Prep Talk

Hello and welcome to what should be another interesting night of high school football here with PrepTalkTV and the Prep Talk blog.

Settle in with your refresh button and get updates here all evening -- I'll provide updates from the games I check out, I'll pass on any score updates I learn of, and we have our team of reporters and photographers at several spots in Western New York tonight so we'll have photos and videos from them as well.

4:15 p.m. We love the early kickoffs here at PrepTalkTV -- we're starting at Nichols, which hosts Cardinal O'Hara in the teams' Monsignor Martin League A opener at 4:30 p.m. at the Big Green's Strauss Truscott Field.

Nichols is 1-1 after beating JFK and battling Grover Cleveland to the end last week; O'Hara started with a big loss at Canisius but last week had an impressive victory over Xavier of New York City. 

Week Three actually kicked off last night (check my live blog) with a a big win for Williamsville South as well as Williamsville North over Williamsville East.

4:30 p.m. They are about to kick off here at Nichols, and here's our kickoff:

4:41 p.m. Cardinal O'Hara has a quick lead after a 41-yard TOUCHOWN run by senior Robert Davis on the Hawks' first play from scrimmage. Soo Young Park adds the extra point and O'Hara has a 7-0 lead with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

On Nichols' first possession, they quickly had a fourth down come up but got a first down on a fake in which senior Matt Benedict ran to the right side and down the right sideline -- he was whistled for being out of bounds but the Nichols sideline and fans were adamant that he kept himself in.

4:46 p.m. Nichols calls a timeout facing another fourth down, I believe (the scoreboard here just has the score and time and I'm sitting on the back of an elevated scorer's table, facing away from the field.). There is 4:12 remaining in the first. It appears Nichols could be in for a long day.

4:56 p.m. Definitely a long day. Nichols had turned the ball over on downs on that last drive (my bad), Davis broke off another nice run, and then Kyree Carter had plenty of blocking and little trouble getting into the end zone on a 12-yard TOUCHDOWN. The point-after pass failed and O'Hara's lead is 13-0 with 3:07 left in the first.

4:58 p.m. Here we go again. Nichols turns the ball over on downs -- I'm guessing they don't have a punter -- and O'Hara scores on its first play from scrimmage. Sophomore quarterback Anthony DiFrancesco lofts a nice ball down the left sideline for senior Maurice Betton, who makes a very nice airborne catch for a 39-yard TOUCHDOWN. Another Park extra point is good and O'Hara leads, 20-0, with 10:57 left in the second quarter.

5:08 p.m. Yikes. A Nichols fumble is turned into what I believe was a 30-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Davis. Park adds another kick and O'Hara leads, 27-0, with 8:59 left in the second quarter.

5:15 p.m. Nichols turned the ball over on downs again -- the lack of a punter is killing the Green -- and Davis soon after runs in for a 23-yard TOUCHDOWN. He made some nice moves and slipped out of a few tackles on that one. Another Park PAT and O'Hara's lead is 34-0 with 5:11 left in the second quarter.

And no, I'm pretty sure there is not a mercy rule in football. Just looking at the sidelines, Nichols is outmanned big time, and O'Hara is one of the best small schools in Western New York. That would be enough for a mismatch, but again, the no-punter thing is extremely hazardous to the health of a football team. We've had Nichols drives go four plays and out, handing the Hawks a short field.

The Nichols soccer team is practicing on the adjacent field here -- maybe one of those guys can punt? Sorry, couldn't resist. :-)

5:21 p.m. While we've been typing, Nichols fumbled again, Davis recovered it again, and the Hawks have another short field. The Hawks take over inside the 20 with 3:04 to play in the first half.

5:23 p.m. The football gods just checked in -- an O'Hara fumble is recovered by Benedict.

5:24 p.m. Maybe not. Senior Brandon Lyles with an interception and O'Hara takes over just outside the Nichols 10.

5:28 p.m. Senior Koran McCoy runs in from 2 yards out for a TOUCHDOWN, Park with another extra point, O'Hara with a 41-0 lead with 47 seconds left in the first half.

5:32 p.m. It is HALFTIME and Cardinal O'Hara leads Nichols, 41-0.

Here's what it looked like -- here's Lauren Mariacher's video highlight package:

6:15 p.m. Typing from the car for a quick update ... O'Hara leads Nichols, 48-6, in the fourth quarter. Betton scored for O'Hara on a 35-yard TOUCHDOWN run. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Benedict caught a pass from Liam Ryan for a TOUCHDOWN. It was for about 19 yards; not sure because I was in the parking lot.

I'm off to North Tonawanda for the 0-2 Lumberjacks' home game against 2-0- Niagara Falls.

6:58 p.m. Hello from NT, where we are about to kick off.

7:11 p.m. NT taking over at the Falls 47 after a Falls punt goes bad and the punter does well to pass it forward for an incomplete pass rather than a big loss. It will be NT's second possession; Falls has one first down over two drives which haven't gone far.

7:18 p.m. We are at the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER and it is scoreless between Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda.

7:23 p.m. North Tonawanda scores the game's first TOUCHDOWN as Rob Wikierski takes a handoff to the left side on fourth-and-2 and runs in pretty cleanly for a 5-yard score. Dan Montesanti adds the extra point and North Tonawanda leads Falls, 7-0, with 11:17 left in the second quarter.

7:25 p.m. Niagara Falls comes right back, and it shouldn't be a surprise who came up with a big play. Dale Stewart took the kickoff return back 99 yards on an absolute highlight reel play that I'll post as soon as I can. He appeared to be stopped on the right side, but slipped out of a tackle, reversed field, then made some nice moves and used his speed for quite a play and a TOUCHDOWN. Falls' extra point was blocked by Joe Montesanti; NT leads Falls, 7-6, with 10:58 left in the second quarter.

Here's my iPhone video, picking up just as Stewart picked the ball up:

7:25 p.m. UPDATE from Joe Popiolkowski at East Aurora: Southwestern leads, 7-0, after a John Mistretta run to complete the Trojans' first drive.

UPDATE from Lauren Mariacher at All High: Iroquois leads Lafayette, 8-0, with 11:41 left in the second quarter.

7:43 p.m. NT with another TOUCHDOWN as Joe Montesanti passes to brother Dan for an 18-yard score with 6:08 left in the second quarter. A nice drive which included a very strong run by Joe Montesanti on a keeper. NT leads, 13-6.

7:47 p.m. Falls and Stewart again respond quickly with another TOUCHDOWN on the second play of their next drive. Stewart had some good time, bought some more time by rolling right and he directed Marcus Feagin to get to the end zone. That's where Stewart threw it and the connection to Feagin was a 36-yard score.

Here's the video of that one:

Falls' two-point conversion was stopped -- and NT's lead was preserved -- when Joe Montesanti made a great open-field tackle on Stewart on the left side. NT leads Falls, 13-12, with 5:40 left in the second quarter.

7:56 p.m. It's another TOUCHDOWN connection from brother-to-brother as Dan Montesanti catches a quick pass from Joe over the middle, then does a tremendous job to rumble through several potential tacklers before breaking the plane of the end zone. Dan Montesanti's extra point is wide left and with 1:52 left in the first half, North Tonawanda leads Niagara Falls, 19-12.

Check it out:

8:05 p.m. We are at HALFTIME here with North Tonawanda leading Niagara Falls, 19-12.

UPDATE from Joe Pops at East Aurora: Southwestern goes up, 13-0, on another Mistretta touchdown. There's 4:46 left in the second quarter.

UPDATE from Lauren Mariacher at All High: Iroquois has taken its 8-0 lead on Lafayette to halftime.

UPDATE from noted blogger BullsFan at Lancaster, where the host Redskins lead Clarence, 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. "Two long but point-free drives for Clarence," his text reads.

8:08 p.m. More from BullsFan: Lancaster goes up 10-0 on a field goal with eight minutes left in the second, thanks to a long 60-yard-plus run to set it up.

8:11 p.m. Lengthy halftime here for a nice ceremony honoring this year's NT Hall of Fame class. I'm going to try and get another clip or two up.

8:13 p.m. UPDATE from Lauren Mariacher, who turned on her car radio to learn that Southwestern's lead at EA is now 21-0 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter after a 26-yard touchdown catch by Nick Austin.

8:13 p.m. UPDATE from Lauren Mariacher and Joe Pops -- Southwestern is up, 28-0, at halftime at EA after Jake Swan's 50-yard interception return.

8:30 p.m. Big-time bad news for NT: Joe Montesanti, who on the second-to-last play of the first half took a big hit and was holding his head, is not back on the field. He does not appear to be on the sideline either. Junior Pat Angelhow is in at quarterback on the Jacks' first drive of the second half.

UPDATE: Lancaster leads, 13-7, at the half.

8:41 p.m. So much for that bad news. Angelhow had a few classic NT pitches (reminded me of Mike Tuzzo the last two years) on nice runs to lead the Jacks on a scoring drive. The TOUCHDOWN was a halfback option pass from junior Justin Bacon to senior Brandon Camarre on the right side of the field. NT gets an extra point from junior Derek Wasielewski and the Lumberjacks take a 26-12 lead with 6:28 left in the third quarter. Quite a drive for NT -- not just for tonight, but for its season.

Here's the halfback option highlight:

8:51 p.m. Falls, as it as often done this season, comes back with a score. Stewart runs in for a 3-yard TOUCHDOWN with 4:00 left in the third quarter. The drive included two big pass plays, one a deflected pass that senior Flavian Sanders came down with; the other was another excellent scramble by Stewart to the right side, where he put up a long pass for a 31-yard completion to Quandray Gray to the 3.

The point-after attempt has had three penalties in a row; the first two pushed Falls back; the third was a pass interference call on NT; NT then took a timeout.

8:55 p.m. Falls scores on the two-point conversion as Stewart puts up a pass for a wide-open Feagin on the left side of the end zone. NT leads Falls, 26-20, with 4:00 left in the third.

8:57 p.m. Check out a buffalonews.com photo gallery from tonight's action.

UPDATE: Clarence has scored a touchdown to open the second half; Lancaster leads, 13-12.

9:11 p.m. We are at the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER and NT leads Niagara Falls, 26-20. Falls has a first down at the NT 21.

9:16 p.m. Falls' drive ends on a fourth-and-8 at the NT 19 when junior Justin Bacon picks off a Stewart pass to the right side. NT takes over at its 21 with 10:30 left in the game.

9:22 p.m. Falls' Stewart is a must-see player. The senior just went on a keeper run that was a serious highlight play -- he sped right, cut back to the middle, and somehow escaped numerous close calls by potential tacklers before breaking back to the right sideline and sprinting for a tremendous, 50-yard TOUCHDOWN for Falls. The extra point by Carleton Gayle of Falls is blocked by Rob Wikierski and we are tied at 26-26 with 7:35 left to play.

9:27 p.m. There have been fumbles on THREE straight plays, with teams alternating possessions each time. Falls has the ball at the NT 38 with 7:02 left.

UPDATE: Clarence leads Lancaster, 28-13, with 11:53 left.

9:42 p.m. This game is ridiculous. Justin Bacon takes an inside handoff and runs for a 9-yard TOUCHDOWN to give NT a 32-26 lead on Niagara Falls with 1:15 left in the game. NT calls a timeout before the conversion attempt.

9:44 p.m. Bacon takes a pitch to the wide right side and cuts back through a great open lane and the conversion is GOOD. NT leads, 34-26.

Updates will be limited because I have to file a story for our first edition.

9:49 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: NT 34, Niagara Falls 26.

10:48 p.m. Wow, can an hour fly by when you're running around like a maniac.

Wrote story for first edition, got kicked out of the NT press box at 10:10 p.m., got the stats from NT coach Eric Jantzi, got quotes thanks to Lauren Mariacher's postgame on-field work after she and I were able (thanks, NT) to set up shop in the NT trainers' room, revised the story for the Niagara edition for our two Niagara County schools, and here we are.

Here's our wrapup video from NT:

UPDATES and finals include two WOW scores: McKinley beats Grand Island at Lafayette, 36-19. Pioneer gets a huge win over Eden, 20-0.

A final from games I was updating you on: Clarence surges to a 35-13 win at Lancaster. Had that a little bit ago but it has been crazy.

MUCH more to come on here, video-wise and results-wise, so stay tuned.

10:57 p.m. Speak of the devil (or EA Blue Devil?) -- here's Joe Pops' report from what was a 42-14 victory for Southwestern at East Aurora.

11:06 p.m. Another final from a game we were monitoring -- Iroquois survives Lafayette, 8-6.

Here's some great video of hard-hitting plays during the first half of Iroquois' win at All High Stadium:

One of the big scores put up tonight was one that's not really a surprise as Canisius rolled to a 54-7 win against Bishop Timon-St. Jude at Timon's Fitzpatrick Field in South Buffalo.

Here are Canisius coach Brandon Harris and quarterback Travis Eman talking about the big Monsignor Martin League AA-opening victory. Some great stuff about the game and the Crusaders' next contest against Cathedral Prep of Erie, Pa.:

Some more scoring updates:

The Cardinal O'Hara rout of Nichols we were at for the beginning of the night ended in a 51-12 win for the Hawks.

Here's a rundown of the other scores: Jamestown 41, Bennett 0. ... Orchard Park 43, West Seneca West 8. ... Lake Shore 28, West Seneca East 21. ... Alden 56, Lew-Port 7. ... Medina 36, Tonawanda 0. ... Depew 34, Akron 6. ... Dunkirk 32, Springville 7. ... Lackawanna 37, Olean 8. ... Cattaraugus/Little Valley 34, Ellicottville 24. ... Frewsburg 46, Franklinville 6. ... Randolph 57, Forestville 0. ... Chautauqua Lake 34, Panama 12. ... Cheektowaga 32, Albion 7. ... Cassadaga Valley 32, Wilson 27. ... Frontier 28, Hamburg 0. ... Fredonia 33, Gowanda 0. ... Grover Cleveland 34, All.-Limestone 0. ... Salamanca 30, Roy-Hart 20.

No huge surprises there -- I thought Frontier would come up with another solid win and they did so. ... Nice win for a Lake Shore program that hasn't had many in recent years. ... Impressive home opener for Jamestown romping over Bennett.

Here's my audio wrapup of the night:

See you back here tomorrow ...

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As always, we want to hear from you about what you've seen tonight. Let us know what you thought of the teams, players -- even the hot dogs -- in the comments section below. 

---Keith McShea

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

Stan Wier, who helped Nichols win a state Federation boys basketball championship last season as a sophomore, will transfer to La Lumiere, a private school located in LaPorte, Indiana.

Wier had already decided that he would not be returning to Nichols in June. The East Aurora native was considering returning to his home district, where he played his freshman season, and also received attention from New England prep schools.

Wier told me via email that he accepted a full scholarship to the boarding school because its "combination of academics and athletics made it a clear decision."

"The school itself is very challenging academically with two-to-three hours of homework per night. The basketball program is a perfect fit for me. The team consists of a solid frontcourt with a 7-foot center and two 6-10 forwards -- all have Division I offers. I round out the frontcourt due to their need of a physical shooter/scorer, and the team is being built for the future seeing as how there are four players on the team in my 2012 graduation class that are top 100 players.

"Not to mention they have a new coach who was formerly at Culver Academy and is known as one of the best player development coaches in the country. This program will simply challenge me to my limits daily to assure that I maximize potential. Also, the school is giving me a full-scholarship so for economic reasons it was a great fit as well."

Wier was a second-team All-Western New York selection in helping Nichols to one of the best seasons in recent Western New York basketball history. The 6-2 guard is an excellent shooter who also provides physical, intense play on the boards and on defense.

After a little google-ing, one of the players Wier was apparently referring to is Hanner Perea, a 6-8 forward who is reported to be deciding between Indiana and Baylor.

Perea, who is ranked 13th in the country by rivals.com, is another recent transfer to La Lumiere. The native of Colombia played at a North Carolina private school basketball power last year. Perea is also rated second in Indiana's Class of 2012 by insidethehall.com.

One would think that Wier's outside shooting would come in just as handy for La Lumiere as it did for a Nichols team led from the inside by now-University at Virginia 6-8 freshman Will Regan.

This will be Wier's third school in three years. That certainly isn't the most traditional route for a high school athlete in Western New York (although recent WNY examples of three schools in three years do come to mind), but it's hard to argue with any of the steps Wier and his family have made, whether it was to go from EA to a great team at a great school in Nichols, or to now go from Nichols to a program that seems to be at another level -- in a state renowned for basketball.

Wier told me in June that he had scholarship offers from Rhode Island and Colgate; one would think that playing alongside major D-I recruits would only help him gain more experience and exposure.

---Keith McShea

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

Stan Wier, a standout sophomore for the Nichols boys basketball team as the Vikings won the state Class A Federation tournament this past season, won't be returning to the Buffalo private school.

Stan's father, Todd Wier, stated in an e-mail to me that Stan, as well as younger brother Cam, would not be returning to Nichols. Most likely they will be transferring back to their home district of East Aurora; however, Stan also has offers from prep schools.

In an e-mail from Stan, the junior-to-be stated he is "leaning" towards returning to EA. He stated that Lollier of Indiana, Oak Hill Academy and "a couple of NEPSAC [New England Preparatory School Athletic Council] schools" were the prep schools interested in him.

"I've gotten full-ride scholarship offers from Colgate and Rhode Island," Stan Wier wrote, "but I gotta keep grinding to be the best I can be."

Wier played for East Aurora as a freshman in the 2008-09 season while older brother Thad was a senior.

He transferred to Nichols and was a key component on one of the best teams of the last decade as the Vikings won just the second large-school state Federation title in Western New York history. Wier provided excellent outside shooting and grit to a starting lineup that included seniors Will Regan, Ron Canestro, Andrew MacKinnon and Connor Vandegriff. 

---Keith McShea

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

The Class A final is set -- and it's not Iroquois-Grand Island.

Albion knocked off No. 1 large school and second-seeded Iroquois, 8-5, while Williamsville South toppled No. 1 seed and defending champion Grand Island, 11-5.

The undefeated Purple Eagles (21-0) take on the Billies (10-5) at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Niagara Falls' Sal Maglie Stadium.

In the Monsignor Martin Association, we have three of the final four teams and one killer semifinal matchup.

St. Joe's beat Cardinal O'Hara, 9-0, while Canisius edged Nichols, 3-2 -- the rivals will meet in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Thursday at St. Joe's. The semifinal doubleheader at Joe's concludes with St. Mary's -- which knocked off Bishop Timon-St. Jude, 2-1 -- meeting the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal of Niagara Cathoic at St. Francis.

---Keith McShea

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

Bishop Timon-St. Jude is up on Nichols, 11-2, in the championship game after taking a 9-1 halftime lead at Paul Fitzpatrick Field. The Tigers were on top of things right from the start as they took a 5-0 first-quarter lead.

Lots going on here -- I've been selling Tom Borrelli Memorial raffle tickets after some great help from the folks here at Timon.

It is 16-4 with five minutes to go -- the running clock mercy rule has been in effect since the final 2:13 of the third quarter. Late goal by Nichols.

We have a FINAL SCORE: Timon 16, Nichols 5.

Senior Luke Mann had six goals, junior Sam Connors had six assists, Chris Kane -- in his return from being suspended -- had three goals and an assist and made plays all over the field.

More to come.

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Here are some highlights:

* * *

And some postgame reaction (my apologies on the off-centered-ness):

---Keith McShea

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

I'll be on hand for Saturday's Monsignor Martin boys lacrosse final, where Tom Borrelli Memorial Fund raffle tickets will be on sale.

I'd like to thank Bishop Timon-St. Jude, which is hosting the game at Fitzpatrick Field on Tifft St., for offering to help sell the tickets.

Timon takes on Nichols at 2 p.m. in the final. Sources tell me standout senior Chris Kane will be back on the field after serving a recent suspension.

I wrote about this year's Borrelli fund efforts in a recent Prep Talk column in the paper. Tickets are $5 and are good for daily drawings of $50, $75 or $100 the entire month of July.

---Keith McShea

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

The destinations for Nichols' boys basketball seniors are set.

All-Western New York second teamer Ron Canestro is headed to the Rochester Institute of Technology to play both basketball and baseball at the Division III school.

All-WNY honorable mention Andy MacKinnon will be playing basketball at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, located in Nassau County, Long Island, on the Long Island Sound. According to his father, Nichols assistant coach Jim MacKinnon, Andy received a "full ride" in equivalent to $210,000 to attend the institution. The Mariners are coming off a season in which they went 23-5, earned their first-ever Landmark Conference Championship, were ranked No. 23 in the national Division III poll, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Connor VanDeGriff will be attending Hobart to play basketball; Akron's Trevor Short and Canisius' Blair Helton are also headed to the Division III program in Geneva.

Of course, two-time Player of the Year Will Regan is headed to Virginia.

Nichols won the Class A state Federation championship this past season, becoming just the second large school from Western New York to win the overall state title.

---Keith McShea

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

The final edition of our state championship pages and audio slideshows concludes with the highly impressive feat of the Nichols boys basketball team winning the Class A state Federation title. 

Our buffalonews.com/champions page is the headquarters for the state titlists. The pages are available for purchase -- along with tons of other pages and photos -- at buffalonews.mycapture.com.

The Clymer girls got us started Monday, followed by the Maple Grove boys on Tuesday and OTC Middle College on Thursday.

The big high school pages keep coming on Saturday with our All-Western New York issue for boys and girls basketball.

The Scholastic Spotlight will spring back into action three days later on Tuesday, April 13.

---Keith McShea

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

Hello from the Glens Falls Civic Center for the second of two Federation championships today (see preview story and and fact-filled chart -- and other posts here from Friday -- for the details). Here is how Nichols advanced to the final.

After the game, feel free to leave comments below. 

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Videos from the end of the game ... (Nichols let the shot clock expire, which is what the buzzer was for) ...

... and the end of the game, when coach Greg Plumb returned to the bench with the championship plaque ...

... and from the awards ceremony, with the MVP of Class A the final award that was announced.

---Keith McShea

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

Hello from the Glens Falls Civic Center for the last of three Federation semifinals today (see preview story and fact-filled chart -- and other posts here from today -- for the details).

After the game, feel free to leave comments below.

---Keith McShea

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