ago, the bridge was rated for seven tons, then downgraded to four, then two, now 1.8.

"That's about the size of a small SUV," Hens said.

The county looked at reducing the bridge, which crosses over Black Creek, to one lane, but that would require installing Jersey barriers, which are heavy themselves.

"We probably would have overloaded it just to reduce it to one lane, so that wasn't viable either," Hens said.

About five years ago, the county applied for a federal grant to replace the bridge and the process has been moving forward since, but the bridge has become unusable a year earlier than anticipated.

The new bridge is in the design phase now.

Construction should be completed by this time next year, Hens said.

He also said the Griswold bridge is just the tip of the iceberg.

About half of the county's bridges are in nearly as critical condition. Some of those bridges, if closed, will mean seven- and eight-mile detours for residents, farmers and emergency responders.

"We don't have any local money to replace them and it looks like the federal pot is going to get smaller and smaller," Hens said. "The county is going to have some tough decisions, either closing bridges or funding them locally."

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City police are responding to a report of an abandoned dog, tied to a pole, in front of Dunkin' Donuts, located at 136 W. Main St.

UPDATE 3:42 p.m.: The dog is being taken to the Genesee County Animal Shelter.

There are no known plans to open a hydrofracked gas well within the town limits of Stafford, but Jim Southall thought it a good idea to purchase an "insurance policy" so to speak.

At his suggest, the town board has passed a one-year moratorium on hydrofracking within Stafford.

A committee has been appointed to study the issue, according to Supervisor Robert Clement and that report will help the town determine what, if anything, it might do next related to hydrofracking.

The moritorium is part of a statewide trend over the summer of local officials throughout New York rising up against hydrofracking, even though the state already has a four-year moratorium against new wells in place now.

Fracking involves injecting water, saline and other chemicals into shale to break loose natural gas deposits that can then be extracted from the ground.

It's controversial because opponents believe the chemicals used can be carcinogenic and toxic.

Southall said he's read of cows in West Virginia being born with deformities and a whole town in Wyoming had to be closed because of hydrofracking pollutants ruining the groundwater.

As a representative of the Genesee County Fish and Game Association, owners and operators of Godfrey's Pond in Stafford, Southall thought it important to get out in front of the issue, before hydrofracking came to the area.

"With the kind of chemicals they're using, once the water is polluted, it's gone, and being a conservation club, we want to be sure that doesn't happen," Southall said.

At a public hearing on the topic a month or so ago, Clement said, there were no speakers in favor or against the moratorium.

He's not aware of any fracked wells in Stafford or any requests to open up such a well.

"For most people, I think it's a non-issue," Clement said. "I think the state will step in before anybody else does. But it's a conservation issue and I think most of them (Genesee County Fish and Game) are against it."

A two-car accident with minor injuries is reported in front of Jan's Smoke Shop, 383 Bloomingdale Road. Alabama Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding.

UPDATE 2:33 p.m.: Mercy medics are back in service. Those involved in the accident are sign-offs and require no medical attention.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Alabama is back in service.

There's a frisky fox causing trouble and its been the subject of complaints in the city over the past few days. A few minutes ago, the critter "acted aggressively toward a patron" who was about the enter the theater at 56 Harvester Ave., according to a caller to the emergency dispatch center.

It was subsequently reported to be laying in the road on Haller Place, across the street. Now its spotted on the west side of the Graham Manufacturing Corp. property. Police are responding.

UPDATE 12:21 p.m.: The carcass of the fox will be picked up by a county worker in about 10 minutes. It's located east of Harvester Avenue, west of the railroad tracks.

Charges were dismissed in Federal Court in August against the one person arrested on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation as the result of a raid related to alleged synthetic drug sales at smoke shops.

Tiffany E. Greiner, 22, of Akron, was arrested in July on a single count of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance analog intended for human consumption.

Joseph LaTona, her attorney, said this morning that the charges were dismissed because a witness was out of town and not available for a scheduled court appearance. The prosecution didn't want to adjourn the case, so LaTona moved to dismiss the charges and the judge granted the request.

Federal prosecutors still have the option to take the case to a grand jury and seek an indictment.

Barbara Burns, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Western New York, declined comment on the dismissal, but said authorities continue to investigate the case related to the Tonawanda raids. She said authorities continue to seek witnesses or other people with information and encouraged members of the public to come forward with any information they might have related to the alleged sale of synthetic drugs at the reservation.

Damon Bradford, 18, of Scottsvile Mumford Road, Scottsville, is charged with criminal impersonation, 2nd. Bradford is accused of impersonating a parent and defrauding Elba High School.

Jeremy D. Lyons, 27, of Oakfield, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Lyons is accused of violating an order of protection. Lyons was arrested by State Police and jailed on cash bail. No further details released.

Josue Garcia-Basilio, 28, of no permanent address, was arrested by State Police on an unspecified federal felony. Garcia-Basilio was jailed on a bail bond. No further details released.

Each year about this time, like clockwork, wood ducks descend on a stretch of the Tonawanda Creek where it flows behind our home. The wood ducks feel right at home there, dabbling on the acorns which fall from the red oaks lining the bank.

No doubt they also are drawn to the calm, flat water and abundant shoreline vegetation. Overhanging bushes and vines provide ample cover.

Along the narrow corridor of Tonawanda Creek it's not difficult to see wood ducks during the month of October. In fact, I expect to see them whenver I walk to the creek bank, or at the very least, hear that unique call they make -- some might call it a squeal while others say it's more like a high-pitched whistle/whine.  

Taking pics of wood ducks on Tonawanda Creek is one thing, the wide open spaces of the Oak Orchard Wildlife Management Area is another story. The sloughs and backwaters here are ideal for ducks, but the place is so vast, it's easy to be in one place while the ducks are in another.

Tailor-made as this place is, on this morning I had seen only a handful of ducks, all moving too fast and too far away for photos. When I saw the stick nest pictured above, I decided to zoom in. 

That's when I saw the ducks in the background, rapidly dropping in altitude and heading for the flooded timber.

Is it mere coincidence that one of the most colorful species of waterfowl is on hand during that part of the autumn season when foliage is tinted to the max?

While wood ducks are among the first waterfowl to arrive, they will also be among the first to depart for warmer climes. As I watched the wood ducks swim back and forth among floating leaves on the creek behind our home, I knew that all too soon they will be winging it southward for an extended period of time. 

Whatever the species, be it wood duck or mallard, canvasback or Canada goose, there is graceful symmetry in the flight of waterfowl, and something sublime in a creature that beats its wings an incredible number of times each minute at altitudes and for distances that boggle the mind.

Returning to Batavia from the Genesee County Park this morning, I came across this scene on West Bethany Road. The building across the street says "West Bethany Baptist Church" on it. There's a cemetery behind it and a cemetery to the south. This building and the park-like area around it strikes me as some sort of fellowship hall for the church, but I'm not sure. Interestingly, it appears the church is in the Town of Bethany and this building is in the Town of Alexander.

This morning, bright and early, I arrived at Genesee County Park, in Bethany, for a walk in the woods, with my camera of course.

If you've never been to the park, I highly recommend it. It's another one of Genesee County's gems.

Workers repair the facade at I.R. Systems, a DirecTV dealership, on West Main Street, Batavia, after a car had slammed into the front of the building.

The driver apparently stepped on the gas by mistake while pulling into a parking spot. Nobody was hurt in the accident, but judging from the video below, it's possible somebody could have been hurt. The car suffered only very minor damage, according to I.R. Systems staff.

The accident occurred about 1 p.m.

Every year in Genesee County, 350 people are diagnosed with cancer and 100 people die from cancer, which is why, according to a group of the American Cancer Society who were in Batavia today, cancer should be an important election issue.

Americans need research and treatment for the disease and the assurance of funding for both, according to Hillary Clarke, director of federal government relations, so this is an issue voters should take up with candidates for office.

At www.cancervotes.org is a voter's guide for the presidential election with responses from the two major party candidates, but Clarke said neither of the candidates for the NY-27 Congressional District responded to the Cancer Action Network's survey.

Contacted today, a spokesman for Kathy Hochul's campaign said Hochul did respond and her answers are posted on the Web site. We've not been able to find those answers and requested a direct link to the appropriate page.

The spokesman for Chris Collins, Micheal Kracker, sent the following statement in response to a simple question of what would Collins do to support the fight against cancer.

"As the brother of a cancer survivor, Chris Collins knows how important it is to support cancer research. Chris also recognizes how important it is to make sure no government bureaucracy stops doctors from giving patients like Chris' sister the treatment they need to stay healthy. We need to be sure that doctors, not government bureaucrats determine how best to care for patients. We must also promise to protect Medicare for our seniors so they continue to receive the access to affordable care they paid for their entire lives."

We'll update this post if any additional information comes in.

UPDATE: Statement from Angela Pause-Smith, communications director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.: "Neither candidate responded to our questionnaire so there actually isn't a Voter Guide for this race. I'm sorry if someone told you that there was one."

UPDATE II: As soon as I posted the update above, Pause-Smith emailed the following: "So I learned literally a moment ago that late this afternoon Hochul returned our questionnaire. There is a process we need to follow to post it on our Web site and we've asked for that process to be expedited so you can see the responses, but I can't provide a time that they will be available."

UPDATE III: Pause-Smith clarifies: "It may not have been late this afternoon that she returned it, I just learned of it late this afternoon. We received it sometime today."

UPDATE IV: Hochul's answers are now available, click here.

Photo: Julie Kumiega, Hillary Clarke and Karen Hall.

Alexander High School has never had a hockey team, but starting this season, players there will get to play varsity level hockey for the first time.

Batavia HS is facing a shortage of varsity level players this year, so Alexander and Batavia will come together to form the Batavia/Alexander Ice Devils.

Batavia Athletic Director Mike Bromley said when school officials realized there would be a shortage of players this year, the school held a meeting with the parents of hockey players and the parents took the initiative to get the puck rolling on a possible merger with Alexander.

Once the idea was raised, things came together pretty quickly, Bromley said.

"Several students (in Alexander) expressed an interest," Bromley said. "We expect that anywhere from five to 10 students may try out."

The problem the Ice Devils faced, Bromley said, is that several seniors graduated after last season and then three varsity players elected to play in another, more advanced, hockey league.

That left Batavia not only with fewer players but also with a team of mostly ninth- and 10th-graders.

"There's a lot of hitting in hockey," Bromley said. "Hockey can be just as tough physically as football, but where you play only one game a week in football, with hockey sometimes you play two or three games a week, and trying to play ninth- and 10th-graders out there could be tough."

For Alexander, the opportunity is welcome by administrators, parents and players alike, said Athletic Director Ben Whitmore.

"All of these kids play together in youth leagues and they always dreamed of playing high school hockey, so to be able to give them that chance is very exciting," Whitmore said.

Suzanne Dizak is indicted on counts of criminal possession of stolen property, 4th, and criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Dizak is accused of possessing jewelry stolen from Target on April 1 when she allegedly knew the property was stolen. The total value of the jewelry was reportedly $1,171.58. On that same date, Dizak is accused of possessing heroin.

Brian P. Griffen is indicted on counts of burglary, 3rd, and grand larceny, 4th. Griffen is accused of breaking into a building on Fisher Road, Oakfield, sometime between June 12 and June 26 and stealing a dune buggy, Yamaha Kodiak 4-wheeler and a Honda dirt bike.

Luis Ramos Perez is indicted on felony counts of aggravated DWI and aggravated driving with a BAC of .08 or greater. Perez is accused of driving drunk May 6 on Route 262, Byron, with a child under age 15 in the car.

Sheri Lee Flint, 30, of Selden Road, Le Roy, is charged with identity theft, 3rd. Flint is accused of applying for a credit line in the name of another person and after receiving the credit card, making a purchase on credit.

Emily J. Walker, 19, of Sherman-Stedman Road, Sherman, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Walker is accused of sending text messages to a person in violation of a court order.

There simply isn't enough cost savings to justify merging the county planning gepartment with the highway department, legislators concluded in a discussion at Wednesday's Ways and Means Committee meeting.

The cost of expanding office space at the highway department's facility on Cedar Street offsets any possible cost saving by sharing clerical staff.

Tim Hens, highway superintendent, said that while the planning department is understaffed, the merger wouldn't necessarily address their biggest staffing need -- help with the GIS map system.

"It's easy to get bogged down in GIS," Hens said. "If you lighten the load on the GIS side of things, we would probably all be better served in the future."

One recommendation from Hens was to move GIS support to the IT department.

Legislators uniformly said they valued the planning department's reputation for being unbiased in its assessment of land use issues.

While moving the planning department into the highway department wouldn't necessarily jeopardize that independence, it could damage the perception for the public and for the various planning boards around the county.

Senior Planner Felipe Oltramari said he shared that concern.

"Any sort of perceived bias could sour that relationship (with the municipalities) that we built over decades. With Jim (Duval, former planning director) being there for 35 years, we really have built a level of trust between the planning department and the municipalities."

As a former town supervisor in Le Roy, Legislator Shelly Stein said the department's reputation for independence is real and necessary to maintain.

"Without that -- our planning department being independent -- we lose, we all lose as a county," Stein said.

The perception could be lost because the highway department sometimes has its own projects that need to be reviewed by planning and the department also occasionally does work for Genesee County Economic Development Center.

With the possibility of STAMP in Alabama, the growing ag park in Batavia and other economic development growth opportunities, the planning department could get super busy in future years. A staff of two planners won't cut it, but for now two is all they get.

Duval retired early this year, and while Oltramari will likely be promoted to director, County Manager Jay Gsell said, his senior planner position won't be filled as the county continues to look for ways to save money.

Your opportunity to sound off about the proposed 2013 Genesee County Budget will be 7 p.m., Nov. 8, at the Office of the Aging, 2 Bank St., Batavia.

The proposed $100.9 million spending plan will be supported in part by a 10-cents per $1,000 property tax rate increase, making the rate $9.99.

The total levy is $26,428,478.

While the budget may include cuts to nursing home staff, no other significant changes in county government are planned, though legislators have warned that in the near future drastic cuts may be necessary if Albany doesn't deliver on mandate relief.