football

Spring is in the air and so are footballs with several of them tossed last night at Cal-Mum by Alex Penepento to lead the Le Roy Oatkan Knights to a 19-0 win over Dansville to open the pandemic-shifted 2021 season.

Penepento was 11-17 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries.

Nate Andres carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards and a TD. Andrews also caught four passes for 65 yards.  

Cody Lytle caught three passes for 46 yards and two TDs.

Cole Rauscher led the defense with six tackles.

The Knights gained 228 offensive yards to 103 for Dansville. The Knights also led in first downs 15 to 6.

This video was submitted by Jazmyn Dobson, a teacher at KMS Dance Academy in Batavia. Students and staff, under the direction of owner Erica Grazioplene, put together this video in support of the Buffalo Bills.

Photo and information from Batavia resident Ann Hart:

Fun news -- my daughter Nichole Hart (second from left), a die-hard Bills' fan since birth (Bills' last playoff), moved to Hyannis, Ma., after graduating from pharmacy school to start her career in 2016. She has put up with a lot of sympathy from fans of the New England Patriots since then.

Now the tables have turned and she couldn’t be more excited!

So she and her fellow pharmacy friends from Albany, Rochester and Binghamton found a "once-in-a-lifetime" billboard to celebrate! It's in Foxborough, Mass., a town in the Greater Boston area where Gillette Stadium is located --  home of New England Patriots.

"(Nichole) said it was exhilarating standing there with people beeping as they drove by and other fans were coming and going as well, shouting 'Go Bills!' Ann Hart wrote in an email. "Just thought people could use some uplifting news!"

Nichole Hart is a 2010 graduate of Notre Dame High School.

In the photo from left are: Carolyn Enos, Nichole, Courtney Chapman and Ally Jurik.

President and CEO of Batavia Downs Gaming, Henry Wojtaszek, announced Thursday that they will give tickets to the upcoming Buffalo Bills' Football Playoff Game to frontline workers and first responders in the community.

“We are grateful to the Pegulas and to Governor Cuomo for allowing fans into the stadium for the playoff game," Wojtaszek said. “We wanted to make sure those who have been at the forefront of this pandemic and those keeping us safe during these extraordinary times were considered for this opportunity.

"These folks have made tremendous sacrifices for the greater good of the communities they serve. This offering is just a small part of what we can do to thank them.”

To be considered, Batavia Downs is asking that community members nominate a frontline healthcare worker or first responder by emailing a one paragraph synopsis on why that person should be considered for a ticket. The subject line should read: Ticket Nominee.

Email must also include:

• The nominee’s name;
• Job title;
• Place of employment;
• The nominee’s phone number and email address.

Nominations can be sent to rhasenauer@westernotb.com and will only be accepted until 11:59 tonight -- one minute prior to midnight Friday, Jan. 1^st.

Nominations will be reviewed and a limited number of nominees will be contacted on Saturday or Sunday if chosen.

“We’re very excited to give these tickets away,” said Ryan Hasenauer, director of Marketing for Batavia Downs. “Once we pick the recipients, we will be contacting each to let them know what they’ll need to do in accordance with the protocols set forth by New York State and the Buffalo Football Team.

Information on this and other ways tickets can be received can also be found on a post on their Facebook page.

Enough players showed up at Williams Park in Batavia this afternoon for an eight-team informal flag football tournament.

Press release:

Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) has been delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic to a date to be determined.

The NOFA organization is tentatively looking to plan for our 2020 season of football and cheer to commence, if possible, in March 2021. As well, NOFA intends to commence the regularly scheduled 2021 season the last week of July 2021.

In the meantime, please watch for NOFA football and cheer activities for our football players, cheerleaders and families.

Be SAFE and WELL NOFA families!

NOFA is the governing body for football and cheerleading for the areas that include Akron, Albion, Attica, Batavia, Holley, Medina, Newfane, Oakfield-Elba, Pembroke, RoyHart, and Tri-Town school districts.

NOFA has a full-contact football program that is age based with ages ranging from 6 – 13 based on a Dec. 1 birthdate.

We have four Divisions: 6 – 7 years old are Beginners; 8 -9 years old are Minis; 10 – 11 years old are JV; and 12 – 13 years old are Varsity.

Joe Bradt
Treasurer
NOFA Youth Football
PO Box 34
Oakfield NY 14125

Camden White checked off a big life goal yesterday when he signed a letter of intent to attend Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa., on a football scholarship.

"Just growing up, I fell in love with football," White said. "The main dream was being able to go to college for free. I always wanted to get a scholarship and Mercyhurst gave me a pretty good offer. I'm almost going to college for free so the dream came true."

White will study sports medicine, strength, and conditioning.

Mercyhurst is a Division II program.

It's no surprise to Batavia's head football coach, Brennan Briggs, that White landed a football scholarship.

"He's a product of hard work," Briggs said. "He came and played football with us when he was younger and he was a little smaller and he just dedicated himself to the weight room. He decided he was going to put his mind toward playing college football. His worth ethic and effort paid off and I just know he's going to have a great career at Mercyhurst."

His father, Al White, said he's glad Cam picked a school close to home.

"It was a good option," he said. "He could have gone further away but academically and athletically, it was the right choice for him."

Top photo: Front row, Caeden White, Al White, Camden White, Tina White, and Gavin White. Back row: Ted Stevens, Buddy Brasky, Brennan Briggs, Chris Harloff, and Javaughn Johnson.

Jackson Briggs, son of Batavia Blue Devils football Coach Brennan Briggs, made his first snowman today, finishing it this morning in advance of the Buffalo Bills' playoff game today in Houston.

Photo submitted by Brennan Briggs.

The Aggies won't get a chance to officially defend their 8-Man Football state championship because the other sections in the state dropped out of the competition, but with a convincing 60-34 win over Maple Grove in the Section V championship at St. John Fisher College, they left little doubt who is #1.

Ty Mott, who gained 202 yards, scored three touchdowns and intercepted two passes, was the game's most valuable player. 

Colton Dillon was the offensive player of the game. He rushed for 296 yards, giving him 1,473 yards on the season. He scored four times.

The defensive player of the game was Dylan Rykert who had eight tackles giving him 81 on the season. He also had two sacks. CJ Gottler had three sacks. Dillion had nine tackles.

The Batavian's coverage is the only Section V Athletics-authorized local coverage of the 8-Man championship.

Photos below by Kristin Smith. For more photos, click here, here, and here.

The Fighting Irish dominated Section V Class D all season but when it came time to meet the Section XI champs, and defending state champions, Clymer/Sherman/Panama, Notre Dame found themselves facing a tough opponent.

While Notre Dame was able to pick up yards on offense -- 328 total yards -- scoring points proved difficult while the Wolfpack had little difficulty crossing into the end zone. 

The final score was 47-14.

The Irish were without Head Coach Joe Zambito, who was ejected during the Class D sectional last week because of a personal foul by one of his personnel on the sideline. By rule, he had to sit out the next game.

Sophomore Colin McCulley took most of the snaps from center and put on an impressive performance, going 15-26 passing for 176 yards.

Jed Reese rushed for 84 yards on 17 carries. Gabe Macdonald scored a TD on 10 rushes for 21 hards and had four receptions for 33 yards. Mark Sanders had two receptions for 77 yards and a TD.

The Wolfpack had 332 total yards on offense. 

Macdonald had 10 tackles, Anthony Zambito, eight, Sanders, seven, Cody Henry, six, and Reese, five.

The Oatkan Knights went into their Class C sectional title matchup with Letchworth/Warsaw ranked #1 and on the hunt for a record-setting 16th title in program history.

They had beat L/W earlier this year but as the saying goes, it's hard to beat the same team twice in a season.

L/W grabbed the title with a 26-6 win.

Andrew Englerth (top photo) carried the ball 23 times for 114 yards and scored Le Roy's lone touchdown. Kyler LaCarte rushed for 109 yards on 24 carries.

Photos by Jim Burns. The Batavian's sideline coverage authorized by Section V Athletics.

The Oakfield-Alabama/Elba Aggies racked up 514 yards on their way to a 55-0 victory at Van Detta Stadium in the eight-man football Section V semifinal game against Frewsburg.

OA/Elba plays Mercy Grove at Van Detta at 1:30 p.m. next Saturday (Nov. 16) for the sectional championship.

QB Colton Dillon ran for 193 yards and scored three touchdowns. Ty Mott ran for 155 yards and scored two touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

Ty Kornow scored on a 59-yard run and Gaige Armbrewster scored on a 30-yard run. Nick Munger had a TD reception.

Peyton Yasses was involved in 18 tackles, Jayden Hughes and Dylan Rykert, 14 each, Alex Hoy, 13. Rykert had four sacks, CJ Gottler, three, and Yasses, Hughes, Dillon had one apiece. Joey Burdick had two interceptions.

The Batavian's sideline coverage is authorized by Section V Athletics.

Photos below by Kristin Smith. More photos available here and here.

In a rare match between local teams for a Section V championship, Notre Dame and Alexander clashed in Brockport on Friday night with the Fighting Irish holding on for a 14-7 victory to become the new Class D champions.

The Trojans were trying to defend their 2018 crown.

Jed Reese was named the game's MVP after gaining 57 yards on the ground and scoring a rushing TD in addition to returning a flubbed punt for a touchdown.

Irish QB Gabe Macdonald rushed for 108 yards.

On defense, Chad Henry had 12 tackles, Anthony Zambito, eight, plus two pass deflections, Dakota Sica had nine tackles and a sack.

The game was a defensive battle with Alexander holding ND to 197 total yards and the Irish throttling the Trojans at 189 yards.

For Alexander, Ty Woods carried the ball 24 times for 104 yards and completed 2-4 passes, including TD pass to Kam Lyons, who had six catches for 65 yards. Dylan Busch was 8-15 passing for 55 yards.

The Oatkan Knights are heading to a Class C championship game after beating East Rochester/Gananda 35-14 on Saturday.

Kyler LaCarte was 7-12 passing for 170 yards and three TDs, with one interception.  He also rushed for 54 yards on six attempts and scored a TD.

Andrew Englerth rushed 10 times for 21 yards and a TD. Jake Hill, Chase Bordonaro, and Nate Andrews each had a TD reception.

Cole Rauscher led the defense with 12 tackles. Alex Panepento and Zach Vanderhoof each had nine and Jake Hill had seven.

Both of the Bombers' TDs came late in the game after the Knights had pulled many of their starters.

Le Roy will face Warsaw in for the Class C championship at 5 p.m., Saturday, at the College at Brockport.

Photos by Jim Burns

The Alexander Trojan defense shut down Red Jacket in a Class D Section V semifinal at Cal-Mum on Friday for a 8-0 win.

Ethan Heineman led the defense by keeping pressure on Red Jacket's QB and recorded seven tackles and a sack.   Devin Dean had six tackles. Hayden Walton, 5, and Kam Lyons and Ty Woods each had an interception.

Alexander's lone score came on a quarterback sneak in the first quarter. It was the first TD of the year for Dylan Busch.  The Trojans lined up for a point-after-attemp but a Red Jacket offsides moved the ball closer to the endzone so Head Coach Tim Sawyer decided to go for two.  

Ty Woods ran for 120 yards on 22 carries and Busch had 45 yards on five carries. He was 4-13 passing for 65 yards.  Woods had two receptions for 42 yards.

Next week: Alexander faces Notre Dame for the Class D championship.  

The Fighting Irish advanced to the finals of the Class D sections on Friday with a 52-6 win over Bolivar-Richburg at Cal-Mum.

Jed Reese set a new single-season school record for yards rushed at 1,723 with 232 yards on 21 attempts. He scored three touchdowns.

QB Gabe Macdonald rushed for 37 yards on nine carries and scored a TD while passing for 52 yards and a TD. He was 6-10 and had two 2-point conversions.

Mark Sanders rushed for 96 yards on two carries and scored a TD. He had four receptions for 46 yards and a TD.

Cody Henry carried the ball nine times for 72 yards and a TD.

On defense, Henry had 10 tackles and a pass deflection. Macdonald had eight tackles. Reese and Connor McWilliams had five tackles each, one sack. Mason Randall had six tackles and a sack.

In all, Notre Dame notched five sacks and held B-R to 74 total yards.

Next, Alexander at Brockport for the Class D championship.

The Batavia Bulldawg Beginners (pictured above) became the first ever Beginners-level champions today with a 19-13 win over Pembroke.

The Mini division (pictured below) also won with a 19-12 win over Newfane.

More pictures here: Beginners; and here Minis.