Notre Dame

 I'll be visiting the five teams that are still playing in the Section 5 playoffs this week, doing video previews as well as my written ones. They will all be on The Batavian on Thursday to help fans get ready for the games.

Notre Dame will be playing Dundee on Saturday at  noon at PAETEC Park in the Class D finals.

Le Roy will play Letchworth at 1 p.m. with Pembroke vs. Oakfield-Alabama to follow at Aquinas in the Class C semifinals on Saturday.

Then Attica will play Bath at 6 p.m. Sunday at PAETEC in a Class B semifinal game.

I attended two practices today and will visit the other three teams on Wednesday and Thursday. You will get the most in-depth previews for local teams as we go deeper into the playoffs here at The Batavian.

I will also be covering games this weekend as well as doing a radio preview and guest appearance during the game on WVIN for the Attica/Bath game on Sunday. You will be able to hear the broadcast locally at www.localsportsedge.com. 

WBTA will also be broadcasting local games this weekend. The Notre Dame/Dundee game can be heard on 1490 AM or at www.wbta1490.com, and then at the conclusion of that game, Le Roy/Letchworth will be picked up. WBTA will stay on the air to cover the Oakfield-Alabama/Pembroke contest.

You will be able to see video highlights, a game story and photos of each game as soon as possible on The Batavian as well.

 With four teams still alive in the Section 5 playoffs, the Genesee Region League is having a heck of a postseason.

That was shown this week as four league players earned Player of the Week honors.

Notre Dame thumped Perry 56-0 in the Class D semifinals and got both the offensive and defensive POY.

Running back Mike Pratt rushed the ball nine times for 109 yards and three touchdowns and gets the offensive honor. Pratt is a 5-foot-9, 180-pound sophomore that led the Fighting Irish as the team rushed for 259 yards in the contest.

6-foot-1, 225-pound senior linebacker Craig Houseknecht had a sack on the opening Perry possession and finished the game with six solo tackles, six assists, the sack, a forced fumble and 1 1/2 tackles for losses of 26 yards to earn the defensive honor.

Pembroke beat Bishop Kearney 32-12 and 6-foot-5, 220-pound defensive end Ken Babcock was named the defensive POY. He had eight solo tackles, seven assists and knocked down a pass in the victory. Babcock also caught a touchdown pass in the win.

Attica's Dave Jennings was key in a historic 18-0 victory over East Rochester/Gananda this past weekend.

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound linebacker had nine tackles, a sack and an interception in the victory as the Blue Devils won a sectional football game for the second time ever.

Attica will be playing Bath in a semifinal game on Sunday while Oakfield-Alabama and Pembroke play each other in the semifinals on Saturday. Notre Dame gets to try to avenge last season's loss to Dundee in the finals on Saturday as well.

Snub alert: Oakfield-Alabama's Tim Smith rushed for 196 yards, had 331 all-purpose yards and scored six touchdowns in a 63-34 win over Dansville in a Class C game. How did he not get recognized?

Notre Dame is going to get another crack at Dundee, this time in the Section 5 Class D finals, after thumping Perry 56-0 Saturday at Don Quinn Field in East Rochester.

Dundee beat the Fighting Irish 18-13 last year and the two squads will be facing each other next Saturday at PAETEC Park. 

This Saturday's game was never a contest as the Yellowjackets couldn't move the ball or stop Notre Dame from getting into the end zone.

A Craig Houseknecht sack on the first offensive possession for Perry wound up forcing a three-and-out. Kevin Francis returned the punt 36 yards to the Perry 21 and just a couple of plays later, Mike Pratt ran it in from 15 yards out for the first score of the game.

Pratt then recovered a Perry fumble and a facemask penalty moved the ball deep into Yellowjacket territory. Nick Bochicchio tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Francis to finish off that drive.

Francis intercepted Perry quarterback James Devitt and the Fighting Irish were back at it again after the 25-yard return. Pratt scored from 14 yards out this time.

After the teams exchanged turnovers, Pratt broke a 40-yard run for a score to make it 28-0 near the end of the first quarter. He also had an interception in the final seconds of the first period.

Kevin Schildwaster had a 6-yard TD, Bochicchio tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rick Lair and R.J. Marchese dove in from 1-yard out and the score was 49-0 at halftime.

Notre Dame called off the dogs in the second half and everybody got into the game. The only score after the break was a Schildwaster 12-yard run.

The Fighting Irish out-rushed the Yellowjackets 259-31 and were led by Pratt, who gained 109 yards with the three scores on just nine carries.

Schildwaster ran the ball 11 times for 58 yards and two TDs and Marchese had three touches for 25 yards and a score.

Perry ends up 4-4 while the Fighting Irish improve to 6-2 and advance to the finals.

 All of the high school football previews are set in sports. Here's the list of playoff games with links.

Batavia at Geneva

Attica at ER/Gananda

South Seneca/Romulus at Le Roy

Dansville at Oakfield-Alabama

Bishop Kearney at Pembroke

Perry vs. Notre Dame, at East Rochester

Pool Play roundup

And just in case you missed it earlier in the week, here are the Genesee Region League all-stars.

 No surprise here.

The Oakfield-Alabama football rolled to a perfect 7-0 season and captured the Genesee Region League title, and nine players from that squad were named to the GR all-star team Monday night.

Coach John Dowd was named Coach of the Year as well for delivering the first undefeated regular season for the Hornets since 1986.

O-A has rushed for a whopping 2,242 yards as a team during the regular season. Week 7 counts as non-league games because the Class D teams were already in the playoffs.

That being said, two of the three running backs on the squad and three offensive lineman lead the way.

6-foot-3, 275-pound Chris Williams was a unanimous choice at guard and 6-foot-1, 275-pound center Craig Campbell also was a key on the best offensive line in the league. Both were all-state selections two years ago, with Williams making all-stars for a third-straight year.

5-foot-8, 200-pound tackle Derek Hicks also made the all-star squad.

The O-A offensive line opened many holes for Tim Smith and Brad Riner, who both earned all-star recognition as seniors.

Smith led the Hornets in rushing with 771 yards and 11 touchdowns through six games, then rested in the final game of the season against Holley. He was the offensive Player of the Week for Class C in Week 4.

Riner, a fullback, picked up 639 yards and 10 scores this season, including a three TD game in the final game of the season.

Noah Seward had 29 tackles, an interception and four sacks and Tyler Kowalczyk had 2.5 sacks, an interception and 23 tackles. Both made the all-star team as defensive linemen.

It is Seward's second all-star nod.

Linebacker John Koenig had 17 tackles and two fumble recoveries and is joined by A.J. Kehlenbeck - one of only two juniors - on the all-star squad. Kehlenbeck had three interceptions and 17 tackles.

The Hornets are ranked No. 10 in the state for Class C and open up the Section 5 playoffs with a home game against Dansville Friday night.

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Pembroke ended the year one point away from the league title after its only loss came to Oakfield-Alabama, 25-24, in Week 6.

Quarterback David Kleckler had a stellar year and leads the group of seven Dragons to make the team.

Kleckler completed 30-of-56 attempts for 651 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also rushed for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

Andrew Wright made the team as a wide receiver, but could have been selected as a running back. He gained 774 yards on the ground and got into the end zone 10 times, while catching 13 passes for 340 yards and three TDs.

He also had a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD, a 58-yard punt return for a score and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Tight end Ken Babcock caught 15 passes for 275 yards with five touchdowns and made the team because of his big-play ability in the red zone. He is a two-time all-star.

Graham Jensen is 5-foot-11, 210-pounds and made the team as a guard while 6-foot-2, 235-pound Matt Klotzbach is an all-star defensive lineman.

Jensen had 42 tackles on defense and Klotzbach had 45 stops with a sack.

Josh Hanel - a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder - was selected as a linebacker and safety Mike Dibble was selected as a defensive back.

Hanel had 45 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery and Dibble made 62 tackles. Dibble also rushed for 522 yards and eight touchdowns.

It is the second all-star appearance for both Babcock and Jensen.

Pembroke opens up the Class C playoffs with Bishop Kearney on Saturday.

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Notre Dame gets four all-star selections after going 4-2 in the regular season. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 and playing Perry on Saturday at East Rochester in the Class D semifinals.

Kevin Francis made the squad for the second straight year as a wide receiver. He caught 27 passes for 337 yards with five touchdowns in six regular season games.

Francis returned five kickoffs for 145 yards and nine punts for 142 yards and a touchdown.

Craig Houseknecht is a 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior and made the team as a guard while Rick Lair makes it as a linebacker.

Lair had 41 tackles and 34 assists with two forced fumbles and eight tackles for a loss.

Matt Thompson is only a junior but garners all-star recognition for the second time as a kicker/punter.

Thompson converted on 26-of-30 extra point attempts and had a season-long 35-yard field goal. He averaged 43.5 yards on kickoffs with 10 touchbacks while averaging 40.4 yards per punt, including four inside the 20.

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Attica went 4-3 during the regular season and gets three all-stars.

Andy Ruddock earned offensive Player of the Week for Class B in Week 3 and is an all-star for the second time. He rushed for 936 yards with 10 touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a score.

Shawn Dupuis had 29 tackles with a fumble recovery and makes the team as a defensive back. He was the leading receiver for the Blue Devils, catching 26 passes for 530 yards and six touchdowns.

Kevin Gallinger was the defensive Player of the Week in Week 6 and had a huge year at linebacker. Gallinger had 54 tackles and an interception.

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Barker went 1-5 and nearly shocked top-seed Clyde-Savannah in the Class D playoffs last week.

Defensive lineman Ray Paul makes the all-star squad with 33 tackles and a sack.

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Honorable mentions: 

Alexander - Joe Aurrichio, Lucas Czechowski, Steve George, Jordan Leitten, Ryan Piechocki, Ryan Wilson.

Attica - Luke Pariso, Brandon Rollins.

Barker - Cody Blackley, Greg Brown, Rob Johnson, Josh Sonberg.

Elba/Byron-Bergen - Brent Crawford, Zach Green, Brandon Shuknecht, Cody Torpey.

Holley - Cory Blood, Guy Hills.

Notre Dame - Greg Barr, Nick Bochicchio, Eric Houseknecht, Kevin Schildwaster, Cam McDonald.

Oakfield-Alabama - Josh Athoe, Jon Fisher.

Pembroke - MIke Wells.

No. 6 DeSales didn't give Notre Dame much of a game in the Section 5 Class D opener.

The third seeded Fighting Irish dominated from the start and rolled to a 55-6 victory and will be moving on to the semifinals next weekend against the winner of tonight's game between C.G. Finney and Perry.

Notre Dame started off the scoring with a big play when Kevin Francis returned a punt 50 yards for a score. He followed that up with a 13-yard touchdown reception from Nick Bochicchio.

Bochicchio then found Mike Pratt on a 10-yard touchdown pass and Pratt added a 5-yard touchdown run to give ND a quick 28-0 lead.

DeSales finally got on the scoreboard as Brendan Costello tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Don Derenzo, but it was all Notre Dame after that.

Kevin Schildwaster had a 17-yard touchdown run, Beau Richter scored from nine yards out with Greg Barr and Jon Corona adding late touchdown runs.

The Fighting Irish had a 313-103 yard rushing advantage in the game as Schildwaster finished the day with 12 carries for 131 yards. Pratt had 66 yards and picked off a pass and Barr finished with 61 yards on just four attempts.

Rick Lair and Craig Houseknecht both had fumble recoveries, with Houseknecht getting a sack as well.

Costello only completed 7-of-22 attempts for 80 yards as DeSales ends the year 3-4.

Notre Dame is now 5-2 and awaits the winner of tonight's game between Finney and Perry.

It has been about 8 years since the Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team won the Division III League title.  The Irish captured the title yesterday after beating Pembroke, Alexander, Attica, and Pavilion at Pembroke High School to finish the regular season at 19 – 2. 

The 6^th, 7^th, 8^th , and 9^th place finishes of Matt Jackson, Kevin Pawlak, Eric Shormann, and Nate Flumerfeldt ensured the victory for the Irish.  Quin O’Connor placed 2^nd in the race.  Taylor Alexander, Marshall Argenta, Conlan Edwards and Matt Sausner all had very solid performances.  Colin Bartholomew of Pembroke won the race, just 1/2 second ahead of O'Connor.  The team scores were as follows:

Notre Dame 23, Pembroke 31

Notre Dame 19, Pavilion 39

Notre Dame 15, Alexander 47

Notre Dame 15, Attica 50

Pembroke 22, Pavilion 37

Pembroke 15, Alexander 48

Pembroke 15, Attica 50

Pavilion 19, Alexander 40

Pavilion 17, Attica 44

Alexander 20, Attica 37

The girls finished the regular season on a strong note, beating Pembroke, Alexander, and Pavilion, while dropping to Attica.  The girls stand in third place in Division III and complete the season at 14 – 7.

Ashley Calarco easily won the race and Jill Marshall took fourth the lead the Irish.  Rachel Berggren had a great performance for the Irish finishing 14^th in the race.  The team scores were as follows:

Attica 23,  Notre Dame 32

Attica 19, Alexander 36

Attica 15, Pavilion 50

Attica 15, Pembroke 50

Notre Dame 26, Alexander 29

Notre Dame 15, Pavilion 50

Notre Dame 15, Pembroke 50

Alexander 15, Pavilion 50

Alexander 15, Pembroke 50

Pavilion and Pembroke were incomplete.

Various teams may be in action this weekend with the Alexander Invitational, at the Field of Dreams, and the Houghton Invitational this Friday night, and the Clarence Invitational at Akron Falls Park this Saturday.  All Genesee and Livingston County Cross Country Teams will be racing in the County Championship Meet at Genesee Community College next week Thursday, October 23.

 The Notre Dame football team is ready for playoff action.

The Fighting Irish wrapped up their regular season with a 48-14 win over visiting Elba/Byron-Bergen Saturday afternoon, and were nearly perfect in doing so.

The victory clinches a home playoff game in the first round of the Class D playoffs next Saturday, where ND will either be a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

While Saturday's results were ugly, both on the field and off of it, Notre Dame's players are ready to go. They compiled 369 rushing yards compared to Elba/Byron-Bergen's 129.

Kevin Schildwaster racked up 129 yards and two scores on just eight carries and Mike Pratt added 92 yards on 14 carries.

Greg Barr finished with 12 carries for 58 yards with a TD and Gianni Zambito had four carries for 24 yards and two scores.

The Fighting Irish didn't pass the ball in the second half because of the blowout, but Nick Bochicchio had a solid effort, going 6-of-8 for 102 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Francis had that TD and caught four passes for 69 yards.

The Lancers actually opened the game with a touchdown on a great play. Elba/B-B made the surprising switch at starting QB from Eric Kowalik - who had been the starter for the past month - to Cody Torpey, who started at the beginning of the season.

Torpey had a nice game as signal-caller and kicked off the game's scoring with a 44-yard TD strike to 6-foot-6 receiver David Garnish, who made a finger-tip catch. 

The Lancers could be looking in the senior's direction more as the regular season wraps up.

Notre Dame got a 29-yard kickoff return from Zambito for solid starting field position on its opening drive.

The 1:30 drive which started at  midfield ended up leading to a 7-7 tie midway through the opening frame when Bochicchio pitched a ball up for Francis, who jumped over a defender to haul it in before jolting a few more yards to the end zone.

After Pratt recovered an Elba/B-B fumble, Notre Dame was back in business at the Lancer 7-yard line.

Schildwaster took it in from 7-yards out for the go-ahead less than a minute after the Irish had last scored. The faked extra point led to a two-point conversion pass from Schildwaster to Greg Barr.

Schildwaster later broke off a 48-yarder to set up a Beau Richter 1-yard TD run that gave ND a 22-7 lead after the opening frame.

After an Elba/Byron-Bergen punt, Bochicchio hooked up with Francis on a 29-yard pass to set up another Schildwaster TD run, this time for 10 yards.

The Lancers failed to move the ball again and failed to convert on a fourth-and-6 at their own 44.

Bochicchio hooked up with Rick Lair on a 27-yard pass inside the 5-yard line.

Zambito scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and this is when the game got ugly. There was a personal foul called for a late hit after Zambito - who attended Elba before transferring to ND this year - scored.

Another penalty was issued as players were nearly ejected and some of the Elba/B-B fans started getting on the officials.

It was an ugly first half for the Lancers, who had six penalties for 84 yards.

The score was 34-7 at the half.

The Fighting Irish received the second half kickoff and marched 67 yards over nearly 10 minutes, with Barr scoring on a 1-yard run. 

The score remained 41-7 through three periods of play, but an unnecessary roughness call against the Lancers on a punt play pushed them deep into their own territory with another punt on the way.

The kick made it out to the Elba/B-B 40, and Pratt took it back to the 32.

Zambito scored a few plays later on a 10-yard scamper to finish up Notre Dame's scoring.

The Lancers tacked on a late touchdown with Zach Green ripping off a 67 yard touchdown run with seven minutes left in the contest.

 Elba/Byron-Bergen falls to 1-5 and is most likely eliminated from the Section 5 Class C playoffs, and will be in Pool Play.

Notre Dame is now 4-2 and will kick off the Class D playoffs on Saturday at home.