Zaffram tweeted the news this afternoon and confirmed his transfer to The News via Twitter direct message a few minutes ago. A Canisius football source has confirmed the transfer as well.
The tweet, from his protected @BradZaffram account, read: "On my way to canisius to finalize it with a signature".
Sweet Home has won six straight Section VI Class A titles and advanced to the state championship game this year. Canisius won the Monsignor Martin Association title during an undefeated season and was the No. 1 large school in The News final poll.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Zaffram had a tremendous season for the Panthers, especially during the postseason. He delivered hit after hit from his linebacker spot while he was an offensive weapon as well.
I was unable to cover it this year, but here is the rundown from Thursday night's Niagara PAL/ACE All-Star Classic at Niagara Falls. Both games featured impressive performances by Canisius guards, one graduating (Aaron White), and two seemingly poised to step up as they heads into their junior (LaTerrance Reed) and sophomore (Howard Washington) seasons.
Falls coach Sal Constantino reported that the Freshman/Sophomore game that tipped off the night was "the best game we've had since I have been involved" with the games.
The East beat the West, 95-91, in TRIPLE-overtime. "It was a tough game all the way through, and at the end of regulation and the OTs, kids kept hitting clutch shots," said Constantino.
East High sophomore Percy Bryant (22 points) and Canisius freshman Washington (16) led the winning East side while Canisius sophomore Reed had 30 for the West, including many clutch shots in the late going.
Hello on one of the most meaningful days on this school year's Western New York high school sports calendar.
We'll be reporting live from Rochester's Blue Cross Arena, site of the Far West Regional round that determines berths in next week's state public school final four. Meanwhile, Canisius and St. Mary's will play for Catholic state titles at Fordham University. Here's a preview of today's boys hoop action.
Also today: Girls basketball regionals at Buffalo State and state semifinal boys hockey with Niagara-Wheatfield in action in Utica.
I'll provide play-by-play updates from the boys regionals in the live blog below and I'll have periodic #preptalkscores updates via Twitter which will also appear in the blog.
Your tweets with the hashtag #preptalkscores are welcome -- as they will appear in the live blog as well. You can comment on these games or others. Every night, scoring update tweets (in any sport) are welcome to those on Twitter -- just use the #preptalkscores hashtag.
Check our scoreboard page for a complete schedule of tonight's games; the scoreboard will be updated as we receive game reports throughout the evening.
The Basketball Coaches Association of New York has announced its finalists for the state's coveted Mr. Basketball on its web site, and half of the group is from Western New York.
Jermaine Crumpton of Niagara Falls and Adam Weir of Canisius are two of the four finalists, joining Connecticut recruit Terrence Samuel of South Shore and Christ The King's Jon Severe, who is being recruited by several Division I programs.
Canisius College fans should like this news; both Crumpton and Weir have signed to play for the Golden Griffins next season.
Also announced were the Miss Basketball finalists: Cassidy Chapko of Hoosic Valley, Saniya Chong of Ossining (signed with Connecticut), Alexandrea Flint of Keshequa, Lexi Martins of Irvington (signed with Lehigh) and Emia Willingham-Hurst of Albany High.
The Mr. Basketball award is traditionally announced during either the public school state championships in Glens Falls or the Federation championships in Albany.
Today is the first of seven straight days of hugely important boys basketball games as the Monsignor Martin Association's Manhattan Cup semifinals are held at Canisius College. Canisius will meet St. Mary's at 6 p.m., followed by St. Joe's meeting Bishop Timon-St. Jude around 7:30.
I'll provide play-by-play updates in the live blog below and I'll have periodic #preptalkscores updates via Twitter which will also appear in the blog.
Your tweets with the hashtag #preptalkscores are welcome -- as they will appear in the live blog as well. You can comment on these games or others. Every night, scoring update tweets (in any sport) are welcome to those on Twitter -- just use the #preptalkscores hashtag.
Check our scoreboard page for a complete schedule of tonight's games; the scoreboard will be updated as we receive game reports throughout the evening.
Sunday's semifinals at Canisius College 4-St. Mary's (19-6) vs. 1-Canisius (20-4), 6 p.m. 3-Bishop Timon-St. Jude (12-13) vs. 2-St. Joe's (20-5), 7:30 p.m. Championship
Wednesday at Canisius College, 7 p.m.
MONSIGNOR MARTIN GIRLS PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
Saturday's quarterfinals at Canisius College 1-Cardinal O'Hara vs. 8-Nichols, 10 a.m. 4-Nardin vs. 5-Christian Central, 11:30 a.m. 2-Sacred Heart vs. 7-Mount Mercy, 1 p.m. 3-Holy Angels vs. 6-Mount St. Mary, 2:30 p.m. Semifinals: Tuesday at Canisius College, 6 & 7:45 p.m. Championship
Fri. March 1 at Canisius College, 7 p.m.
We will be live from Canisius High tonight for two of this evening's four Manhattan Cup quarterfinals as the Monsignor Martin Association determines its final four.
I'll be at Canisius High, where the top-seeded Crusaders will play St. Francis at 5, followed by the highly-anticipated meeting of St. Mary's and Nichols at 6:30. Barring another quarterfinal upset, the St. Mary's-Nichols game will determine the Monsignor Martin's Class B representative in the state playoffs.
At St. Joe's, the Marauders host Archbishop Walsh at 5 followed by Bishop Timon-St. Jude meeting Niagara Catholic at 6:30. There are also a handful of early-round sectional games tonight for boys and girls basketball.
I'll provide updates in the live blog below. When I have my laptop out I'll be able to do play-by-play, otherwise I'll send #preptalkscores updates via Twitter, which will also appear in the blog.
Your tweets with the hashtag #preptalkscores are welcome -- as they will appear in the live blog as well. Every night, scoring update tweets (in any sport) are welcome to those on Twitter -- just use the #preptalkscores hashtag.
Check our scoreboard page for a complete schedule of today's games; the scoreboard will be updated as we receive game reports throughout the evening.
Keith McShea has covered high school sports at The News since his hiring in 1999. The 1995 University at Buffalo graduate and Long Island native (North Babylon Bulldogs) covers — and live blogs — everything from scrimmages to state championships & helps head The News' All-Western New York selections.
Lauren Nicole Mariacher joined The News in 2009 after graduating from the Columbia University School of Journalism. The Elma native and Iroquois graduate can usually be found on a sideline, capturing highlights for PrepTalkTV. She also hosts Prep Talk's weekly live show, with Keith McShea, as well as The News' live postgame Bills show — [BN]TheHuddle.
