The News' tribute to the state champions of the fall season continued today with a poster page devoted to the Clarence girls swimming team.
We have run poster pages on Orchard Park football (with the All-Western New York team on Dec. 3) as well as girls volleyball champions Eden (Dec. 26) and St. Mary's (Dec. 31).
You can purchase high-quality versions of the championship pages at buffalonewsstore.com.
There will also be a page devoted to the state cross country champions.
The Scholastic Spotlight page returns on Tuesday, as do the basketball polls.
Hello from St. John Fisher, the site for today's Far West Regionals in boys lacrosse. The day starts with the Class A game between Clarence and Pittsford at 1, the Class B game pits Niagara-Wheatfield against Irondequoit at 3:30 and the Class C game has Silver Creek facing Penn Yan at 6.
1:17 p.m. No blog until now because there's been nothing to blog about.
We're in a lightning delay, with 17 minutes counting down on the scoreboard clock, so we're running a half hour behind. That's, of course, if there isn't any more lightning. Some good news is that a very steady rain has just let up a bit and the heretofore grey skies seem to be lightening (not to be confused with lightning).
In the mean time, feel free to browse our Section VI championships post, which includes a bunch of video interviews and a few highlights (from farrr away :-) ).
1:22 p.m. Update: The Class A faceoff is now scheduled for 1:55 p.m.
My take on today is that Clarence and Niagara-Wheatfield are not expected to win and it would be a surprise if either won. Pittsford is 19-0 and has been highly regarded all season; Irondequoit is a regular here and is 16-3 with two losses to Section V Class A teams (one was Pittsford) and one to Duxbury, Mass. In the regular season, the Section V teams in Class A and B have won nonleague games against Section VI teams to the point where it appears that Section V teams have the edge this year.
Now, Class C could be a lot of fun. Penn Yan is a state power and Silver Creek has had a season-long goal of making it to the state final four. No Section VI team has ever won the Class C regional since it was formed in 2000. It will be fun to see how the Black Knights' explosive offense and stickwork do up against one of the top programs in the state for decades.
Penn Yan is 16-3 against its typically tough schedule, but Section VI fans can point to Clarence's 7-6 win at Penn Yan as encouraging. Silver Creek recorded a big win over Orchard Park this season, and, of course, Clarence beat OP in the Section VI final.
1:56 p.m. That 1:55 time was pretty much dead-on. Teams are concluding warmups right now and introductions will soon begin.
2:10 p.m. My apologies on some browser problems at the start.
Pittsford calls a timeout with Clarence doubling the ball with 6:39 left in the first quarter.
Clarence's Jack Lally won the first faceoff, Clarence failed to convert an extra-man chance; senior Zach Johnson has had two great saves on Pittsford -- going low with the stick. One very poor turnover by Clarence a possession ago, but otherwise it's not like they look like they are out of place here.
2:14 p.m. Pittsford takes a 1-0 lead as Corey Parke blows by a short stick and scores on the left side with 4:40 left in the first.
It was a lengthy possession during which Johnson with another fine stop -- getting a leg on a shot.
2:16 p.m. James Burke rolls off a defender and scores nicely for a 2-0 Pittsford lead with 3:24 to go in the first.
2:18 p.m. Pittsford goalie is double-teamed near midfield and it's another timeout for the Panthers with 2:02 left in the first.
2:23 p.m. Man, Clarence has a knack for getting goals in the final seconds of quarters.
At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Pittsford leads Clarence, 2-1.
The Red Devils got on the board with a really pretty play as Charles Warkenthien had his defender fall down; he then went to the cage, drew a defender and went cross-cage to Dave DeCirce to scored on the open side.
2:27 p.m. Tyler Skowronski drives and draws a foul with 9:42 left in first.
2:29 p.m. Great stick check by Andrew Larson gets possession for Pittsford after the expiration of the man-up.
2:30 p.m. Parke with a nice individual run down the left side and a goal for a 3-1 Pittsford lead with 6:57 left in the first. After a lengthy empty possession by Clarence, including the man-up, Parke got taht goal with some quick work.
2:33 p.m. Clarence gets a goal with 6:16 left on a very nice play by Wittig, who takes a hit but finds Troy Boller for the goal and a 3-2 game. The hit results in a man-up for Clarence, which wins the faceoff with Lally and a wing man doing nice work, and coach Mike Silverstein with 6:04 left in the second quarter.
2:38 p.m. Some nice defensive work by Clarence to get the ball down and the officials grant a timeout with 3:23 left in the second although the ball may have popped loose on a check. Pittsford coaches take turns yelling at the sideline official, with one marching down the sideline purposely to berate the referee.
2:43 p.m. Clarence has possession for the final minute, but they can't make it another quarter with a final-second goal.
At HALFTIME, Pittsford leads Clarence, 3-2.
2:55 p.m. We're going live-chat for the second half.
Here's the Class B game:
5:19 p.m. The second half has just started. We're going old school with the updates with the game pretty much out of hand. An official just visited the press box so the timekeeper was aware of the mercy rule, in which a running clock is instituted after a team takes a 12-goal lead.
5:22 p.m. Now 14-4 after Enright scores from Coholan with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. N-W had a lengthy possession before that goal.
5:24 p.m. Timeout Niagara-Wheatfield with 7:49 left in third.
5:26 p.m. Miller scores off a pass from Kostyk with 6:04 left. ... Followed by George Jerman scoring right off the faceoff with 5:54 left in the third. A running clock starts after the next faceoff as it is now 16-4.
5:29 p.m. Bissell scores off a nice feed from Patterson to make it 16-5 and the clock stops at 5:00 left in the third.
5:36 p.m. With 29.7 seconds left in the third, Irondequoit scores with Brandon Costanzo and the lead is back to 12 at 17-5.
5:37 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Niagara-Wheatfield, 17-5.
5:40 p.m. Mo Bissel finishes off a pass from Dubec to make it 17-6 with 10:33 left.
5:42 p.m. Kostyk scores for a 18-6 lead with 9:22 left.
5:46 p.m. Brad Thomas answers an Irondequoit goal and with 5:24 left it is 19-7.
5:52 p.m. 20-7 after a man-up goal by Irondequiot's No. 23, who is not in the program. Not a good thing when players not in the program are scoring on you, of course.
Reported as Joel Romer.
5:54 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Irondequoit 20, Niagara-Wheatfield 7.
6:30 p.m. Time for the Class C game. And back to the live blog ...
Here's Silver Creek's celebration from the sideline to the field:
Hello again from All High Stadium for another spectacularly sunny day for the Section VI lacrosse championships -- yesterday it was the girls, today it's the boys.
Today's tripleheader begins with an excellent Class C matchup between Amherst and Silver Creek at 3:30 p.m. (it's one I wrote about in Tuesday's Scholastic Spotlight). Then it is the Class A final between Orchard Park and Clarence at 5:30 and the Class B final has Niagara-Wheatfield takes on Hamburg in a scheduled 8 p.m. start.
Class C
3:54 p.m. First chance for an update after setting up here; Silver Creek has a 2-0 lead with 2:53 left in the first quarter.
The first goal was by eighth-grader Sherman Williams, who came in from the right side to convert a pass by Frank Brown wth 6:16 left; Blake Curry then scored off a very nice cross-cage transition pass from Jon Jimerson with 4:08 left.
4 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Silver Creek leads Amherst, 4-0.
Silver Creek added two more goals in the final three minutes as their famously high-powered offense is certainly doing its thing. Zach Williams converted a pass from Curry with 2:46 left; Silver Creek got a full-field breakaway on a play in which Amherst had a mixup as the official winded the clock -- and Curry went in alone and scored.
4:04 p.m. Silver Creek starts strong in the second quarter with a goal thanks to a fantastic effort by Zeddie Williams, who picked up a failed clear by Amherst, zig-zagged his way through at least three defenders before finding Frank Brown open on the left side of the cage for the goal 49 seconds into the quarter.
Amherst responds less than a minute later with its first goal as Evan Theilman converted a back-of-the-cage pass by Clifton Jackson with 10:14 left in the second for a 5-1 Silver Creek lead.
4:13 p.m. Silver Creek got one back quickly by Zed Williams just eight seconds later to make it 6-2, but Amherst came back with a two-goal surge to cut it to 6-4. Ed Doherty scored on an unassisted rush from behind the left side of the cage with 6:56 left, then 22 seconds later Jackson burst from the left side to the right and scored on about a 10-yard shot.
4:20 p.m. Amherst came within one as Ted Tiftickjian converted in close off a pass by Doherty with 4:24 left in the second quarter, but then Silver Creek flashed more offensive prowess with two quick goals.
Zed Williams scored on a low-slung shot from the right side off a pass from Zach Williams with 3:48 left, then Zed followed with a outstanding play to set up a Brown goal. Right off a faceoff win by Zack Williams, Zed Williams ran the ball across the front of the goal about 15 yards out, and, as he appeared to head to pull the ball back out, he no-look, backhanded a pass to Brown at the left side of the cage for an 8-5 lead with 3:33 left .
4:22 p.m. Amherst gets an extra-man opportunity and cashes in immediately as Theilman scores from about 10 yards straight out after Jackson fed him the ball soon after the whistle restarted play. Silver Creek's lead is 8-6 with 2:12 left in the second.
4:26 p.m. We are at HALFTIME with Silver Creek leading Amherst, 10-7.
Fun finish to a fun quarter. Amherst cut the lead to one (8-7) less than a minute after its previous goal as Dane Bentley created a nice play by feeding Theilman, who was in motion from behind the left side of the cage and he scored with 1:13 left in the quarter.
The Black Knights again flashed their offense thanks to more faceoff work by Zack Williams, who won two straight that led to a pair of goals. Just nine seconds after Amherst cut the lead to one, Zack Williams won the faceoff, sprinted out and found Frank Brown on the left for a 9-7 lead. Another faceoff win and another six seconds later (whoa), Zack Williams created a tic-tac-toe goal that was finished nicely by Sherman Williams for the 10-7 lead with :59 left in the half.
4:41 p.m. Amherst with a great start to the third quarter with two goals to cut the Silver Creek lead to 10-9. Doherty scored on a rebound and Dane Bentley scored 1:27 later with 9:11 left in the third.
4:48 p.m. Silver Creek takes a timeout with 5:07 left in the third; they have an 11-9 lead after a goal on a long, hard shot by Zeddie Williams with 6:02 left.
4:49 p.m. Black Knights score quickly after the timeout as Zack Williams picks up a ground ball and fires a long pass to Jon Jimerson on the right doorstep for a 12-9 lead.
4:54 p.m. Tough to keep track of all of this action :-) Amherst keeps staying close, Silver Creek keeps flashing the offense to stay ahead. The Black Knights' lead is 14-10 heading into the final minute of the third.
4:56 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Silver Creek leads Amherst, 14-10.
5:04 p.m. Amherst calls a timeout with 8:00 left to go and the score still 14-10 in favor of Silver Creek.
5:11 p.m. Silver Creek doing a great job here in the fourth and now leads, 17-10. They've had a few more flashy goals, but they've also had some lenghty, smart possessions, and its defense has stepped up with some body checks, stick checks and freshman goalie Connor Graves just came up with a fine save.
Zeddie Williams went on a solo charge to the goal with 5:24 left, somehow scoring as he fell to the turf while being slashed. Frank Brown added his fifth goal with 3:56 left in transition off the Graves save, and Sherman Williams scored off a great long feed from Brown with 3:23 left for the seven-goal lead.
5:14 p.m. Silver Creek calls a timeout with 2:06 left and holding its 17-10 lead.
5:20 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Silver Creek 17, Amherst 10.
The Black Knights win their third straight Class C title.
The postgame show:
Class A
6:07 p.m. We have our first timeout in the A final, taken by Orchard Park. The game is scoreless with 5:57 left in the first quarter. Both teams have exchanged turnovers for the most part with no good chances of note.
6:17 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Orchard Park leads Clarence, 2-0.
Orchard Park scored twice in a 2:17 span, both on unassisted goals. Tim Wagner went from left to right and scored on about a 10-yard shot with 5:48 left in the first; Austin Goltz followed with a charge from the right side and scored while spinning and falling to the turf while being fouled.
Clarence has had a few shots, all but one of them going wide of OP goalie Nick Owens.
6:23 p.m. OP calls a timeout following a failed clear with 9:46 left in the second quarter. Quakers lead, 3-0, after a nice play with Wagner up high and feeding forward to Goltz, who came in from the left side and scored on a high shot just under the crossbar.
6:33 p.m. Clarence calls a timeout with 4:12 left in the second quarter.
Clarence scored its first goal moments ago as Tom Zimmermann converted a pass from Charles Warkenthien with 7:30 left in the first quarter; OP leads, 3-1.
6:38 p.m. OP goes ahead, 5-1, after two goals within a minute. Connor Hicks speeds to the cage and whips a shot that Clarence goalie Zach Johnson got a piece of but trickled in with 2:57 left; Goltz with another goal, his third, as he goes flying to the cage and scores with 2:03 to go in the second.
6:42 p.m. Moments after an incredible point blank save by OP's Nick Owens, Clarence gets one past him on an unsettled play as Dave DeCirce picked up a loose ball off a missed pass and fired it in -- and at a great time, with just 2.9 seconds left in the half.
At HALFTIME, Orchard Park leads Clarence, 5-2.
7:02 p.m. Great start for the Red Devils, scoring twice in the first 3:35 of the third quarter to come within 5-4 and get its crowd fired up.
Warkenthien scored off a pass from Nick Gay just as an extra-man opportunity had come to an end with 9:24 left; a fast break with Alec Dietsch displaying some nice speed before finding DeCirce at the left side of the cage -- his up-and-down fake gave him a goal with 8:25 left in the third.
7:11 p.m. HELLO. We've got a tie game at 5-5 AT THE END OF THE THIRD QUARTER.
As it did in the second quarter, another huge, late goal for Clarence as Cooper Wittig sprints from the left side and unleashes a long shot from about 12 yards out that skids low into the goal with 4.4 seconds left.
Can't remember the last time I've covered a Class A final fourth quarter in which the score was tied to start. Might have to go back to an OP-Hamburg classic at UB Stadium in the early 2000s, which was when Hamburg was an A and which was won by OP in OT. Here we go.
7:17 p.m. Here we go indeed. Clarence now LEADS, 7-5, with less than 10 minutes to go.
Wittig scored as he streaked down the middle and scored off a pass by Gay with 10:47 left. After a Jack Lally faceoff win, Warkenthein came on a strong solo effort from behind the cage on the right side and whipped around and scored with 10:06 left.
Reminder: OP has won 16 straight Section VI Class A titles.
7:23 p.m. Injury timeout with 6:07 left as OP's Trevor Vargo is down on the turf. Clarence leads, 7-5.
7:28 p.m. Orchard Park calls a timeout with the ball and 3:42 left with Clarence still leading, 7-5.
7:33 p.m. Clarence timeout with the ball and 1:31 left. They ran more than 30 seconds off before the timeout.
7:35 p.m. Another timeout by Clarence with 1:00 left after running some more clock off.
7:38 p.m. Another timeout with 19.6 seconds left.
7:41 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE and it is a STUNNER: Clarence 7, Orchard Park 5.
Sixteen-time defending champ OP goes down.
The postgame show:
Class B
8:36 p.m. Niagara-Wheatfield has an early, 3-2 lead on Hamburg with about three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Clarence win over OP has created an extra story for me to write so the updates won't be as plentiful here for the B game. My apologies. I will update at least at the quarters.
8:40 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Niagara-Wheatfield leads Hamburg, 3-2.
9:04 p.m. Niagara-Wheatfield used a four-goal run to take an 8-3 lead before Hambug got one back with 4:19 left in the quarter.
At HALFTIME, Niagara-Wheatfield leads Hamburg, 8-4.
9:57 p.m. Sorry for the delay. Exciting second half while I've been writing. Wheatfield leads, 9-8, with 1:11 left in the game.
10:05 p.m. WOW. We're going to OVERTIME tied at 9-9.
Wild finish with Hamburg tying the game with 32.9 seconds left in regulation as Pat Nowak scored off a pass from Max Maxwell.
Hamburg had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but after one shot was blocked at the defense, a shot by Maxwell with the clock winding down was stopped by N-W goalie Rob Eisenbart. Awesome save.
Four minutes on the clock.
10:10 p.m. Niagara-Wheatfield WINS IN OVERTIME, 10-9, as Cory Becker picked up a loose ball at midfield, then sped to the cage and -- with Hamburg roving goalie Thomas Liponi retreating after the turnover -- scored to give Niagara-Wheatfield the win 48 seconds into overtime. Wow.
Here's video of the winning goal, and my apologies that it isn't clearer. I ran down into the stands to get a better angle (in front of that girder you see in other shots), but the game-ending play happened so fast -- it was too fast for me to adjust the focus to take the glare of the lights away. My bad (chest tap).
It's the first title for Niagara-Wheatfield since 1986.
The postgame show:
* * *
10:59 p.m. Whoa. What a night. The B game going to OT was a tense thriller that we hadn't really seen here in two days of championships.
Sidenote: Clarence had a pretty good night, huh? Lacrosse team knocks off OP, baseball is champions for third straight year, softball team is back in the final. Throw in football and boys soccer titles (Mike Silverstein coaches both boys soccer and boys lax) and the Red Devils have had quite a year.
I'll be getting additional info up here.
The scoreboard page has statistics from all of the games here tonight as well as all of the other action on a busy, important day in high school sports.
All three boys finals will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable SportsNet on Thursday.
Hello from Kenmore West, my first stop of at least two tonight. West is hosting Kenmore East in their first rivalry game, with the girls to follow at 7 p.m.
I'm definitely ending up at Clarence at Jamestown (7:30 p.m. start) but I might try and squeeze in a visit to Cheektowaga, which is hosting Depew in a 6:30 p.m. start. I think I want to be at Clarence for the beginning of that one, so I might just head there.
6:49 p.m. The boys game started at 5:30 p.m., but as I said last week, the only good reason to be late for a basketball game is if you're coming from another one (weekly pickup ball).
I walked in with West up, 57-42, heading into the fourth quarter. I kind of wished it was a closer game, but I'm sure the home folks disagree. :-) It will be good to get a first look at Ken West, whose most notable game was a close loss at Niagara Falls that certainly turned some heads.
West now has a 67-52 lead with about four minutes left.
6:56 p.m. A lot of free throws since I've been here -- and some threes. Donte Bono just hit his second of the quarter for East to cut the West lead to 67-56 with just over two minutes to go.
6:59 p.m. P.J. Blanch gets fouled on an aggressive drive to basket and hits two free throws to cut the lead to 67-58 with 1:58 left.
7:01 p.m. Blanch goes down in great pain with 55.6 seconds left and East calls a timeout still trailing by 67-58.
7:04 p.m. Just got a picture of Martin Bailey hitting the first of what would be two free throws. West added another for a 70-58 lead with less than 30 seconds left.
7:05 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Kenmore West 71, Kenmore East 58.
Seventh win in a row for the Blue Devils. Nice job by West -- I can see how they could cause teams problems. They played very composed and smart with a lead from what I watched. Four players in double figures plus 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore Quinton Campbell grabbing 14 rebounds.
7:15 p.m. Going to input the box score for the Web and then hit the road. I'll probably head right to Clarence.
Here's Ken West coach Michael Meetze on the win and his team's season.
8:09 p.m. I'm telling you, the ride to Clarence is longggg. I've made tons of trips here over the last year with the school's success in soccer, softball, lacrosse, football and hoops. For some reason, when you think about heading to Clarence you think it's close, when it's really not. These are things this Prep Talk-er has to think about when planning coverage.
We took advantage of the time, however. I was able to upload the Meetze video above during the trip -- don't worry, we were safe: we did it during the many red lights on Sheridan Drive from the Town of Tonawanda to Clarence.
Hello from what the locals call the Devils' Den, where Jamestown has a 18-16 lead after one quarter and renowned DJ Dominic Taverna is doing his thing on the PA.
Most notable is that Jaysean Paige, the junior who seems to be scoring 30-something each night, did not start and did not play the entire quarter.
8:10 p.m. Paige takes the shooting shirt off and is in for the start of the second quarter.
8:12 p.m. Paige with a sweet three from the left side, nice and easy and a swish for a 23-16 lead for the Red Raiders.
8:16 p.m. David Hill hits a three for Clarence to cut it to 23-19 with about 4:30 left in the second quarter.
8:17 p.m. Paige with a nice bounce-pass assist underneath to Darin Butts for a 25-19 Jamestown lead with under 3:30 left in second.
8:18 p.m. Paige with a very nice pullup; again, nice and easy. Tyler Funk answers inside to make it 27-23. Funk blocks Paige on the other end, but the official says there was body involved and calls a foul I didn't see. Paige hits 1 of 2; 28-23 Jamestown with 2:33 left in second.
8:20 p.m. David Hill with a nice drive down the right side, answered by a Butts fast-break in which he was totally unguarded on the breakout. Hill with a nice dribble-fake and hanging jumper; but again, no one guards Butts and he scores a fast-break finger roll for a 32-26 lead.
Steven Hughes hits two at the line. 32-28 Jamestown; again, answered promptly by a Jamestown fast break. Mike Rademacher from Vince Taverna on a nice penetration and dish with a minute left for Clarence (34-31 Jamestown). Nice layup by 40 on a well-done play for Jamestown.
Butts called for a reach-in which the Jamestown fans don't like with 10.4 seconds left, sending 22 to the line but he misses the front end of teh one-and-one. Jamestown runs a nice inbounds play in the final seconds.
8:24 p.m. At halftime, Jamestown leads at Clarence, 36-31.
8:36 p.m. Jamestown's lead is 41-31 as it has started the half with Paige scoring two baskets, the second of which he turned into a three-point play.
8:37 p.m. Tommy Campion with a great reverse layup to prompt a Clarence timeout with 6:29 left in the third quarter. Jamestown leads, 45-33. Steven Hughes had Clarence's previous basket; Paige answered in transition.
8:39 p.m. Funk with a very good-looking turnaround jumper; 45-35 Jamestown under 6:15.
8:40 p.m. Butts with a nice shake and score; Rademacher answers with a putback; 47-37 Jamestown. Offensive foul on Jamestown with 5:04 left in third.
8:42 p.m. Chris Carlson scores inside to make it 49-38 Jamestown with 4:34 left in the third, prompting another timeout from Clarence coach Todd Banaszak.
8:44 p.m. Three-pointer for Adam Cecchini rolls around and in; 52-38 Jamestown with about four left in third. David Hill hits two free throws with 3:49 left; 52-40. Tommy Campion hits a jumper almost immediately after; Jamestown, 54-40.
8:50 p.m. Showtime for Jamestown. Back-to-back dunks by Butts and then Paige. Paige's dunk came off a behind-the-back fast-break pass from Butts and made the score 62-42 with 1:08 left. A technical was called on Paige but I'm not sure why.
8:53 p.m. At the end of the third quarter, Jamestown leads at Clarence, 62-47.
Back in a few minutes.
9:14 p.m. OK, that was more than a few. I was shooting video and I've updated our Web basketball scoreboard with details on the Kenmore West win.
Jamestown has maintained its big lead and is closing in on a win.
Some highlights from the fourth quarter:
9:15 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Jamestown 79, Clarence 67.
More details, highlights and interviews to come, and check that link above to the scoreboard for the box score and a recap for this game.
The postgame show:
* * *
Some thoughts after a look over our scoreboard: Nice win for Cheektowaga over Depew tonight in that game I wanted to check out. ... Eyebrow-raising score is West Seneca West with a low score but a big win as it defeats Lancaster. The Redskins continue to show some inconsistency -- the last time out they won at Clarence to complete a season sweep, and they played Jamestown super-tough down there, but they've also had a big loss to Depew. ... How about triple digits in the Niagara-Orleans League as Newfane outruns and outguns CSAT, 102-80. Wowww. ... Maryvale has no trouble with an East Aurora team that beat Cheektowaga last week in a 19-point win. ... Erik O'Bryan and Niagara-Wheatfield win in O'Bryan's return to his old school at North Tonawanda. ... Portville with a nice home win over Salamanca by four.
The 35th Kensington Lions All-Star High School Football Classic is set for 7 p.m. July 28 at Depew.
Check out kensingtonlions.org for rosters and coaching staffs of both teams. The head coaches are Clarence's Tom Goddard (North) and Bishop Timon-St. Jude's Al Monaco (South).
(Thanks to Milt Latimer for posting the info a while back; my apologies for not having a separate post up).
Four Section VI teams and a ton of Section VI track and field athletes will by vying for state championships today.
While reporters Mary Jo Monnin and Amanda Bremer and photographer Mark Mulville (check out his photo gallery from Day One) are at Vestal High School for the state championships in track and field (see leonetiming.com and armorytrack.com), four local teams will try to win state titles: Clarence and Olean softball at Waterloo and Tonawanda and Frewsburg baseball in the Binghamton area.
Just sit back -- or check in from time to time -- and hit the refresh button.
11 a.m. I'm en route to Binghamton; I'll pass on softball updates from correspondent Nate Beutel as soon as I get them.
11:40 a.m. Nate reports from the softball final four in Waterloo that Olean leads, 2-0, after the first inning while Clarence is scoreless.
12:10 p.m. Olean lead is now 5-0 in the fourth while Clarence is up, 1-0, in the fifth.
12:48 p.m. Hello from NYSEG Stadium in Binghamton, where Tonawanda finished with some pregame drills.
Another report from Nate from Waterloo. We have a FINAL SCORE in the CLASS B SOFTBALL SEMIFINAL: Olean 5, Dobbs Ferry 0. Olean will play Section IV's Chenango Valley for the state title in a 3:30 p.m. scheduled start.
Clarence and Bay Shore are tied at 2-2 in the seventh inning.
12:54 p.m. Pregame announcements have begun following the umpires' meeting at the plate.
Tonawanda has brought a large (and loud) group of students, who are standing behind the dugout in maroon shirts. One of them waves a large maroon flag with "Tribe" written on it. There are a bunch of maroon-clad parents and adult fans on hand as well -- looks to me like Tonawanda fans might outnumber those from Westhill -- which is the defending state champion from the Syracuse area -- by just a bit.
1:05 p.m. We're under way in Binghamton ... but first this update from Waterloo (sounds like I'm on TV or something) ...
We have a FINAL SCORE in the CLASS AA SOFTBALL SEMIFINAL: Bay Shore beats Clarence, 3-2, in the bottom of the seventh.
Tonawanda has first and second with one out in the top of the first.
1:10 p.m. Westhill gets out of the jam as junior Kevin McAvoy gets Brian McCarthy on a fading lineout to left fielder Mike Fagan and then struck out Mike Tolsma swinging to end the inning. No score, middle of the first.
1:12 p.m. I'd like to thank Binghamton for putting Class B at NYSEG Stadium, and for Tonawanda making the final four -- which enables us to update this blog from an air-conditioned press box with much-needed power. I'm pretty where Frewsburg is playing -- at Broome Community College -- it's just a baseball field; at least it was two years ago when I covered Gowanda.
1:18 p.m. Tonawanda starter senior Jesse Zellner gets out of his own jam in the bottom of the first -- stranding a runner on third by striking out junior Mark Syron swinging. No score after one.
1:22 p.m. Tonawanda gets a good start to the second but has it wiped out on an interesting play. Junior Kyle Gallivan reached on a single he dropped into right-center. Ryan McGinnis then grounded to the third baseman, who went to second for the force. The throw was a little high and Gallivan went low to break up the play, and totally upended second baseman t the umpire not only called Gallivan out but ruled McGinnis out as well for Gallivan's illegal slide. Word in the press box was that the out call was made because it was more of a takeout rather than a slide. Tonawanda manager John Frank discussed the call with the umpires but he didn't look outraged or anything. No score after one and a half.
1:29 p.m.Westhill has taken a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Greg Schmidt, who served a single to left field. Westhill coach Bob Weismore sent Mike Fagan from second. Left fielder Ryan McGinnis made a good throw that beat Fagan, but the throw was a bit high -- catcher Brian McCarthy leaped to catch the ball and Fagan slid in safely. In a bit of a bad play, Tonawanda players were protesting the call and noone was at second and Schmidt took second. That didn't matter as Dan Karleski flew out to center to end the inning.
1:37 p.m. Westhill with some nice momentum here as McAvoy gets a three-up, three-down inning that began with Joey Warthling grounding out on a slow roller and a nice play by Mike McMullen. Westhill leads, 1-0, in the middle of the third.
1:50 p.m. Westhill is now up, 2-0, after three innings. McMullen led off by rocketing a double over left fielder McGinnis' head and moved to third when Zellner tried to pick him off second -- but noone was covering. Tonawanda moved the infield in and got a groundout from Nathan Nigolian, but Mark Syron hit a sharp single to right through the drawn-in infield to bring in McMullen. Mike Fagan was out on a nice unassisted putout by first basemen Tolsma, who stabbed a sharply hit ball. After a hit batter, McGinnis didn't have to move to catch a line drive to left by Jake Rush.
1:55 p.m. McEvoy might be getting stronger as the game goes on -- he struck out two, including leadoff man Zellner and Tolsma and getting an easy pop up to second from Gallivan to end the top of the fourth with the lead still 2-0 for Westhill. Sandwiched between the strikeouts was an infield single by Brian McCarthy, whose deep grounder to short was too deep in the hole for McMullen -- who made a great throw but was late. McMullen already has made two great plays in the infield.
2:03 p.m. Update thanks to Jamestown Post-Journal guru Scott Kindberg: Watertown's Immaculate Heart has a 1-0 lead on Frewsburg in the top of the fourth of the CLASS C BASEBALL SEMIFINAL.
2:06 p.m. Westhill tacks on another run for a 3-0 lead after four after an unearned run. Greg Schmidt reached on an infield single, then moved all the way to third when a pickoff attempt by Zellner went high and Schmidt was waved on easily to third. Zellner struck out top-of-the-order batter Dan Karleski and appeared to be out of the inning when McMullen's grounder went to shortstop, but Sean Stich's throw took Tolsma off the bag and McMullen avoided the tag by stumbling across first as Schmidt scored.
2:14 p.m. Tonawanda gets a leadoff walk from Ryan McGinnis, but two strikeouts and a groundout get Westhill and McAvoy through the top of the fifth with its 3-0 lead. McAvoy went 2-1 on second batter Shane Foster when coach Weismore came to the mound for a meeting -- afterwards, two straight swinging strikes became the first of two strikeouts.
For the bottom of the fifth, Tolsma has come in to pitch for Tonawanda with Zellner moving to first.
2:24 p.m. Tolsma has a quiet inning with just four batters, including a strikeout of leadoff batter Syron, a foul pop and an inning-ending comebacker by Rush after a walk of Corey Hewitt. Westhill leads, 3-0, after five.
2:40 p.m. Tonawanda will head to the top of the seventh in a big hole. Westhill has added two unearned runs for a 5-0 lead and is still batting with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
2:45 p.m. Reports to the press box have some bad weather coming in as we have one half-inning to go. Tonawanda trails, 5-0, after six innings.
Tonawanda seemed to be in good shape in the bottom of the sixth after a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play. Then Karleski doubled when his long fly ball carried to the left-field corner; he moved to third after the throw to the infield was wild. McMullen hit a grounder to third for a potential inning-ender, but the throw was wild to score a run and move McMullen to second.
2:50 p.m. It was a quick (four batters) top of the seventh and we have a FINAL SCORE in the CLASS B BASEBALL SEMIFINAL: Westhill 5, Tonawanda 0.
3:28 p.m. First things first. We have a FINAL SCORE in the CLASS C BASEBALL SEMIFINAL: Immaculate Heart 4, Frewsburg 0.
Wow. What timing. I'm typing on my laptop in my car in the Broome Community College parking lot as the the rain pours down during a serious thunder-and-lightning storm.
It started raining right after I talked to Frewsburg coach Jay Grann about his team's loss -- he and the team were disappointed after the Bears fell victim to similar circumstances I just witnessed in Tonawanda's game -- a failure at the plate and in the field.
Frewsburg had beaten Immaculata Heart twice during an early-season Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach. IHC got one in the second without a hit, added one in the fifth on an RBI single by Connor Caldwell and two more in the sixth on an RBI double by Dustin Exford and an RBI single by Anthony Magovney.
After Tonawanda lost, I ran down to the field and talked to coach John Frank (he was disappointed but fittingly very proud of his team), ran back up the stands, grabbed my stuff in the press box, asked if anyone knew what was going on at BCC (they didn't), texted Jamestown Post-Journal reporter/photographer extraordinaire Scott Kindberg to see if he knew, zipped the 10 miles north to BCC from downtown (nearby Route 11 to I-81 to BCC right off the exit was smoooooth sailing), as I'm about to turn into BCC got a call from Scott saying that Frewsburg lost, asked Scott if Frewsburg's bus was still there, he says it is and that they're still there, I say "THANK YOU SCOTT!," park my car, find coach Jay Grann, talk with him, take an iPhone picture of his scorebook, take some pictures of the Frewsburg bus (below) and get in my car right before the SER-ious downpour.
4:02 p.m. I'll update the blog with some pictures, and I'll have Olean state championship updates as I working on my story for Sunday's paper. With the battery running low on the laptop and the rain finally having gone away, I think I'll be working on it at the unofficial Buffalo News High School Sports Desk Binghamton Bureau -- the Starbucks across the street from BCC and the BAGSAI softball fields which have hosted state championships in past years.
4:26 p.m. First update from Nate in Waterloo (and first update from my back-corner table at our Starbucks Bureau) and the CLASS B SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Olean and Chenango Valley are scoreless after two innings. I've added some pictures here (I didn't really plan the bus thing).
4:33 p.m. Chenango Valley takes a 1-0 lead in the third.
In other news, I just butchered my order here because I don't speak Starbucks. "Frappuccino is cold, right?" Blank stare from counter dude. "Um, what flavors do I have to pick from?" The dude helped this remedial coffee schmo through it. I had a tasty caramel mocha Frappuccino. He said "caramel" with two syllables. I take mine with three.
5 p.m. Chenango Valley now up, 4-0, in the fifth thanks to some smallball, reports Nate.
5:25 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE in the CLASS B SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Chenango Valley 4, Olean 0. The Huskies only muster two hits in the final.
Ballgame over. Spring season over. 2009-10 high school sports season over.
I'm writing my story now and then its a couple of weeks of vacation -- thanks to all for a memorable season.
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Some additional quotes to what you'll find in the paper ...
Tonawanda coach John Frank:
"One game can't take away the season these boys had. You can't be perfect every game, you're not going to win them all. Obviously we made too many mistakes today. Five errors and no runs aren't going to win you a ball game.
"I'm really proud of these kids, they won the first sectional title in 29 years for Tonawanda, won their first Far West Regional. I'm proud of the boys.
"It happens. Our pitching and our defense has been our strength all year long. Our defense failed us today. That happens, and it's OK.
"The support we've been given by the parents and families and friends and students and teachers and administrators and community -- it's been absolutely overwhelming. It was a fun ride. It was a great season overall. Unfortunately it didn't end the way we'd like, but a great season overall.
"Our ambitions were high [entering the season], absolutely. I told the kids they were special all year long and they went out and proved it.
"We lost a little bit of discipline at the plate. Tte kid did a nice job, but it wasn't anything we haven't seen. The bats have failed us -- actually in the last few games they've failed us -- in sectional final and the Far West Regional, and we knew two runs wasn't going to do it today.
"I said [to his seniors after the game], 'Thank you for putting Tonawanda baseball back on the map.' It was a young team with low numbers four years ago, and they did their job and turned this program around. They can leave their senior season with their head held high even though it didn't end on the way we wanted it to."
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Frewsburg coach Jay Grann:
"It came down to execution. They executed bunts and good baserunning, and we'd didn't. We had plenty of opportunities too.
"They had a good pitcher -- he mixes his pitches up well. Four hits isn't going to win a game. We gave them their first two runs. The first one scored without a hit, the second one on an error.
"I think we have to take it in perspective - we're playing in the state championships. We had beaten this team twice, 3-2 and 5-1. We knew they had solid pitching but we thought we did too. Our pitcher threw a great game. He definitely deserved a better fate. We didn't back him up offensively or defensively.
"With being No. 1 in the state, 24-0, we did a lot of positive things. We do lose some star players but we're not ruling out coming back next year, It's just one of those games where we didn't execute. We picked the worst time to play the worst game."
Four Section VI teams and a ton of Section VI track and field athletes will by vying for state championships Saturday.
While Vestal High School hosts the state championships in track and field starting today (see leonetiming.com and armorytrack.com), four local teams will try to win state titles on Saturday and we'll have updates here on the blog.
I'll start my day at Tonawanda baseball's semifinal -- I'll have live updates from that game while I'll be passing on live updates from the Frewsburg semifinal as well as from the Clarence and Olean softball games at Waterloo thanks to correspondent Nate Buetel.
Today is the first school day in a longggg time on which there isn't any high school action scheduled -- which means we must be near the end of the season.
We are -- high school action in New York State wraps up this weekend.
We still have plenty to talk about in what will be our final live chat of the 2009-10 high school sports season, whether it is looking back on quite a school year, quite a spring season, or looking ahead to the state championship chances of the Clarence and Olean softball teams and the Tonawanda and Frewsburg baseball teams as well as local athletes heading to the state championships in track and field and golf.
As always, anything in the world of high school sports or our coverage of it is up for discussion. See you tonight.
If you won't be around for the chat, feel free to ask some questions in the comments section below and we'll throw them out during the session.
