Sports

 Attica (4-3) at East Rochester/Gananda (6-1)

7 p.m. Friday

The Blue Devils simply haven't had any success in the playoffs in any of the "big three" sports, ever.

This year's squad is looking to throw that trend to the curb and make a run. As a sixth-seed, they earn a game with No. 3 East Rochester/Gananda and the team is prepared,  having played very well this season against a strong Genesee Region League.

While the Blue Devils have lost three games, this is a strong Attica team with as much potential as any in recent years.

GR all-star running back Andy Ruddock is the key.

The senior has had a tremendous season so far, and will need to slow down the pace of the game as ER/Gananda is the fourth ranked team in the state and has a high powered passing attack.

Rudy carried the ball 104 times during the regular season for 936 yards and 10 touchdowns. Attica cannot get into a shootout with the Bombers.

Neil Dotterer is simply awesome.

The gun-slinger is one of the best quarterbacks Section 5 has ever seen and he torched Batavia in Week 6, throwing for 253 yards and four touchdowns.

Attica has seen some solid passing teams in Pembroke and Notre Dame, but nothing like this. Dotterer does not have that one favorite receiver and likes to spread the ball around.

Linebacker Kevin Gallinger - also a GR all-star - leads the defense with 24 solo tackles and 30 assists and will have to make sure his teammates are in the right place on the field and execute coach Jeff Cusmano's gameplan to perfection. 

While the Attica defense will have to focus on Dotterer, the offense will try to get Ruddock going. The Bombers have held opposing offenses to 45 points this season so long drives are going to have to result in points.

Quarterback Brandon Rollins and receiver Shawn Dupuis will have to make plays if Ruddock gets stopped.

An interesting side-note to this game is that these two teams were both knocked out in the first round of sectionals last season and tried to schedule a Pool Play game. For some reason, which was never made public, this game never wound up happening.

 Batavia (3-4) at Geneva (6-1)

7 p.m. Friday

Those Batavia football players that didn't believe they had a chance to beat Geneva before last week's regular season finale, now are believing the upset is possible.

It may sound funny, but that is because of the second half effort of a 40-12 loss. Now the eighth-seeded Batavia squad will try to upset the top-seed.

The Blue Devils found something in the Panther defense that coach Dan Geiger believes they can exploit. Geneva is a powerhouse and is ranked No. 3 in the state in Class B.

But it was clear after the homecoming loss last Friday, Batavia's players believe a victory is possible.

Oh yeah, a healthy Rob Williams will help.

Williams injured his hip in Week 6 and was initially not expected to play last week, but saw very limited action in the first Geneva game. And he didn't do much.

But he's close to 100-percent and will make a big difference rushing the football, returning kicks and covering the super-athletic Geneva receivers.

Williams will probably go over 1,000 yards rushing for the year in this game, which would be the second Batavia back to do so.

Anthony D'Aurizio had 24 carries for 183 yards last week and now has 1,009 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season.

The key to this game will be to obviously run the football, which the Blue did with success in the second half last week.

Batavia will also have to slow down the passing attack of Geneva as the Panthers receivers were wide open last week.

DeAnze Williams, Junior Collins and Derrious Thomas were all separating from the coverage with ease last week and quarterback Bobby Martin had no problem finding them at-will.

The secondary has to stick with those guys.

A victory in this game would be HUGE for the Batavia program and could set up the Blue Devils for a shot to shock the world and win a sectional title.

The Genesee/Livingston Cross Country League boasts some of the best runners in Section V.  Those runners will all face-off today at the GR/LC Cross Country Championships today at Genesee Community College.  This is the final tune-up before the Section V Championships held on November 1 at Marcus Whitman High School.  For some of the runners, this will be their last race, as only the top ten of each team can race at Sectionals (top seven in the varsity race, and 8-10 in a sub-race).   With many of the teams in this league ranked not only in Section V, but also the state, it will be an exciting race to watch.

Boys Race 4:30

Girls Race 5:05

I am getting a jump on my previews for tomorrow and just saw something that made me crack a little smile.

 The newest version of the New York State Sportswriters Association state rankings came out today and our area teams are doing very well.

Le Roy moved up from fourth to third in Class C after demolishing Hornell last week and Oakfield-Alabama made the jump from No. 10 to No. 8.

Pembroke had not been ranked all season long and was getting an honorable mention before losing to O-A in Week 6, but fell off the board after that. The Dragons are making their first appearance on the official top 20 list at No. 17 this week.

Notre Dame received its first honorable mention this week in Class D after thumping DeSales last week.

It is nice to see the state is giving props to teams from our area. Now hopefully our local teams can prove them right.

Alexander came away with a 2-0 win over Perry at Wheatland-Chili Tuesday night in what was less than ideal weather.  Williamson and Canisteo-Greenwood had played before at 5pm and the field was in very good condition despite the game prior to ours.

We cut our warmup shorter than usual to avoid getting completely soaked before the game even started and hoped to come out quick.  We attacked right away and put some pressure on Perry's net with 5 shots in the first 8 minutes of the game.  Alexander went ahead 1-0 as Junior Anna Dominick crossed the ball to Senior Rachel Pettys and she fired a shot high in the far left corner to make the score 1-0 in the 11th minute of the game.  Alexander dominated possession in the 1st half and had several chances to go on top 2-0 but none found the back of the net.

Alexander came out in the 2nd half and continued to dominate possession but could not find the net, as has been the case all year long.  Perry had some dangerous moments and had 5 corners in the game but Alexander's defense stood strong and Sophomore goalie Hannah Wilson came up big on several saves throughout the game to earn her 7th shutout of the year.

A trio of sophomores did a great job in the middle, none of which started at the beginning of the year.  Morgan Mattice, Claire Hartl, and Ashley Szymanski logged all the minutes in the center of the pitch, won a majority of the headers, and had some great quick movement of the ball in and out of the field.  9th grader Julia Pettys and 8th grader Abby Shilvock were both moved from the positions they have played all year to the outside mids and did a fantastic job creating as Alexander saw a great improvement in the overall play of their midfield.

Alexander iced the game with 55 seconds left as Julia Pettys sent a cross from the left side of the field to Anna Dominick who settled, took a touch and beat the keeper high over her to give Alexander the 2-0 lead.

Alexander's defense played qutie well and was lead by Sophomore Savannah VanSon who logged her 19th straight start at sweeper and kept things organized.  8th grader Gabby Kwiatek, Junior Leah Johnson, and Sophomore Tessa Bigelow all did a great job in front her sticking with marks despite difficult footing throughout the game.

8th grader Maria Dominick and Senior Rachel Nielans both contributed key minutes at outside mid throughout the game.

Alexander's record improves to 9-6-4 on the season and they move on to play Geneseo on Friday at 6pm in Geneseo.  Geneseo is ranked in the top 10 in the state in the last poll that was released.

 Le Roy's Travis Fenstermaker was named Offensive Player of the Week for Class C today for his efforts in Friday night's 41-19 thrashing of Hornell.

The senior quarterback completed 11-of-15 pass attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

The victory helped the No. 4 state-seeded Oatkan Knights finish the season undefeated and wrap up the top seed in the Section 5 Class C playoffs.

Le Roy will be hosting No. 8 South Seneca/Romulus on Friday night.

Chrissy Rennard was a rising star for the Attica girls soccer team last season as a freshman. She was the second leading scorer on the team.

But this year she has been slowed by an ankle injury and hasn't produced like she would like.

But it looks like she's back at the right time, and that's a good thing for the Blue Devils.

Attica is the No. 8 seed in the Section 5 Class BB tournament and because of Rennard's two goals and assist will be moving on to face No. 1 Hornell on Saturday because the Blue Devils topped No. 9 Dansville in the opening round 5-1.

Christina West, Kelsey Talley and Chelsea Lynch also scored and Attica improves to 2-13-4.

Oakfield-Alabama, Byron-Bergen, Alexander, Pembroke, Kendall and Lyndonville are all also playing sectional games tonight and results will be posted on the Section 5 Web site as they come in.

 Oakfield-Alabama graduate John Gerber finished in a tie for 27th out of 52 golfers at the McDaniel Fall Invitational this past weekend.

The tournament featured 10 teams from the East coast and the St. John Fisher College freshman helped his team to a sixth place finish.

Gerber shot an 82 in the first round and an 81 in the second, finishing 21 strokes behind medalist Robert Womble from Washington and Lee College, who shot even par at Piney Branch Golf Club in Hampstead, Md.

You can see the complete tournament results here. 

 Notre Dame junior Stephanie Lapple had a great showing this Monday at Ridgemont Country Club at the Section 5 Fall Golf Championships.

The guys play golf in the spring, but the girls play in the fall and she was the only Genesee Region League participant in the event. 

Lapple shot a 44 on the front 9 and a 46 on the back for a 90, which was good for a sixth place tie.

Penfield senior Sarah Tranelli fired an impressive 73 to win the event, which featured the top 28 female golfers in  Section 5.

Saturday's Class D semifinal game between Perry and Notre Dame was originally scheduled to be played in Waterloo.

Section 5 did the right thing and moved the game closer, and to a great facility.

The game between No. 7 Perry (4-3) and No. 3 Notre Dame (5-2) will be at East Rochester High School at 3 p.m. Saturday.

I will be there and encourage as many GR football fans to attend the game and give our local team support as they look to make the finals.

The Notre Dame Girls Cross Country Team placed fifth in the small school race at the Clarence Invitational held at Akron Falls Park.  Ashley Calarco, still bothered by a tender foot,  placed second in the race in 21:31.  Teammate Jill Marshall placed 20th with 23:34.  Meghan Zickl (24:25), Rachel Berggren (25:12), and Haley Alexander (29:53) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.  Other finishers included Teresa Jackson (30:52), Kate Spadaccia (32:55), Tia Arnold (34:47), and LeeAnn Tindell (34:47).

While the Irish Varisty Team took the race off, the JV's raced to place 13th among all schools.  Andrew Fischer led the charge placing 53rd in 20:37.  Vince Stadler (22:10) and Matt Sausner (22:15) placed 95th and 98th respectively.  Conlan Edwards (30:55) and James Barcomb (41:43) rounded out the scoring for the Irish.

All Genesee/Livingston County Cross Country Teams will be in action on Thursday at Genesee Community College for the GR/LC County Championships.  The Boys race begins at 4:30, with the Girls to follow at 5:05.

I am one of the few sports guys that will call cheerleading a sport, but I love hearing about these girls competing in what is a difficult, and dangerous sporting event.

One of the best sectional championships - that I never get to attend - happended this past weekend as the Section 5 cheerleading competition took place.

I heard Batavia took first in Class B, which is awesome. This Democrat and Chronicle story says they did in the photo, but that Geneva did in the story.

Hopefully the BHS girls took home the title and we will get to see them on the sidelines for a while longer during football season.

UPDATE:

The D&C updated the story with results and Batavia did win. Holley's Heather Kelly also won Coach of the Year for Class C.

Congrats to all the girls on the BHS squad!

The game counts as a non-leaguer because the Class D playoffs are underway, but Genesee Region League powers Attica and Pembroke still put on a show Saturday.

Both squads had big games moving the football, but it was the Dragons that defended their home turf, 38-15, and wrapped up the No. 3 seed in the Class C playoffs next weekend.

Pembroke started the game with an 80-yard drive, but missed a field goal. The Blue Devils had a long drive of their own and were able to capitalize when Andy Ruddock finished off an 80-yard drive with a  5-yard TD run.

Pembroke drove again and this time got points as Andrew Wright had a 2-yard scoring run early in the second quarter.

After a stop, the Dragons added seven more points when David Kleckler tossed a 33-yard touchdown pass to Ken Babcock.

Attica had a golden chance to score to start the third quarter when the team marched all the way down to Pembroke's 3-yard line, but then fumbled the ball away. Pembroke drove 98 yards and Kleckler scored on an 8-yard keeper.

Kleckler had officially taken over at this point.

He intercepted a pass and returned it 31-yards for a score on Attica's next drive and then put an end to the following Blue Devil possession with another pick.

Wright took the ball 71 yards for a touchdown to wrap up Pembroke's scoring.

Attica had a late touchdown run.

Wright finished the game with 14 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns and Mike Dibble added 90 yards on 17 attempts.

Kleckler completed 5-of-6 attempts for 51 yards and also rushed for 52 yards on nine carries.

J.P. Phillips had 48 yards on seven rushes.

The Blue Devils fall to 4-3 and will be at East Rochester/Gananda (not Bath) in the opening round of the Class B tournament next weekend while Pembroke improves to 6-1 and will host Bishop Kearney.

Travis Fenstermaker, Andrew Alexander, Mike Humphrey and the rest of the Le Roy football team is definitely prepared for the sectional playoffs.

The Oatkan Knights thumped Class B powerhouse Hornell 41-19 Friday night and extended the Hartwood Park win streak to 42 games.

Le Roy ends the regular season a perfect 7-0 and heads into the Class C playoffs with the top seed.

Fenstermaker connected on 11-of-15 pass attempts for 223 yards and four touchdowns, including one to Mike Humphrey, who caught five passes for 77 yards. The two have hooked up on 10 touchdown passes this year.

Humphrey also had an interception.

Alexander gained 64 yards on the ground and 61 in the air and scored a touchdown.

Quentin Humphrey caught three balls for  75 yards and a TD, while making eight tackles to lead the defense.

The Oatkan Knights held Hornell's Austin Dwyer to 111 yards with one touchdown on 14 carries as the Raiders were forced to pass during the second half.

Hornell ends the regular season with a 5-2 record.

The Oakfield-Alabama football team wrapped up an undefeated season Friday with a 45-6 drubbing of Holley.

 It is the first time the Hornets have gone 7-0 since 1986 and the 10th seeded team in the state for Class C will enter the Section 5 Class C playoffs with a No. 2 seed.

Brad Riner had a great final regular season game, gaining 134 yards with three touchdowns on just six carries. His TDs came from 9, 40 and 52 yards.

A.J. Kehlenbeck had a touchdown run and threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight end Noah Seward and Joe Natalizia scored on a 5-yard run.

Jon Fisher kicked a 38-yard field goal.

Josh Athoe had 10 tackles.

Guy Hills threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Sean Baylor for the Hawks, who end the regular season with an 0-7 record and are heading to Pool Play.