It was a busy night in the gyms and a busy night for PrepTalkTV: Highlights and interviews from six games, discussion of even more and a look ahead to next week:
I had a summer break that started as soon as the 2010-11 season concluded, and now I'm back -- and here to throw some notes out regarding some summer news and notes ...
* Late in the spring season we told you about the BCANY Hoops Festival set for Johnson City from Aug. 5-7. The event seems like a great one, and it's one that came about due to the unfortunate absence of the Empire State Games this summer.
The roster has been selected by the coaching staff of head coach Larry Jones (Depew) and assistants Mike Haskell (retired Pioneer) and Mike Berkun (Medaille):
Reggie Agbeko (St. Joe's), Stan Wier (who has transferred back home to East Aurora), Sterling Taplin (Williamsville North), Ryan Whelpley (Walsh), Matt Hart (Canisius), Aaron Frasier (Seneca), Aaron White (Canisius), Jamaal Carter (City Honors), Adam Weir (Canisius), Jordan Williams (Bishop Timon-St. Jude).
The team will play Long Island on Friday, Aug 5 at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 6, the Buffalo team plays New York City at 9 a.m. and Hudson Valley at noon. Saturday's evening session includes a dunk contest and three-point contest at 4:30 p.m.; a parent clinic on recruiting at 5:30 and a player clinic with college coaches at 6:30.
The event concludes on Sunday, Aug. 7 with the seventh-place game (9 a.m.), fifth-place game (10:30 a.m.), consolation (noon) and championship (1:30 p.m.).
While the event is being run by BCANY, there are some expenses that will need to be covered for teams and players (food, lodging, transportation -- costs mostly taken care of by the ESG during the Games). The squad is seeking sponsorships -- if you are interested in helping the team defray some costs, call Jones at (585) 746-8327.
This team deserves some serious commenting -- that squad is a really good one, a much better collection than I expected for what is a startup event this year. Great talent, great depth, great mixture of schools. Excellent job by the basketball community in getting the word out and credit the coaching staff for what must have been some difficult choices after the tryouts.
* Speaking of some good hoops competition, this weekend might be the Taste of Buffalo but fans can get a taste of hoops up in Niagara Falls. Some top programs are in action at the Niagara PAL Team Camp at Niagara Falls. Here's the lineup:
Friday: 5 p.m. -- Main gym, Niagara Falls vs. Canisius; Aux. gym, St. Joe's vs. Niagara-Wheatfield; 6 p.m. -- Batavia vs. Grand Island; Aux. gym, Wilson vs. Holland; 7 p.m. -- Main gym, Jamestown vs. Sweet Home.
Saturday: 9 a.m. -- Main gym, St. Joe's vs. Niagara Falls; Aux. gym, Canisius vs. Jamestown; 10 a.m. -- Main gym, Sweet Home vs. Wilson; Aux. gym, Batavia vs. Niagara-Wheatfield; 11 a.m., Main gym, Grand Island vs. Holland.
Single elimination tournament begins at noon, with championship at 5 p.m.
There is a $2 admission for fans 13 and older.
* I will hopefully hit some summer events of all sorts -- I'll be soon selling raffle tickets to benefit the Tom Borrelli Award and Scholarship Fund. We have some great prizes and it's a great cause as we continue to honor our fallen coworker.
The third Borrelli Award for boys and the inaugural Borrelli Award for girls will be announced later this month and the winners will receive their trophies at the July 27 Tom Borrelli Golf Tournament at Holland Hills. For those interested in golfing ($100 per person) or donating, please email me at kmcshea@buffnews.com.
* By the way, the spring All-WNY teams and all-league teams (for baseball, softball and boys and girls lacrosse), which have been published over the last month, have all been collected at the high school home page.
PrepTalkTV returns tonight on what is a very busy night in hoops.
We'll be making stops at various games -- myself and video reporter Lauren Mariacher were planning to finish the night at Jamestown at Williamsville North, but with its postponement we're reconfiguring our game plan.
Here's our video preview as we get our evening started:
You can check out tonight's extensive lineup -- and the postponements -- at our basketball scoreboard, which we continue to upgrade. When "summary" is listed as part of tonight's schedule, click on that to get a mini-preview of that game. As tonight's scores get updated, clicking "summary" will get you the box score and in some cases a recap of the game -- you can check out that feature on last night's (Thursday's) games.
5:55 p.m. Our first stop is at Bennett High as the Tigers host No. 5 large school McKinley, and it's off to a great start for the home team. Bennett jumped to leads of 15-1 and 17-2 and lead 21-10 in the final minute of the first quarter.
After Bennett won at Riverside on Wednesday, I thought this would be a good one -- but I didn't expect the Tigers to go rout city in the first quarter. Impressive.
5:59 p.m. At the end of the first quarter, Bennett leads McKinley, 23-12.
Great job by the Tigers with some excellent transition baskets, an ability to not get caught up in the McKinley pressure, and a great job getting back on defense to nullify Mack fast breaks. McKinley got tougher on the defensive end and it some shots to at least find its footing and dig into the lead.
6:07 p.m. Bennett with a 32-21 lead after a three-pointer by starting guard Derrick Turner.
6:12 p.m. Bennett is getting a nice push in the second quarter -- another three by Turner bumps the lead to 41-26 with 1:51 left in the second and Bennett coach Randy Rakowski calls a timeout.
6:20 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Bennett has a 42-33 lead on McKinley. Big three-pointer in the final minute by the Macks' Jermaine Canty -- which followed a Bennett turnover caused by McKinley's backcourt pressure -- to get the lead under 10 at the break.
6:35 p.m. Bennett coach Rakowski calls a timeout with 4:59 left in the third and the Tigers holding a 52-39 lead. Bennett went back up by as many as 15 (50-35) in the quarter, a great start to the second half for them when it looked as if McKinley was ready to really dig out of its hole.
6:40 p.m.Forest Richardson, who had 10 for Bennett at halftime, has put on a couple of very nice moves here in the third, including a great pass to set up a layup by big man Derrick Quarles -- who scored while being fouled -- to give Bennett a 54-39 lead. Right now it is Bennett, 58-41, with 3:03 left in the third and McKinley coach Zaire Dorsey having called for the timeout.
Bennett looks really good. Very composed yet explosive on offense. Hard-working on defense. Good balance in the lineup with bigs and good guard play.
On the other hand, this is not the McKinley team we've seen all season. They don't seem to have the same defensive intensity and they've made some poor decisions on offense. Bennett has definitely had a lot to do with that -- they've set the pace for the game, they've been the aggressors.
6:48 p.m. At the end of the third quarter, Bennett leads McKinley, 60-47. Still a chance for the Macks to make it more of a game, but the Tigers have been tough -- very impressive third quarter for the hosts. Let's see if they can close the Macks out and get a second big win in a row.
A big play in the third had Bennett's Jahad Wiley block a fast-break dunk attempt by Antonio Avery -- Wiley was rightly called for a foul on the play but the crowd loved it and his team loved it, good symbolic not-in-our-house play, and it was nearly clean. Big play. Avery would make one of two free throws with 2:01 left in the third to make it a 58-42 Bennett lead then.
6:57 p.m. Entertaining start to the quarter with Bennett still answering every comeback attempt. Tigers lead, 66-57, with McKinley having just called a timeout with 3:33 left in the game.
7:05 p.m. We've got a great finish. The Macks have pulled within 69-65 with 1:30 to go and Bennett's Richardson going to the line.
7:09 p.m. McKinley timeout with 1:14 left and Bennett up, 71-65, thanks to a fast-break basket by Wiley that brought the house down.
7:11 p.m. McKinley timeout with :59 left and Bennett up, 71-67, with the ball.
7:15 p.m. Bennett up, 73-67, going to the line with 43 seconds left.
7:16 p.m. Bennett up, 73-67, going to the line with 18 seconds left.
7:17 p.m. One of two at line. Bennett, 74-67, with 12.4 seconds left and the ball. Bennett fans starting to celebrate -- LOUDly.
7:09 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Bennett 76, McKinley 67. Exclamation point was a McKenzie Brown DUNK in the final seconds. WOW.
We're hitting the road -- but what a game here. We'll have the box score up in moments and more details as the night goes on.
Here are the final seconds of Bennett's win over McKinley, including Brown's finishing dunk (there will be more on our PrepTalkTV episode):
8:32 p.m. First chance to update with the postgame interviews and writing at Bennett and a trip out to Depew: It is HALFTIME and visiting Maryvale leads, 28-23.
Report from video reporter Lauren Mariacher: JFK wins at Cleveland Hill, 50-44. Big ECIC IV win there for the Bears.
8:52 p.m. Great quarter for Maryvale, which now leads, 52-36. Flyers got a little bit of everything while Depew struggled to score.
9:04 p.m. Maryvale's lead has reached 58-40 early in the fourth.
9:07 p.m. Maryvale coach Mark Kensy calls a timeout with 4:01 left and the Flyers up, 62-44.
A mini-breakdown of that third quarter for Maryvale: Shane Mullen and Ty Buczkowski hit threes, Andrew Luckey went 4-for-4 from the line and Blair Estarfaa had three baskets for six points.
9:19 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Maryvale 70, Depew 46.
Off to get interviews and stats and to do some PrepTalkTV work.
Hello from what locals call the "Wolv-arena," the Niagara Falls High School gym, for Day One of the Cataract Classic. We've got quite a season opener for Niagara Falls and Jamestown scheduled for 8 p.m., but there are two games before that: Lancaster vs. Niagara-Wheatfield at 5 p.m. and St. Joe's-Depew at 6:30.
5:42 p.m. We arrive at halftime of the first time, get situated, and can't help but chuckle at the score. Lancaster leads, 14-8. Yes, that's halftime. Hey, it's early.
Then I found out the first quarter score. It was 3-3. OK, it's reallllly early. Actually, Lancaster has played three games, winning its own tournament and getting a great ECIC I-opening win over Clarence last night in overtime. So we'll chalk it up to back-to-back games for one team early in the season, and the season opener for the other team, which has a new coach in Erik O'Bryan, formerly of North Tonawanda.
6:02 p.m. After a much better third quarter (we appreciate not being here for the first half :-) ), Lancaster leads Niagara-Wheatfield, 27-16.
The Redskins did well running its offense to get some good shots, while it forced several turnovers by N-W.
6:16 p.m. N-W keeps scratching and clawing and O'Bryan keeps on his Falcons, but Lancaster has maintained a 10-point lead (38-28) as we head under two minutes.
6:29 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Lancaster 43, Niagara-Wheatfield 34.
JJ Harrington earned MVP honors for Lancaster.
6:48 p.m. Check out the high school home page for the box score of the game -- that's a cool new feature of our new Web program, which will have futher improvements over the next few weeks.
We're about to tip off with St. Joe's and Depew.
St. Joe's starters: 5-11 senior A. Keith Louie, 5-10 senior Steven Moser, 6-3 junior Chad Kelly, 6-3 senior Connor Rehbaum and 6-5 senior Jake Spitler.
Depew starters: 5-8 senior Rick Anna, 6-5 junior Jaden Cotton, 5-11 junior Aaron Ertel, 6-3 senior Sam Sallaj and 6-1 freshman Derrick Sekuterski.
6:57 p.m. Not in the starting lineup is St. Joe's transfer Reggie Agbeko, a 6-7 junior who is likely a draw for UB assistant coach Jim Kwitchoff, who is on hand and spoke with both coaches before the tip.
6:58 p.m. Agbeko checks in with 3:22 left in the first quarter with Depew up, 3-2.
7:04 p.m. Not a great night for first quarters here at the Wolvearena. St. Joe's leads Depew, 6-3.
7:07 p.m. Depew coach Larry Jones hollers for a timeout with St. Joe's up, 10-5, with 6:44 left in the second quarter. Rehbaum just put in a very nice floater of a drive down the right side a moment ago.
7:22 p.m. We are at halftime and St. Joe's leads Depew, 16-11. The Marauders had a great final possession of the half after a timeout with less than three seconds left, and senior guard Edward Zimheld knocked down a three-pointer from the right side. Depew had played very well in the later stages of the second quarter with good defense and good passing. Joe's had gone up, 13-7, on a three by Rehbaum.
Agbeko picked up a second foul on a charge with 4:19 left in the second and sat the rest of the quarter.
7:40 p.m. Depew's Jones needs a timeout with 4:54 left in the third as St. Joe's has used some good defense to go up, 24-11. Moser had two straight steal-and-layups and Louie later added a clean rip of a ballhandler to give him a layup.
7:42 p.m. Agbeko has shown some serious flashes in the last minute or so, going up to grab a man-among-boys rebound and then going up where few players can get to finish a putback up by the rim. Just now he grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw, skying high enough that I let out a wow, high enough that the Depew player waiting to go in the game said, "that boy gets UP."
7:44 p.m. The lead for St. Joe's is 26-13 with 2:23 left in the third.
7:46 p.m. Rehbaum picked up his third foul after Moser's two steals and just reentered the game with about 1:30 left in the third.
7:48 p.m. Agbeko just picked up his fourth on a reach-in with 45.3 seconds left in the third.
7:51 p.m. After three quarters, St. Joe's leads Depew, 28-15.
7:59 p.m. St. Joe's keeps scoring in transition and now leads, 32-17. Nice crowd filing in here -- should be a great atmosphere for the Falls-Jamestown game.
8:09 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: St. Joe's 45, Depew 27. Some interviewing to do for me.
8:20 p.m. The always-fun Falls pep band is ready to go. They just changed over to new Falls coach Sal Constantino: "Hey Sal! Oooooh, nice tie!"
8:33 p.m. We're underway.
8:39 p.m. Jamestown coach Ben Drake calls a timeout with 4:04 left in the first quarter and Falls up, 11-6, on a jumper by Taijay Williams, a 5-10 junior. Other starters for Falls: 6-3 senior Marcus Feagin, 5-8 junior Jamere Ollison, 5-8 sophomore Ja'leo Wilkins and 6-5 senior Jordan Street.
Jamestown starts 5-8 sophomore Tommy Campion, 6-1 junior Jaysean Paige, 5-8 senior Joey Campion, 6-4 senior Chris Carlson and 6-3 senior Darin Butts.
8:45 p.m. A lot of action here, and Drake calls another timeout with 1:41 left in the first and Falls up, 17-11. Jordan Street has looked very, very good -- he has scored the last six points and has been more aggressive than I remember at any time last season.
8:47 p.m. Street made an unwise move to try and take a charge with two fouls. Now he's got three and heads to the bench with 50.9 seconds left in the first quarter. Rookie coach error there maybe, having him in the game with two, but, like I just wrote, he was doing some great things.
8:49 p.m. After one quarter, Falls has a 19-12 lead on Jamestown in what has been an exciting, fun-to-watch game. Constantino is hopping up and down the sidelines, has already lost his voice, and you can tell that energy has translated to his team. They're playing tough defense, have forced several turnovers, and they have gotten to the basket very well, batting balls around and basically making the game a frenetic one. Which is the way many people have wanted Falls to play for a long time.
8:54 p.m. Jaysean Paige gets up very impressively, but he's up too far, hangs on the rim and is rightly called for an technical foul.
9 p.m. Constantino calls the first timeout of his career with 3:05 left in the second quarter and Falls up, 31-16.
9:06 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Niagara Falls has a 38-19 lead on Jamestown. The Wolverines are playing some fun, hustling, frenetic basketball. There may be an urge to say, "Falls is back," but it's only halftime -- and actually, it's a different team, different playing style. I would just suggest you get out here Saturday night for Game Two.
That said, Jamestown is on the road in a super-tough place to play for its season opener, and they are a good program with a good coach. This game isn't over.
9:26 p.m. Jamestown came out in the third quarter playing very cool, ready to get back in the game and they started with a few baskets, but Falls put together another nice run to push back (45-26). Jamestown still keeps coming and Constantino takes a timeout with a little over three minutes left in the third with Falls leading, 47-33.
9:37 p.m. Things are tightening up here. At the end of the third quarter, Falls leads Jamestown, 51-38.
9:43 p.m. We've got ourselves a ball game. Falls calls a timeout with 4:11 left to play and Jamestown having cut the lead to 52-48.
9:49 p.m. Some fantastic back-and-forth action here. Wilkins has come up with steals on the last two Jamestown possessions and Williams has hit two three-pointers to help Falls hold off the Red Raiders to this point. Falls leads, 58-50, with 1:00 left in the game; timeout Jamestown as Williams heads to the line.
9:56 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Niagara Falls 62, Jamestown 54.
It's an interesting night as we get the final week of the Section VI football season started. Communities will gather for rivalry games while most of the league games being played tonight will have some sort of impact on completing the sectional playoff field.
We will have PrepTalkTV team members on hand at the T-NT and Lancaster-Depew games; I'll be stopping in at both of those games and perhaps another while I'll be providing updates from all over Western New York all evening. So stay tuned, or check back and hit up that refresh button.
5:30 p.m. Plenty of pageantry on hand here at Clint Small Stadium as the T-NT ceremonies begin with the senior cheerleaders and players being honored in a pregame program. Streets nearby are closed off to account for the large crowd, the red-and-blue supporters of the Lumberjacks are filling up the visitor bleachers while there are plenty of fans in Tonawanda Warrior maroon in the large home bleacher.
5:58 p.m. A great National Anthem -- and in typical fashion at Tonawanda games -- a freight train roars by the elevated track just south of the stadium midway through the song.
5:59 p.m. Nice touch as Rick Casata and Larry Bodie -- members of the all-time All-WNY team we selected a few years ago -- were honorary captains.
6:04 p.m. The T-NT game has begun as it has the last few years as NT scores on its first drive. It moved the ball fairly easily before Dan Montesanti took a pitch to the left and scored a 21-yard TOUCHDOWN. The run failed and NT has a 6-0 lead with 9:29 left in the first quarter.
6:09 p.m. First down for Tonawanda.
6:12 p.m. Tonawanda punts and NT takes over at its 20-yard line.
6:14 p.m. This matchup of a AA school with a ton of players on its sideline and a B school with maybe 11 reserves is personified in a Tonawanda defensive back. No. 9 Cody Wankasky, a junior who can't be taller than 5-foot-5, but he's in the mix on all the plays, throwing his body at guys like the much more mammoth Dan Montesanti (6-1, 215 senior).
6:15 p.m. Tonawanda gets good pressure on Joe Montesanti, playing quarterback, which forces an intentional grounding penalty, a loss of down and forces an NT punt. Tonawanda takes over on its 35 with 3:38 to play. Nice job early by Tonawanda.
6:27 p.m. That was quick. NT takes over after a punt and soon after Joe Montesanti keeps the ball on an option run to the right and he goes 69 yards for the TOUCHDOWN on what is the final play of the first quarter. Rob Wikierski adds a two-point run for a 14-0 lead for NT.
6:33 p.m. Tyler Hughes with an interception of a Joe Montesanti third-down pass and Tonawanda takes over at its 23 with 8:10 left in the second quarter. Hughes followed that up with a 20-yard first-down run to the Tonawanda 43.
6:35 p.m. A fumbled shotgun snap is scooped up by senior Luke Zacher and returned 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. The two-point conversion pass fails and NT leads 20-0 with 7:40 left in the second quarter.
7:04 p.m. At HALFTIME, NT leads Tonawanda, 20-0.
Here are some highlights from the first half thanks to video reporter Lauren Mariacher:
I made my way down to the field for the final minutes of the first half and was right next to Mariacher as Tonawanda executed a great screen pass play on third-and-17 from its own 47 to get to the NT 17 with 2:22 left in the half -- Warrior fans were fired up after that one. However, on the next play, Joe Montesanti picked off a pass at the goal line and returned it to midfield, where the Lumberjacks' drive fizzled in the final minute.
It was tough making my way through the crowd -- there are a ton of people here, I'd guess 3,000 or 4,000. I'm going to be headed East -- depending on how the trip goes I may stop by and see Alden at Maryvale (just kicking off) before finishing up at Depew at Lancaster. I had to get my car out of Tonawanda's grass area where they let me park quickly -- I was parked behind where NT was setting up it's de facto locker room area at the half.
UB's marching band, which it bills as "The Thunder of the East," was to perform at halftime (they arrived in a motorcade of several buses during the first half. I'm typing at the gas station at Grove and Delaware St. just a block or two from Clint Small, and I can hear the band doing its thing.
7:09 p.m. That was quick - just got a text update from Alden PA man Kevin Okiec: the Bulldogs have taken a 7-0 lead at Maryvale 49 seconds into the game.
7:45 p.m. Arrived at Maryvale to update the blog. I've been listening to Depew at Lancaster on WXRL 1300 AM with local high school football media megastars Rich Kozak and Sean Bruso teaming up on a very entertaining broadcast.
Depew took a 7-0 lead on a 2-yard run by Anthony Emmanuele with 6:50 left in the first; that came on the Wildcats' first drive. Lancaster stopped Depew on third down and forces a punt late in the first quarter. Redskins take over at their 4 with 14 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Just got another text update from Okiec as I'm within view of the bleachers here at Maryvale -- but I can't see the scoreboard. Thank goodness for the text: Alden leads, 21-7, with 5:06 left in the second quarter after a 25-yard run. I'm going to try and get some video late in the half.
7:56 p.m. I don't think this actually counts as me going to a game -- I walked in as Alden kicked an extra point to go up, 28-7, with 46 seconds left in the second quarter. I headed back to the car and the Kozak-Bruso radio cavalcade.
I should be getting a text update on the touchdown I just missed in seconds! :-)
8 p.m. Sure enough: Okiec just zapped me the score a few minutes ago.
Lancaster has tied it up with Depew on a TD run by junior quarterback Ryan Radke followed by an Alex Debbins extra point for a 7-7 game with 9:16 left in the second quarter.
8:06 p.m. Depew has a bad punt snap go through the end zone for a SAFETY for Lancaster, which leads, 9-7, with 7:25 left in the first half.
8:15 p.m. Depew recovers a fumble on Lancaster's next possession and takes advantage of the field position with by going in for a touchdown and Depew leads Lancaster, 13-9, 4:58 left in the second quarter.
8:23 p.m. I'm going to sit tight and listen to the game and provide updates until the half before heading over.
8:28 p.m. FINAL SCORE from T-NT: North Tonawanda 35, Tonawanda 0.
Here's Lauren Mariacher's video report from the T-NT game:
8:30 p.m. UPDATES: I heard "Touchdown Maryvale!" from my car and Okiec's text says it was a Bilal Clay 1-yard run with 5:04 left in the third, but I just saw an Alden celebration in the end zone -- sure enough, the text reports a 50-yard touchdown by Dakota Peel for a 34-14 lead with 3:45 left in third ... now another TD by Alden ... Whew.
It is HALFTIME at Lancaster with the Redskins leading Depew, 16-13, after a huge play to end the half.
With Depew up, 13-9, and on the verge of another score, Geoff Franger intercepted a pass in the flat and ran 95 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Debbins added the extra point for its 16-13 lead. It was absolute bedlam in the press box -- you could hear the home box rooting for Franger to "GO! GO!" and Kozak's radio call was a trip with all the noise. Great stuff.
I just got called out by Bruso on the radio because I'm not there!
Check out Joe Popiolkowski's video of that Franger touchdown.
UPDATE from Prep Talk blogger extraordinaire Milt Latimer, who had someone call me to tell me that Iroquois had a 25-0 lead over Hamburg after three quarters. ... Scott Kindberg of the Jamestown Post-Journal reports that Southwestern is up, 35-0, over Wilson with 8:40 left in the second quarter and he got word from Jamestown that the Red Raiders have a 14-3 lead over OP.
I'm off to Lancaster.
9:11 p.m. Hello from the very full press box at Foyle-Kling Field. Bruso said my seat was saved. There's a sign that says "MacKay" on it. Nice! I'll take it.
UPDATE from Lackawanna: EDEN LEADS LACKAWANNA, 20-6, to start the fourth quarter. Thanks to Steelers hoops coach Tim Foley for that update.
9:16 p.m. Depew has taken over with 2:12 left in the third quarter at its 33 with Lancaster still up, 16-13.
9:20 p.m. UPDATE from Lauren Mariacher -- now Eden's lead at Lackawanna is 20-14 with 7:45 to play. ... FINAL SCORE: Alden 48, Maryvale 21.
9:28 p.m. Depew gets a big play, an interception in their end zone by Sam Sallaj; Wildcats take over at their 20 with 8:35 left.
9:33 p.m. FINAL SCORE: Iroquois 31, Hamburg 0. Thanks to Milt for that one. ... Lackawanna fumbles on a late drive and Eden takes over with 2:51 left.
Lancaster stops Depew, forces a punt, and takes over at the Lancaster 38 with 6:32 left.
9:36 p.m. UPDATE from Lauren: Eden makes an interception at its own 5 with one minute left. Whoa. ... Update from noted blogger Malt Blathermore! Medina up on Albion, 36-14, with just under eight minutes remaining in the fourth.
9:42 p.m. WOW. Depew's Aaron Ertel hits three passes on the Wildcats' drive, the last a slant pass over the middle to Joe Miller for a 46-yard TOUCHDOWN with 1:36 left in the game. The extra point goes wide right and Depew leads Lancaster, 19-16.
9:49 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Depew 19, Lancaster 16. WOW.
Here's the winning touchdown from video reporter Joe Popiolkowski:
Interview time; I'll have more updates from other games as soon as I can get them on here.
Here's Joe Pops' complete wrapup of the game:
10:31 p.m. Sorry for the delay; had a little wait for interviews, then did some PrepTalkTV-ing.
FINAL SCORES: Eden 20, Lackawanna 14. That's huge.
Check out the reactions after Eden's win, thanks to video reporter Lauren Maraicher:
Also big in the B playoff picture: Medina 44, Albion 14.
Pioneer wins at East Aurora, meaning that B South will have three teams (Pioneer, Lackawanna and Eden) all in the playoffs at 5-1. Pioneer reports that they have won the division on tiebreakers.
* * *
As always, we want to hear from you if you were at any games. Tell us about the players, teams -- even the concession stand.
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).
For Alex Kammerer, it was an unfortunate end to a memorable round.
The Niagara-Wheatfield sophomore found himself in a playoff with Matt Petrosian of Lew-Port
for Monday's Section VI golf title.
Instead, he took an eight on the par 5, 10th hole, putting back-to-back
shots in the fields to the right of the fairway. Petrosian wasn't much better taking a 7, but
it was enough to win the title.
Kammerer settled for second place in the field of 72, not a
bad consolation prize.
Kammerer posted the lowest score after the first 18 holes, a
1-under 71. He had a 39 over the final 9.
"It bothers me that I kind of blew up on the playoff hole, but it really doesn't bother me
too much because I'm going to states. I'm still happy about the day," said Kammerer. "I pushed
my drive and got a real bad kick, and it pushed into the hazard. [Then] I made stupid move. I
should have made a smarter play and ended up hitting a shot back into the hazard. From there
on, it was just a disaster."
* * *
* With the win, Petrosian joins a select fraternity of Lew-Port golfers who have won
Section VI golf titles. Frank Garcia won it in 1998 and Nick Morreale of the Lancers was the
1997 champion. Petrosian looks to continue his golf career as a walk-on at Division II
University of Tampa.
* Lew-Port was the only team to qualify two golfers. Joining Petrosian was teammate Mike
Boss, a junior. Iroquois had two make the team, but only junior Brennan Fonfara is expected to
play while Kyle Kapturowski is the alternate. Fonfara birdied No. 14 twice and made a nice
save on No. 15 after hitting into the hazard.
* Diamond Hawk made a big impression on some of the top finishers. Most said the greens
were firm and rolled great.
* Senior Scott Brady of Olean earned his first trip to states. His round was highlighted by
a 50-foot, par-saving putt on his last hole. He's taking his golf talent and ping-pong skills
to St. Bonaventure in the fall.
* Austin Nowak of Lancaster returns to states after finishing 13th last year.
* Williamsville East's Sean
Mahon's first 18 holes included chip-ins on No. 7 and No. 16.
* Kyle Jeziorski of Orchard Park carded an eagle on No. 9, capped with a 20-foot
putt.
* How about that Niagara Frontier League with golfers finishing 1-2, on an Erie County
course, no less?
* The Lancaster-Depew rivalry doesn't quite extend to golf as Andrew Romano of Depew and
Austin Nowak of Lancaster have played their share of rounds together. They'll play two more at
states. "Right now I'm not playing to my full potential," said Romano. "Me and Austin, gees we
got so many rounds in. We actually had good weather to start the year off, but we could both
play so much better."
And yes, this is a post about the 2010-11 schedule.
One of the top early-season showcases is already set: the Cataract Classic at Niagara Falls. Event organizer Sal Constantino emailed the schedule to us today.
As always, a great mix of teams and some great matchups. Here it is:
Friday, Dec. 10
North Tonawanda vs. Lancaster, 5 p.m.
St. Joe's vs. Depew, 6:30 p.m.
Niagara Falls vs. Jamestown, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 11
Wilson vs. St. Mary's/Lanc., noon
V-Charles Finney vs. Amherst, 1:30 p.m.
V-Batavia vs. Williamsville North, 3 p.m.
Williamsville South vs. Canisius, 5 p.m.
Niagara Catholic vs. East Aurora, 6:30 p.m.
V-Aquinas vs. Niagara Falls, 8 p.m.
I sure hope the Pastor-Cooper Tournament is the week before (Nov. 29-Dec. 3) -- that's the way things have gone down the last two years. I've covered a state championship football game on the last Sunday in November and then seen some hoops at Daemen the next day.
We won't have a building-the-schedule post up for a little while yet, but if anyone out there has some confirmed dates, please feel free to add them here or to email me at kmcshea@buffnews.com.
