Prep Talk

PrepTalkTV: Preseason interviews with coaches from St. Francis, Burgard, Sweet Home, Hamburg, Wilson, South Park and St. Mary's

PrepTalkTV met up with a few coaches before the Kensington Lions All-Star Classic at Depew High School to ask them about the upcoming season. Here's what they had to say about their teams and divisions:

St. Francis head coach Jerry Smith:

Burgard head coach Jason Kolb:

Sweet Home head coach John Faller:

Wilson head coach Bill Atlas:

South Park head coach Tim Delaney:

Hamburg head coach Mike McFadden:

St. Mary's head coach Dave Hersey:

Be sure to check back to the PrepTalk blog as we gear up for the first day of practices all around Western New York on Aug. 15.

--Lauren Mariacher

Live from Class A Far West Regional baseball: Hamburg falls to V-Pittsford-Sutherland, 6-0 (with video)

Hello from Dwyer Stadium in Batavia -- as the baseball announcers would say -- on a beeee-autiful evening for baseball. We're here for the Class A Far West Regional game between Section VI champion Hamburg and Section V (Rochester area) champion -- and defending state champion -- Pittsford-Sutherland.

This is my first visit to Dwyer and I love the place. Gotta put it on my list to get out here to watch the Muckdogs muck it up some night.

7:11 p.m. Game time was scheduled for 7, but Hamburg is still taking infield at the moment, with Pittsford-Sutherland yet to do so. The start was pushed back due to the Section V Class D final being played beforehand.  

If you are computer bound instead of out enjoying this lovely evening at a high school baseball game ( :-) ), check out some fine work by two of our summer interns.

Ryan Marfrut covered Game Two of the Georgetown Cup championship series, which Canisius closed out with a thrilling, come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over St. Francis. Check out the live blog from Coca-Cola Field. Bryan Tenney and the Crusaders win their third straight cup. Those guys love playing for the Cup in June. 

Sam Kilb is now in the driver's seat at Coca-Cola Field, covering the Class AA Far West Regional between Clarence and Victor. Check out the live blog.

7:27 p.m. Umpires and coaches meeting at home plate. 

Usually you just hear the synthesizers of Europe's "Final Countdown" when you are at a sporting event. We have had the pleasure of hearing the entire song while the coaches and umpires meet. 

Lineups: 

Hamburg (15-9): Leadoff Jordan Pytlak ss, Tyler Herr 1b, Brian Castonguay 2b, Michael Kerr 3b, James Zemla cf, Tyler Shaw dh (for Sam Hogan p), Eric Simoncelli c, Jake Dehlinger rf, Nolan Ringo lf. 

Pittsford-Sutherland (22-2): Leadoff Hunter Merill lf, Jordan Swisher c, Brad Kacza ss, Zach Salvia 1b, Nick Barra 2b, Grand Heyman cf, Jeff Kay rf, Matt Barra dh (for Michael Gibbs p), Spencer Lowe 3b.

Solid, enthusiastic crowd on hand for Hamburg, including about 20 purple T-shirt-wearing students at the top of one bleacher. No such student section from Pitt-Sutherland. 

7:38 p.m. First pitch, and its a strike from Gibbs. 

There's a big glare as the sun is setting over left field. Right now it is hovering over the foul pole so it shouldn't be too much of a problem, if at all, for batters. It's a slight problem for sportswriters. 

7:45 p.m. The top of the first was a very eventful one for Hamburg, which is NOT happy, and it appears they have good reason to be.

After a pop out by Pytlak, Herr and Castonguay each reached on slow rolling singles between third and short. Kerr bounced one to short, but the last one was a big hop that couldn't be handled for an error -- could have been a double play, but the bases were loaded. 

Zemla bounces one to third, and Lowe does well to get to third for the force, then he plants and throws to first. The call of "Out!" is one that is disagreed with by most of the press box, and many in the stands, certainly if the fans were from Hamburg. 

The first base umpire (there are four working this championship game), did the standard umpire move after a controversial call and immediately went for a walk out into right field. Hamburg coach Steve Chaffee came out and walked all the way out to right and was very demonstrative in his disagreement. 

I have the iPhone video and I'll post it as soon as I'm able, which might not be until after the game. The play is closer than it appeared in person, but the video looked safe as well.

Here it is (posted in the seventh): 

Middle of the first, no score. 

7:56 p.m. A great response from Hogan on the mound, as he strikes out the side -- the last two sandwiched around a walk. End of the first, no score. 

8 p.m. No drama in the top of the second. Three straight grounders and three straight 6-to-3s in the scorebook for Shaw, Simoncelli and Dehlinger. 

8:07 p.m. A strikeout of Nick Barra starts the inning, and after an error on the second baseman, Jeff Kay grounded to second and it became a 6-4-3 double play on which first baseman Herr made a very nice stretch. End of the second, no score. 

8:14 p.m. Hamburg not happy again. After a leadoff sharp single up the middle by Ringo, Pytlak hit a very high pop to right. On an I-got-it-you-got-it, the ball lands in between the right fielder and the second baseman. The right fielder picks it up and throws to second for the force, and while it was a close play, it appears that Hamburg again gets a tough call as Ringo is called out. It goes as a 9 to 6 fielder's choice.

After a stolen base by Pytlak, it got even worse for Hamburg fans. Herr grounds to the shortstop, who forces Pytlak to scamper back to second and he throws wide to first. The first baseman comes off the bag and does the sweep tag, but I didn't see any contact. The better evidence is another shocked reaction by Hamburg's first base coach, and even better is Herr's instantaneous reaction that he wasn't touched. More hollers from the Hamburg fans and more incredulousness from the press box (not just me). 

Chaffee again comes out to express his frustration. Every trip has been deserved. 

But that's that. Middle of the third, no score.  

8:26 p.m. After a lineout to center on which Zemla makes a nice play to come in and nab as he went to the grass, and a groundout to third by Lowe, Merill gets Pitt-Sutherland's first hit of the day with a sharp liner to left. Merill stole second.

Swisher followed with a sharp single up the middle on a 2-2 pitch and Merill came around to score.

Ouch. Slow grounder to second on what looks like an inning-ender, but the throw is wide of first and Sutherland has runners at second and third for clean-up batter Salvia.

Salvia lines one down the third base line for big trouble for Hamburg -- the ball rolls around in the corner as the two runs score. The ball is dug out in time to nab Salvia -- who inexplicably stopped between second and third -- on a tag-out play at third to end the inning.

After three innings, Pitt-Sutherland 3, Hamburg 0. 

8:32 p.m. Hamburg with a mini-threat as, after a Castonguay strikeout, Kerr reached on an error by the shortstop after a high throw, then moved to second on a groundout to third by Zemla. But the inning ended with Shaw softly lining to second. Middle of fourth: Pitt-Sutherland leads, 3-0.

The sun has gone down over left field. Whew. View from the press box is now a sunglass-free deal.

8:39 p.m. Pitt-Sutherland adds another run and Hamburg makes a pitching change. Nick Barra grounded out to lead off, then lefty Heyman fisted a single to left and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw. Kay then rapped a single to left to drive in Heyman and, soon after, Chaffee was walking to the mound for the change.

Zemla comes in to pitch while Shaw, who had been the DH, goes to left field, and Ringo moves from left to center.

8:44 p.m. One batter and two outs for Zemla as Pytlak fields a grounder to short, steps on second and throws to first for the double play. End of the fourth: Pitt-Sutherland leads, 4-0.

8:49 p.m. A quick inning for Hamburg. Simoncelli gave a ball a ride to deep left center but it was tracked down smoothly by Heyman, Dehlinger grounded to short and Ringo flew out to right. Middle of fifth: Pitt-Sutherland, 4-0.

9:02 p.m. After the rough start with the umpires, Hamburg hasn't helped itself. Too many mistakes. A groundout to short by Lowe is followed by a walk to Merill; a fly out to center by Swisher is followed by a walk to Kaczka, and a passed ball gives P-M runners at second and third. A Salvia grounder to second could have ended the inning again, but the ball stays down and through the legs of the second baseman and both runners come in to score. The inning ends with a Barra groundout to second.

End of fifth: Pitt-Sutherland leads, 6-0. 

9:16 p.m. Three-up, three-down in the top of the sixth; Zemla strikes out two in the bottom of the sixth. Hamburg has three outs left. End of six: Pitt-Sutherland leads, 6-0.

9:23 p.m. Two singles, two strikeouts and a pop-out and it's over. 

We have a FINAL SCORE: Pittsford-Sutherland 6, Hamburg 0.

---Keith McShea
(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Live from the Section VI boys lacrosse championships: CLARENCE STUNS OP, 7-5; N-W dethrones Hamburg in B in OT; Silver Creek wins C (with video)

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.

---Keith McShea
(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Live from the Section VI girls lacrosse championships: Frontier beats Lancaster in A; Lake Shore wins B, Amherst takes C (with video & team photos)

Hello from All High Stadium in Buffalo for the Section VI girls lacrosse championships. Class B gets us started with Lake Shore and Hamburg; Class C follows with six-time defending champion Amherst trying for a three-game season sweep of East Aurora at 5:30; at 8 p.m. six-time defending champion Lancaster takes on Frontier in the Class A showdown.

Great venue for all sports -- and it's a wonderful weather day for the action. Should be a great two days here as the boys championship tripleheader is tomorrow. 

Class B

3:43 p.m. Lake Shore is off to a quick start, as Lauren Scanlan has three goals and the Eagles have a 4-1 lead with 20:13 left in the first half.

3:45 p.m. Another Scanlan goal, off a nice feed from Vivian Curry, makes it a 5-1 lead for Lake Shore.

3:49 p.m. Two quick goals from Hamburg cut it to 5-3, but another Scanlan goal on a breakaway makes it 6-3 Lake Shore with 16:04 left in the first half.

4:01 p.m. Timeout on the field with 11:01 left in the first half -- the players left their sticks in their places on the turf; ostensibly it is a water-break timeout mandated by officials. It is certainly a hot one here. Lake Shore has teh ball and its 6-3 lead.

4:03 p.m. A great feed from Curry from the right side, a great catch by Scanlan cutting down the middle, and she scores her sixth goal as Lake Shore goes up, 7-3, with 10:08 left in the first half.

4:05 p.m. Solo rush from the right side of the cage for Hamburg's Amanda Obenshain -- her second of the game -- make it 7-4 with 8:59 left in first.

4:07 p.m. Lake Shore answers that with a Curry goal inside to make it 8-4 with 7:56 left in the first half.

4:12 p.m. Obenshain takes a very nice feed from Taylor Wolff on the left doorstep of the cage and she scores to make it 8-5 with 4:08 left in the first half. That came just after a nice save by Lake Shore goalie Kachine Lay.

4:13 p.m. A draw control win and another goal by Obenshain, who made a few dodges in front of the cage before scoring and we're at 8-6 Lake Shore with 3:38 left in the first.

4:18 p.m. Big goal late for Lake Shore, who had been pressuring Hamburg but goalie Lauren Courteau came up with four nice saves in the final two minutes. Shelby Stevens then came up with a big steal of a Hamburg clear; she passed to Scanlan, who found a slashing Alie Jimerson for a nice catch and score for a 9-6 lead with 11.4 left.  

4:22 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Lake Shore leads Hamburg, 9-6.

Obenshain went down with an injury with 5.2 seconds left and was writhing on the field for a few moments before trotting off the field.

Lake Shore seems to be overpowering with Scanlan playing a big part of draw controls and the offense, but Hamburg continues to keep hanging around. 

4:38 p.m. Curry comes back with her third goal to answer one by Obenshain; Lake Shore leads, 10-7, with 22:08 left. 

4:42 p.m. Curry on a clear breakway from midfield -- she sprints to the cage and fires an overhead shot under the crossbar to make it 11-7; 30 seconds later Scanlan makes a great catch of a feed, then whirls in front of the cage to score for a 12-7 lead with 19:45 to go in the game.

4:44 p.m. Obenshian up the middle after a penalty and Hamburg pulls within 12-8 with 18:23 left.

4:45 p.m. Official-mandated water break with 18:18 left in the game and Lake Shore up, 12-8.

4:54 p.m. Hamburg got a great goal from Megan Mikolajek, who went coast-to-coast after a steal deep in the Hamburg end. ... but Curry scores two straight to push the Lake Shore lead to 14-9 with 14:18 left.

4:58 p.m. Lake Shore scores again as Scanlan fires it in for her eighth goal -- the lead is now 15-9 with 11:57 left and Hamburg takes a timeout.

5:03 p.m. Obenshain scores her seventh goal in front to make it a 15-10 lead for Lake Shore with 9:21 left.

5:04 p.m. Curry comes right back -- a familiar theme there for Lake Shore. She goes to the goal, has her shot stopped but she scoops up the rebound and fires it in for a 16-10 lead with 8:55 left. 

5:08 p.m. Officials timeout for a water break with 6:22 left.

5:12 p.m. Hamburg cuts it to 16-11 with 5:56 left on Mikolajek's second goal. 

5:13 p.m. Hamburg back to within four as Obenshain scores her eighth goal to make it 16-12 with 4:23 left.

5:15 p.m. As has happened many times today, Lake Shore comes up with a big goal just when Hamburg is thinking of making a game out of it. Kiersten Kennedy scoops up a loose ball on a turnover by Hamburg, goes to the goal and her backhand shot trickles over the line to make it 17-12 with 3:21 left. 

5:18 p.m. Amanda Patrone scores on the doorstep for Hamburg to cut it to 17-13 with 2:30 left. Lake Shore's Melissa Haring was down on the play due to cramping. She remained down through an official timeout before walking to the bench.  

5:23 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Lake Shore 17, Hamburg 13. 

Lake Shore wins its first sectional title. Interview time for me.

And the Class B postgame show: 

Class C

6:04 p.m. The Class C game is underway and Amherst, expectedly, jumps on top of East Aurora on an Ivy Timlin goal less than two minutes in.

6:06 p.m. EA ties it up on a Addie Ohler goal with 21:32 left in the 25-minute half. 

6:12 p.m. Hmmmm. EA, which lost twice to Amherst during the regular season, gets another Ohler goal to take a 2-1 lead with 16:49 left.  

6:15 p.m. EA scores again, with Victoria Budzyn scoring after a foul call right in front. EA takes a surprising 3-1 lead and Amherst calls a timeout with 15:13 left in the first half.

6:24 p.m. Amherst gets one back as Alana Rockoff wheels around from the right side to the left and scores to make it 3-2; that's followed by an officials timeout for a water break with 10:20 left in the first half.

6:29 p.m. Moments after a big save by EA's Rachel Hallnan, Katie Daminski scooted coast-to-coast, accelerating nicely in the Amherst half before scoring to push the Blue Devil lead to 4-2 with 7:32 left in the first half. 

6:33 p.m. Alanna Rockoff scores 85 seconds after Sara Bischof and Amherst has tied it at 4-4 with 5:33 left in the first half; timeout EA.

6:38 p.m. Rockoff scores on a free shot in front -- moments after a yellow card was issued to an EA player after a collision -- to give Amherst its first lead of the game at 5-4 with 3:43 left in the first half.

6:40 p.m. Sophie Nieschur circles the cage, comes around the right side, waits a step against her defender and wheels and scores for a 6-4 lead. 

6:43 p.m. After a nice save by EA goalie Hallnan, a scramble results in Sara O'Brien left open in front of the cage and she converts a pass to make it 7-4 Amherst with 1:12 left in the half. 

6:46 p.m. At HALFTIME, Amherst leads East Aurora, 7-4. 

Nice surge by Amherst to score the last five goals of the half; the last three came after the yellow card was issued to EA. 

7:09 p.m. Amherst has kept rolling in the third quarter, scoring the first four goals to take an 11-4 lead with 18:42 left. I'm starting to write my story. Three games in one story and the Class A game is an 8 p.m. start, which puts us in a little deadline danger.

7:22 p.m. EA gets on the board but Amherst answers shortly thereafter as Ivy Timlin scores her fourth goal of the game to give the Tigers a 12-5 lead with 12:08 left.

7:26 p.m. A highlight goal from EA's Ohler, who goes coast to coast and finished it off by jumping to the left of the cage and shooting across her body to score at a very tough angle. Amherst's lead is 12-6 with 9:55 left.  

7:33 p.m. EA gets two quick ones to cut it to 12-8 with 4:11 left. After Ashley Friess scored, Nikki Schneider scored right off the draw control win to cut the lead to 12-8.

7:39 p.m. Myriah Magaris with a goal off a free position shot for Amherst to make it 13-8 in the final minute. 

7:40 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Amherst 13, East Aurora 8. 

Seventh straight title for the Tigers, first for coach Kristy Grossman who took over for Janet Battaglia this year. 

The Class C postgame show:

Class A

8:19 p.m. The Class A game has started with some great play -- by the goalies. Lancaster's Brooklyn Schilling and Frontier's Mia Wagner have exchanged saves on the first two trips by each team. Wagner then stopped two straight free position shots from near point-blank range. Whoa. 

8:26 p.m. After some more great defense, Sarah Lorusso sprints in alone on a fast break and scores to put Frontier up, 1-0, with 14:14 left in the first half -- that's 10 minutes-plus of scoreless play, and it was very good stuff, not what you would automatically think of a scoreless start. 

8:32 p.m. It is 2-0 Frontier as Ashley Bandt-Hunter loses the ball after a check, but then scoops it up and scoots to the goal to score on an overhand shot with 9:49 left in the first half. 

8:38 p.m. We definitely have a situation here. Frontier's Lorusso scores again to give Frontier a 3-0 lead over the seven-time defending champions with 6:10 left in the first half. Lancaster called a timeout after the goal.

8:43 p.m. BIG goal for Lancaster as Alexis Ruggiero, a freshman midfielder, scores on a free position shot with a bounce shot that is the first to get by Wagner. Lancaster cuts the Frontier lead to 3-1 with 3:01 left in the first.

8:45 p.m. A big draw control violation gives the ball to Lancaster, and they capitalize as Brittany Delano scores to make it 3-2 with 1:54 left in first. Great surge here late in the half by the Redskins.

8:50 p.m. Frontier with several chances deep in Lancaster territory in the final minute, but Schilling made two big saves, one on a free position shot and one on a bang-bang pass play, and another free position shot went wide. 

8:52 p.m. At HALFTIME, Frontier leads Lancaster, 3-2. 

The low score is not a surprise considering the team's two meetings this year. Lancaster won both by scores of 5-4 and 9-5.

9:18 p.m. Working on my story so updating when I can. 

Frontier made it 4-2 with 18:52 left on a transition play by Bandt-Hunter, who went coast to coast and fired it in after accelerating near the cage. The Falcons just made it 5-2 on another Bandt-Hunter goal with 12:22 left, prompting a Lancaster timeout. 

9:33 p.m. Timeout Frontier with 3:31 left to play. Teams have exchanged goals in the last 23 seconds with Frontier leading, 6-3. 

9:41 p.m. HUGE win for Frontier. 

We have a FINAL SCORE: Frontier 6, Lancaster 3. 

Lancaster's reign as Class A champions ends after six straight titles.

Here are the final seconds:

And the postgame show:

* * *

Stats and goal scorers are available at the scoreboard page.

My story on all three games is posted here.

---Keith McShea

(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

buffalonews.com/high-schools     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Live from Far West Regional boys lacrosse: Irondequoit beats Hamburg, 8-4; Aquinas edges Silver Creek, 14-11; Fairport routs OP, 10-5

I'll be live at today's Far West Regionals in boys lacrosse at Canisius College, while Reporter Jay Skurski will be updating me with the results of the regional games at Niagara Falls High School. Here's my story from today taking a look at the games.

The lacrosse action begins at 3:30 p.m. with the Class B game between Hamburg and Irondequoit; that's followed by Silver Creek vs. Aquinas in Class C at 5:30 and Orchard Park against Fairport in Class A at 8.

The three softball games at Niagara Falls begin at 4 p.m. with the Class A game between Amherst and Pittsford-Mendon; the Class B game is at 5 (Olean vs. Mynderse) on an adjacent field with the AA tilt between Clarence and Fairport at 6.

The D (Panama vs. Bolivar-Richburg at 4 p.m.) and C (Westfield-Gananda at 6 p.m.) softball regionals are being held at Scio, about 35 miles east of Olean. We'll pass on results of those games as soon as we hear anything.

We'll provide updates as soon as we can -- just hit that refresh button.

* * *

For anyone headed to the lacrosse games, I will have raffle tickets that benefit the Tom Borrelli Memorial Fund. Just yell at me when I'm running around after I do interviews or come up to the press box. Tickets are $5 each and your three-digit number gives you an entry in a daily drawing for the entire month of July. 

* * *

3:37 p.m. We're underway with the Class B game at Canisius College - scoreless through the first four minutes. 

3:38 p.m. Two back-to-back big saves early by Hamburg goalie James Maxwell about 4:30 in.

3:41 p.m. Irondequoit's Greg Coholan hits a post -- Hamburg gets a ground ball, recovers after a dropped ball and takes a timeout with 5:32 left in the first.

3:45 p.m. Our first goal of the game is a man-up goal by Irondequoit, as senior Mike Utz slams in a line drive from the left side off a behind-the-cage feed from sophomore Nick Doktor. Irondequoit leads,1-0, with 3:46 left in the first. 

3:50 p.m. Irondequoit has several more chances, but Hamburg checks help send a few of them wide and Maxwell makes a couple of saves, including a one-on-one stop on Utz.

3:51 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Hamburg, 1-0.

3:57 p.m. Irondequoit calls a timeout with 8:12 left in the second quarter -- Hamburg turned the ball over but the Bulldogs have played solid defense and Irondequoit hardly has had any shots. Utz is down on the sideline, lying face-first and getting treatment to a hamstring I believe. He gets back up after the treatment and his helmet is back on.

4 p.m. Irondequoit goes up, 2-0, on an unassisted goal by Doktor, who came from behind the right side of the cage, wheeled around and fired past Maxwell.

4:05 p.m. Hamburg's first goal is a cool one as longstick Shawn Needham clears the ball, then takes advantage of the defense failing to come to him, so he speeds in on goal and scores on the near side past sophomore goalie Ryan Jurek for a 2-1 game with 3:34 left.

4:06 p.m. Irondequoit wins the faceoff behind senior Justin Buonomo and calls a timeout with 3:25 left in the second quarter.

4:08 p.m. Maxwell makes a great save, feeds senior defensive middie Patrick Eagen for a clear and Hamburg calls a timeout with 2:30 left in the second quarter. 

4:15 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Hamburg and Irondequoit are tied at 2-2. 

Hamburg tied the game with 1:13 left after it had a two-man advantage following two 1-minute slash calls. Senior Adam Dings, on the right side, took a pass from senior Ryan Feuerstein and Dings whipped the ball into the left side of the cage. 

Irondequoit had a good chance after winning the next faceoff but Doktor's shot from the right side went off the near pipe.

A high quality game in which the teams seemed to feel each out early in long, patient offensive sets, and key possessions prompting good timeouts from coaches as they try to best manage the game.

4:24 p.m. Ryan Feuerstein wins the opening faceoff of the second half and has a bounce shot from the right side carom up off the far post.

4:28 p.m. On a man-up opportunity that Hamburg was very upset with after a technical push call, Utz rips a shot from the left side after a skip pass (basketball term) from Greg Coholan, a junior middie, with 9:53 left in the third quarter.

4:29 p.m. Hamburg strikes right back to tie the game at 3-3 with 9:01 left as Ryan Feuerstein charges up the center and scores unassisted.

4:31 p.m. Irondequoit takes advantage of a Hamburg turnover and calls a timeout in transition with 7:36 left in the third. Really early to take a timeout in a close game, thinks the press box.

4:33 p.m. Irondequoit takes a 4-3 lead on a great goal by Utz, who scores on a low shot while falling to the turf afer some hard work. 7:14 left in the third.

4:37 p.m. Hamburg ties it at 4-4 with 4:31 left when sophomore middie Ryan Jurek picked up an errant pass through the middle by senior attack Josh Kerr -- right-place, right-time for a one-on-one goal.

4:44 p.m. Irondequoit goes up again, 5-4, with 33.7 seconds left as sophomore middie Ian Brooks scores from the left side off a pass by Coholan, who ran right and passed across to the left.

4:46 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Hamburg, 5-4.

4:54 p.m. Big-time goal by Utz, who runs around the restraining box and whips a laser in for a 6-4 lead with 7:39 left in the game.

4:54 p.m. Utz with another laser. Big time stuff here. This one is from the left side off an assist by big junior Emmy Poccia from behind the left side of the cage. Irondequoit leads, 7-4, with 7:12 remaining.

4:57 p.m. The lead is 8-4 after Nick Doktor walks in on an open goal as Hamburg goes to a ride in which Maxwell is out of the goal defending. Big decision there to go to that ride, maybe a game-ender. Timeout, Hamburg with 5:41 left. Hamburg took an earlier timeout -- with 8:48 left in the fourth -- so they are done for the game. 

5:03 p.m. Irondequoit calls a timeout with 2:16 left in the game and the lead appears secure. Hamburg had a man-up opportunity, but a blocked shot helped give possession to Irondequoit and it cleared the ball.

5:08 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Irondequoit 8, Hamburg 4.

* * *

5:43 p.m. We're about to start the Class C game.

5:49 p.m. Silver Creek scores on a strong move to the cage by Cam Seneca, who surged in from the left side for a dip-and-dunk and a 1-0 lead -- which might mark the first time Section VI has held a lead in the Class C regional round. 

5:50 p.m. Aquinas ties it at 1-1 on a goal by senior middie Brendan Hall off a pass by senior attack Austin Gorman from behind the cage with 6:35 left in the first. 

5:52 p.m. Silver Creek up, 2-1, after a nice fast-break finish by Zack Williams off a seal and a pass from Zed Williams.

5:55 p.m. Gorman scores to tie it at 2-2 with 4:34 left in the first. 

5:57 p.m. Silver Creek takes the lead again on a slick sidearm bounce shot by Zed Williams off an assist from Zack Williams with 3:05 left.

5:59 p.m. Aquinas ties it again at 3-3 after a Gorman goal off a feed from Klay Heston with 2:15 left; it adds a goal 16 seconds later when Heston scored off a Gorman feed right off a won faceoff for the Little Irish. Aquinas leads Silver Creek, 4-3, with 1:59 left in the first.

6:05 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Aquinas leads Silver Creek, 5-3. Anthony Bianchi finished a behind-the-cage feed from Gorman with 34.6 seconds left. 

6:28 p.m. My apologies on the lack of updates -- been taking care of a bunch of things. We are at HALFTIME and Silver Creek leads Aquinas, 7-5. 

A super finish for Aquinas, which got a literal last-second shot from Zed Williams to gain a two-goal lead. He picked up a loose ball about 15 yards out and released it with 0.4 seconds left -- the goal beat the horn in an outstanding play for the Black Knights. I just checked the Time Warner Cable SportsNet monitors and the goal was good. Great play for Silver Creek.

Silver Creek owned the quarter, 4-0. Zack Williams scored an unassisted goal with 10:55 left; Levi Jones scored on a solo rush 45 seconds later. With 5:24 left, Zack Williams scored on a great quick-stick catch-and-shoot in traffic right in front of the cage off a pass from John Jimerson, who was behind the cage to the right. That gave the Black Knights a 6-5 lead that it appeared would be it for the half before the horn-beater by Zed Williams.

6:37 p.m. We have started the second half in what is already the best performance by a Section VI team in the history of the Class C regionals. This round has always seen a powerful Penn Yan program toy with the Section VI team.

6:41 p.m. Aquinas quickly ties it up with two goals 33 seconds apart -- first it was Jake Vogl scoring off a feed from Klay Heston; then Heston scored unassisted to tied it at 7-7 with 8:21 left in the third.

6:43 p.m. Silver Creek scores on an unassisted goal by Zack Williams right off the face off with 8:12 left; Aquinas ties it at 8-8 with a Anthony Bianchi goal off another Gorman assist.

6:48 p.m. Two nice plays by Silver Creek give it a 10-8 lead. First, John Jimerson picks off a pass just inside midfield with Aquinas goalie Erich Wischmeyer well out of the goal on a clearing attempt -- Jimerson then finds Cam Seneca, who fired it in the an empty cage with 5:47 left. With 5:15 left, SC scored on an extra-man opportunity as Zed Williams scored on the right doorstep after a fantastic pass zinged through the defense by Zack Williams. 

6:52 p.m. Aquinas cuts it to 10-9 on an unassisted line drive straight out from Heston with 2:21 left in the third.

6:56 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, we are tied at 10-10. Gotta love it. Aquinas tied it with 46.7 seconds left on a goal by Heston from Vogl.

7:01 p.m. We're tied at 11-11 as Cam Seneca scored off a pretty Zed Williams feed with 10:12 left; Aquinas had taken its first lead since the first quarter on a goal by Heston with 10:27 left.

7:02 p.m. Aquinas up 12-11 after Bianchi finishes a Gorman assist in front of the cage with 9:17 left. 

7:03 p.m. Aquinas gets a ground ball in its own end after a nice save by Wischmeyer against Zed Williams -- 8:48 left in the game.

7:06 p.m. Heston scores his sixth goal of the game with 8:06 left -- Aquinas has a two-goal lead for the first time since the first quarter as they lead 13-11.

7:09 p.m. Gorman extends the lead to 14-11 with a goal off a pass from Heston -- there is 5:40 to go. 

7:14 p.m. Aquinas survived an EMO by Silver Creek, which just picked up a ground ball and called a timeout with 2:35 left in the game.

7:17 p.m. A save by Wischmeyer sends Aquinas to the Silver Creek end, where the Little Irish play keep away and their fans shake their milk cartons full of crud to make some noise. We're under a minute left.

7:19 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Aquinas beats Silver Creek, 14-11. Great job by the Black Knights for a best-ever Class C game from Section VI.

* * *

7:57 p.m. We're about to start our final game of the day -- player introductions are going on for the A game.

8:01 p.m. OP starts quickly as senior middie Matt Wilson won the opening faceoff, then put in a rebound for a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Fairport scores on a rebound to tie it when Tim Modesti batted in a ball that he had dropped with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

8:09 p.m. Fairport and goalie Blaze Riorden are staring into the sun, which is setting right behind the OP goal. OP has taken a couple of long-ish shots but Riorden has stopped them.

8:17 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Fairport leads Orchard Park, 2-1. The Red Raiders scored with 6.3 seconds left when they took advantage of a poor clearing attempt and Brendan Saylor came around from the left side of the cage to score. 

8:21 p.m. Fairport went up, 3-1, with 10:38 left in the second after Saylor goes up-and-under on Owens after a great fast-break clear and long pass from Brian Martin. OP cut it to 3-2 with Wilson's second goal of the game, a bounce shot off a burst down the left side with 9:37 left.

8:26 p.m. James Manilla scores an unassisted goal on the left side with 6:55 left in the second quarter and Fairport is up, 4-2.

8:32 p.m. Fairport takes a timeout with 3:23 left in the second owning a 4-2 lead and most of the play. The sun has gone down and the lights have begun to come on here at the Demske Sports Complex.

8:35 p.m. Fairport goes up, 5-2, on a nice play by Martin Manilla, who dodges in front and scores with 2:49 left in the half. That goal sends a Red Raider mascot up and down the sideline here waving a big red flag with a big white 'F' on it. Nice job in the mascot department by Fairport. I don't see any Opie from OP here.

8:37 p.m. OP calls a timeout with 45.6 seconds left -- a call that is being disputed by the Fairport sideline.

8:41 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Fairport leads Orchard Park, 5-2. 

8:53 p.m. Back to the action. OP needs to change the way it is playing if it wants to win this game. I have some typing to do for my story for the paper so the updates might be a little more sporadic. 

9:02 p.m. Fairport up 7-2 with 3:06 left in the third quarter, prompting a timeout by OP. Chris Button scored on an assist by Saylor with 4:45 left; Martin scored as he ran in from the right side off a feed from Martin Manilla. That possession was set up by a nice save by Riorden and a super cleary by Chris Benza to Martin.

Definitely writing my story now. Looks like the first sweep for Section V over Section VI since 2007 and just the second sweep in the last 12 years. 

9:12 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Fairport has an 8-3 lead on Orchard Park. Ben Johnson scored of an assist from Sean Purtill for OP's goal with 1:24 left in the third. 

9:23 p.m. With 5:03 left in the game, Fairport is up, 10-3, and Orchard Park is getting being called for a steady stream of penalties as the Quakers are definitely frustrated with having its season come to and end. 

9:31 p.m. Mass substitutions for Fairport, which is up, 10-4, with 1:24 left after a goal by OP's Trevor Vargo.

9:32 p.m. Fairport doing the St. Joe's "I believe that we have won" chant. Doesn't have the same charm when a bunch of parents do it. Just saying. 

9:33 p.m. Ben Johnson scores for OP with 1 second on the clock. 

9:34 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Fairport 10, Orchard Park 5. Gotta write. 

* * *

Here are some additional quotes from Tuesday's games:

Irondequoit coach Craig Whipple:

"We felt good about the way things were going, and we hit so many pipes … I told the guys to keep shooting. We thought we could get that two- three-goal spurt, and we did.

"We are very proud to be the Western Region champions and it's something our program is very proud of, but our focus has been on a three-game tournament. We're glad to get this first step, we're on to the second and hopefully we can get to that third."

Silver Creek coach Bill Brennan:

"It was a blessing in disguise with that loss (17-6 in last year's regionals to Penn Yan) because we at least had our feet wet and we knew what to expect. We didn't want to take anything lightly to get here. Getting was tough, Eden (in the sectional final) was tough."

Aquinas senior Austin Gorman:

"[Silver Creek is] definitely a lot different from the teams we've been playing in Rochester. They're definitely a box [lacrosse-style] team, with box picks … our defense did an unbelievable job with the picks. Their [zone] defense is a little bit different. It was a high scoring game on both ends … we just had a couple more than they did, but they played great."

* * *

If you attend any of the games, let us know how it went and what you thought of the action.

We'll talk about all the regionals and the Section VI representatives' chances at states this weekend during Wednesday evening's live chat at 9:45.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Friday Afternoon Live from Section VI boys lacrosse (with updates from other finals ... and video)

I'll be live at the Section VI boys lacrosse championships this afternoon and evening at Orchard Park. I'll be getting updates from the baseball and softball action as well. 

The Class A game starts the tripleheader at 3:30 p.m. as defending champion Orchard Park meets Clarence. Up in Niagara Falls, Clarence is also in action in the highly anticipated AA softball final against Williamsville North.

The rest of the boys lax action includes defending champion Hamburg meeting Amherst at 5:30 in the B final and top-seeded Eden facing defending champion Silver Creek in Class C at 8.

The Class A softball final has Williamsville South playing Amherst at 6 p.m. at Niagara Falls while the Class D baseball final at Jamestown has Pine Valley meeting North Collins at 4:30 p.m. The Georgetown Cup championship series will be set today when St. Francis faces St. Mary's in a game at St. Joe's that was postponed from Thursday.

We'll update as soon as it is possible -- just hit refresh once every couple of minutes.

* * *

3:52 p.m. After the FIRST QUARTER of the AA game, Orchard Park has a 4-1 lead. A few technical difficulties at the start here; my apologies. The OP field is new, but not the press box, but we have a seat and somewhere to type, and I can see all the action -- if I move my head back and forth around the .

A report from correspondent Nate Beutel at softball in Niagara Falls - Clarence took a 2-0 lead over Will North after two innings.

4:06 p.m. OP is having a nice run to take a 7-1 lead with 4:14 left in the second quarter, prompting a timeout by Clarence. 

A good timeout after a very pretty goal by OP, which came just 13 seconds after senior Kevin Kelly scored off an assist by senior Sean Purtill. On the ensuing faceoff, junior Trevor Vargo won it, fed sophomore longstick middie Kole Robinson, who handed ahead to Purtill, who fed Vargo in front of the cage for the goal with 4:14 left.

4:09 p.m. OP now up, 8-1, after a great solo underhanded effort by Matt Wilson -- his third of the game -- after he charged from behind the cage.

4:13 p.m. We are at HALFTIME of the Class A game and OP leads Clarence, 8-1.

4:17 p.m. Update from Niagara Falls: CLARENCE BEATS WILL NORTH IN THE CLASS A SOFTBALL FINAL, 2-0, on a one-hitter by senior standout pitcher Jen Sansano. I set up a separate post for the game for comments.

4:29 p.m. OP's lead is now 9-1 after another pretty passing play that started with a ground ball by junior defenseman Cullen Mangino -- who scooped it up and cleared it across midfield himself. He moved deep into the offensive end and then started a tic-tac-toe play with a pass to the right side of the cage to Purtill, who fed cross-cage to wide-open sophomore Ben Johnson for an easy score with 8:54 left in the third quarter. 

4:35 p.m. OP now up, 10-2, answering a Clarence goal by junior David DeCirce with yet another pretty passing play in transition. A great stick-check by Mangino on the defensive end became a clear that went from Mangino to Gary Davies to senior middie Dan Nesci, who fed Purtill on the right side, who fed back into the high slot (hockey term) to Sean Rimmer for a liner he put past Clarence junior goalie Zach Johnson.

4:40 p.m. Timeout with 2:06 left and OP owning its 10-2 lead.

5:01 p.m. After some frustrating browser/connection problems, we're back. Our apologies. OP's lead is 14-4 after a goal by junior middie Peter Biondi with 3:01 left in the game.

5:05 p.m. OP now up 15-4 with 2:03 left after a goal by junior Brian Kaspzyk.

5:09 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE and we have a CLASS A CHAMPION. Orchard Park beats Clarence, 15-5, for its 16th straight sectional title and 19th in the last 20 years.

* * * 

5:46 p.m. We're about to start the Class B game. At the start of warmups, while I was doing interviews at the sideline, the Hamburg and Amherst teams did some serious woofing across the midfield line -- very reminiscient of college football pregame woof-fests. Everyone stayed on their side of the line, so just some good, clean (loud) fun. 

5:48 p.m. First possession for Hamburg but two shots go wide and Amherst hears the ball back on the backup.

5:52 p.m. Adam Dings makes it a 1-0 Hamburg lead on a nice leaping bounce shot with 6:48 left in the first quarter.

5:55 p.m. Hamburg goes up, 2-0, on a similar move as Andy Velazquez comes from the right side across the middle and fights off a defender as he gets his scoring shot off. 

6:01 p.m. Timeout Hamburg with the ball with 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

6:03 p.m. We are at the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER and Hamburg leads Amherst, 2-0.

6:21 p.m. We're still at 2-0 Hamburg; the teams have exchanged extra-man opportunities, turnovers and hits but no goals.

6:22 p.m. As soon as I type that, Hamburg's Josh Kerr scores off a feed from Ryan Feuerstein -- which came off what the press box says was the 13th turnover by Amherst. The goal was at 4:14 left in the quarter.

6:23 p.m. Thirty seconds later, at 3:47, Max Maxwell comes from behind the goal, beats a defender and scores on a low shot for a 4-0 Hamburg lead and prompts a timeout by Amherst coach Stefan Henn.

6:26 p.m. Timeout Hamburg with 2:37 left in the second quarter.

6:29 p.m. Hamburg adds another. After a save by Amherst goalie Scott Theilman, Josh Kerr picks up a ground ball on the left side and fires it in the top right corner for a 5-0 lead with 1:48 left in the second.

6:32 p.m. Hamburg's late surge in the second was pretty good, but Ryan Feuerstein made it outstanding. With the clock ticking down, he came from behind the right side of the goal and whipped around a shot that went in the goal with just one second left in the half. Hamburg leads, 6-0, with :01 left, which means ...

We are at HALFTIME and Hamburg leads Amherst, 6-0.

6:37 p.m. Update from Niagara Falls in SOFTBALL: Amherst leads Williamsville South, 2-0, after three innings of the Class A final. 

6:44 p.m. We have an update from BASEBALL: Pine Valley beats North Collins, 6-0, to win the SECTION VI CLASS D CHAMPIONSHIP.

6:46 p.m. We have started the third quarter. Hamburg senior goalie James Maxwell just made a nice one-on-one stop at the left doorstep on Amherst senior Bryan Lawson.

6:53 p.m. Hamburg scores on a pretty goal by Josh Kerry from Ryan Feuerstein with six minutes left; Amherst scores on its next possession thanks to senior Jack Huck; Hamburg, 7-1, with 5:35 left in the third. 

6:55 p.m. Hamburg goes up, 8-1, with four minutes left on a nice rush from behind the right side of the goal by freshman Max Maxwell.

7:01 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Hamburg leads Amherst, 8-1.

7:08 p.m. Hamburg goes up, 9-1, with 7:00 left on a goal by Chris Feuerstein, who dodged past a double-team and scored from the right side.

The Hamburg fans were cheering on their defense, which has been outstanding all game. Amherst has had long possessions, but excellent checks have limited the Tigers to a few fairly easy shots saved by James Maxwell.

7:14 p.m. Timeout with 4:50 left and Hamburg up, 9-1. 

7:20 p.m. Timeout Hamburg with 1:13 left; still a 9-1 game.

7:23 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE and we have a CLASS B CHAMPION. Hamburg beats Amherst, 9-1, for its fourth straight sectional title. 

* * *

7:54 p.m. We have a SOFTBALL update. AMHERST WINS THE CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP. Tigers beat Will South, 3-1.

7:55 p.m. A couple minutes away from the start of the C game between defending champion Silver Creek and top-seeded Eden. Skies are greying but hopefully we don't get in any rain trouble.

8:07 p.m. Silver Creek takes a 2-1 lead on a Levi Jones goal off a nice John Jimerson pass with 8:59 left in the second quarter -- the Black Knights also scored on the opening faceoff as Zack Williams won it and charged right in for the goal. 

The teams split their two meetings this season, with Eden winning on the road,16-12, on April 7 and the Black Knights winning in Eden, 20-9, on May 3.

8:15 p.m. Some big-time back-and-forth going on. Silver Creek is up, 4-3, with 4:21 left on a sweet, low swooping shot by Zed Williams.

8:17 p.m. Like I said, back and forth. Derek Wilder scores off a nice through-the-defense pass by Mike Janker and we're tied at 4-4 with 2:39 left in the first. Looks like we have our best game of the day.

8:23 p.m. At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Eden has a 6-5 lead over Silver Creek. Neither team has had more than a one-goal lead.

8:30 p.m. The wild back-and-forth swings continue with a Silver Creek spurt -- it leads 7-6 with 10:15 left in the second after a hard shot by Ryan Mitchell.

8:33 p.m. Timeout Eden after Zack Williams sheds two shoves in the defensive end, clears it himself and goes in alone to score on a low overhand shot for an 8-6 Silver Creek lead with 8:37 left in the second.

8:35 p.m. The highlight show continues in a major way. Sophmore John Jimerson took a pass on his own side of midfield, sped towards the Eden goal, and as one defender chased him and anothe rdefender approached, he put on the brakes and did a super spin-o-rama move before charging in a few steps and burying a shot in the top left corner. Awesome. Check it out on Time Warner Cable SportsNet this week. SC leads, 9-6, with 8:09 left in the second.

8:50 p.m. We are at HALFTIME and Silver Creek has an 11-7 lead over Eden. What a fun half -- crazy scoring.

Time for me to get some writing done for Saturday's paper.

9:10 p.m. We're back to action, and the teams have kept up their pace with four goals in the opening five minutes. Silver Creek leads, 13-8, with 7:03 left in the third.

9:16 p.m. A slight drizzle started a few minutes ago, and then the officials called for the game to be suspended because lightning was seen in the distance. That's an automatic 30-minute delay. Ordinarily, I'd be a furious reporter right now, but the delay gives me a chance to write my story. I'll let you know of any more details, but we'll be back at 9:46 p.m. at the latest.

It's 13-9 Silver Creek with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

9:44 p.m. A steady downpour has subsided but apparently there has been more lightning during the delay, which has extended the delay. I'm typing a press box atop an empty bleacher.

10:05 p.m. Story is done for the paper and we just saw lightning again -- we've got to be looking at a suspended game that gets finished tomorrow.

10:19 p.m. A blast of thunder and another flash of lightning and ...

Section VI chairman John Faller has notified us that the game will be picked up Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. here at Orchard Park. That's Silver Creek leading, 13-9, with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

10:48 p.m. We've updated our story for tomorrow's paper and we're outta here. After the game was called, there was some serious lightning and thunder accompanied by a serious downpour. All is much calmer now. 

Next lacrosse stop is Tuesday night at the regionals.

* * *

Some postgame interview videos:

If you were at any of the games, let us know how it went and what you thought of the action.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Wednesday Evening Live (with softball and lacrosse video)

I'm running around to different sites this afternoon before tonight's chat  -- but the rush-hour traffic in the Northtowns isn't helping.

First stop is Williamsville South softball. Some rain but just a light drizzle.

5:21 p.m. Will South has a 1-0 lead on West Seneca East after four and a half.

Off to Clarence for softball and lacrosse.

5:42 p.m. Arrive at Clarence to see that the home team has an 8-2 lead on Lancaster with less than two minutes left in the second quarter.

Also an update from correspondent Nate Beutel -- West Seneca East beat Williamsville North, 13-9, in the Class B girls lacrosse final.

5:47 p.m. Clarence softball has a 3-1 lead on Niagara-Wheatfield -- whoops, just made it 6-1 with a three-run homer by Tori Nappo in the bottom of the sixth. Val Nappo just added an RBI single for a 7-1 lead.

Well-placed sources here say that Williamsville North is up on Lancaster, 4-1, late in the other AA softall semifinal.

Also, Sean Bruso just texted me that Lancaster has a 6-5 halftime lead over Clarence in the Class A girls lacrosse championship.

6:11 p.m. We have a final score: Clarence beats Niagara-Wheatfield in the AA softball semifinals, 8-3.

6:19 p.m. Over at the lacrosse field (the football field), Clarence has a 9-4 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Man, Clarence just made it 10-4 while I was typing and not video-ing. Argh. Missed out on some softball stuff too.

6:22 p.m. Now 11-4. Still typing. Ugh.

6:32 p.m. Clarence leads, 13-5, with 3:56 left. And yes, we got some video highlights. Whew.

6:43 p.m. Clarence wins, 13-5. Nice job by the Red Devils to reach their first boys lax final. Good, physical, well-played game from what I saw.

Off to Hamburg.

7:28 p.m. Arrived at Hamburg after a very necessary fuel stop (five diet Cokes to get me through the night).

Hamburg boys have scored four times -- I believe -- while I've been trying to find a parking spot. They just have Iroquois overmatched. Iroquois called a timeout after the fourth goal -- and just after I found a spot.

Also we have some final scores. Lancaster wins it's sixth straight Class A title in girls lacrosse with an 11-9 win over Clarence in what must have been a great game. thanks to correspondent Amanda Bremer and Mr. Bruso for the texts in the last few minutes.

Also, Mr. Bruso confirms a 4-1 softball final victory for Will North.

7:39 p.m. Correspondent Ben Gaughan reports that Albion beat Williamsville South, 5-3, to win the Class A baseball title.

7:49 p.m. The sky darkened big-time and a serious downpour hit Hamburg. They're still playing, but I'm still in the car -- for now.

7:50 p.m. Rain has stopped. Iroquois hanging in there at 4-2 with 3:44 left in second quarter.

8:01 p.m. Awesome goal by Iroquois -- which I caught on video -- late in the quarter makes it just a 4-3 halftime lead for Hamburg. Hmmmmm. Battery running low on iPhone - hope we have enough juice to handle a closer game than most expected.

8:21 p.m. We have a lightning delay - which means we have a 30-minute wait. Hamburg has scored twice to take a 6-3 lead with 3:48 to play in the third quarter.

With the live chat at 9:30ish, I'm going to head back to One News Plaza.

Back in the car. It wasn't raining when the delay was called, but it is now and fans are seeking shelter across the street in the high school. Thunder rumbled often before lightning was seen.

See you in the chat and we'll have all results posted as soon as possible.

8:40 p.m. Wow. Did some work in the car - now we have a torrential downpour with thunder and lightning. Not sure if they'll get to finish tonight.

I'll have video of the stormy weather, too :-)

9:45 p.m. We're back at One News Plaza, fuled with some Subway and up and running with our weekly live chat.

* * *

If you're out at a game, let us know what you saw and what you thought of the action.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Wednesday Evening Live: Will North softball beats Clarence in 11 (with lotsa video)

A update from my travels before tonight's chat ...

I started with a traffic-stalled trip down clogged Route 5 to Hamburg, where Clarence had a 5-0 lead on the Bulldogs after two innings. Zach Lauricella looked quite sharp on the mound (see videos below). The Red Devils ended up with a 16-0 victory.

Then I headed up to Williamsville North for a top five softball matchup that lived up to it's billing. No. 3 North beat No. 1 Clarence, 1-0, in 11 innings.

Junior Robin Kennery clobbered a pitch well over the left fielder to score junior Ashley Fillmore from third. Fillmore started the inning at second on the international tiebreaker, which is used starting with the 10th inning.

Here's our first softball video of the year -- the 11th inning was three pitches: a ball, a stolen base and Kennery's blast.

Clarence's Jen Sansano had 12 strikeouts and allowed five hits and one walk. North's Nikki Attea struck out five, allowed three hits, had one walk and one hit batter. Kennery had three hits for North while Val Nappo had two for Clarence.

The victory splits the season series between the ECIC I rivals -- Clarence had won, 2-1, on April 27.

North had some nice defensive plays in the top of the 11th, including throwing out a runner at home after an overthrow to first. Here's the highlight in which right fielder senior Sarah Rodems backed up an overthrow to first and threw to junior catcher Ashley Fillmore for the out. Nice play on both ends.

* * *

We're going to rewind it a little bit now. Here's action from previous innings. 

Kennery had a sharp single in the bottom of the ninth -- she got hung up at first when she missed the bag. After the game she mentioned that she was glad to get the winning hit because she had felt bad about missing first.

Sansano ended the ninth by getting a flyout from Rodems after a long at-bat.

The rest is pretty self-explanatory -- after each standout pitcher ended their 10th inning with a strikeout we have video of the entire top of the 11th. It includes Rodems' play, a nice catch of a deep ball in left and very solid shortstop play from Corrin Genovese.

Here's the postgame wrap-up with Kennery and North coach Rick Bubar (if you tilt your head slightly, it's as if I held the phone straight!):

* * *

Back to the start of the trip down in Hamburg -- here are two of Lauricella's nine K's.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Thursday Evening Live: Lancaster girls, Hamburg boys make lacrosse statements

I headed out to catch some big lacrosse matchups this afternoon and saw two top teams head on their way to statement victories in league play.

I started out at Lancaster to see a portion of the second half of its 10-3 victory over Clarence, then swung south to Hamburg, where I saw the Bulldogs put some distance between themselves in Amherst in the beginning of the fourth quarter in what would be a 13-5 win.

Here are some highlights. Happy squinting.

I'm in the office putting together the High School Extra for Friday's paper. Check the high school home page (link below) for all the scores and highlights.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk

Jamestown tourney among rescheduled games

Jamestown boys basketball's United Way Tip-Off, which was postponed due to last weekend's snowy and windy weather, has been rescheduled for Jan. 8-9, 2010.

The lineup -- Friday, Jan. 8: Maple Grove vs. V-Newark, 6 p.m.; Fredonia at Jamestown, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9: Consolation, 6 p.m.; championship, 7:30 p.m.

The Orchard Park at Jamestown game, originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 8, has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010.

OP also rescheduled its game with Hamburg that was snowed out last Thursday -- it will be played Monday, Jan. 11.

Please report any rescheduled games to The News as soon as possible. Email sports@buffnews.com AND kmcshea@buffnews.com. Thanks.

---Keith McShea

buffalonews.com/highschool     facebook.com/preptalkblog     twitter.com/bufnewspreptalk