Prep Talk

It's Scrimmage Saturday for high school football in New York State -- the first day teams can scrimmage against others this season -- and we'll be hitting the road to catch the action.

News Web reporter Joseph Popiolkowski and I are going to visit a few scrimmages today.

Check here for updates of what we've seen; we'll also be putting together an episode of PrepTalkTV about our travels. I'll also post some phone videos of my own.

8:48 a.m. There are a ton of scrimmages today, but our first will be Cleveland Hill, which is hosting Burgard and Cardinal O'Hara at 9 a.m. Then it's up to Lockport for a huge six-team meeting.

9:03 a.m. We traversed our way through North Buffalo to Cleveland Hill to see Burgard warming up on a practice area and O'Hara and Cleve Hill going at it on the main field (which appears to be getting some upgrades -- newly paved asphalt and concrete is taped off in some areas).

It is sounding more and more like football season with coaches yelling and pads popping.

It doesn't take long for O'Hara coach Angelo Sciandra to find midseason form. After a play didn't go the way he wanted, he exclaimed from behind the line of scrimmage: "Are you kidding me?!!? You've GOT to be kidding me!!"

The parents were ready to go as well. A Cleveland Hill run play against O'Hara invoked cries of "Get him! Get him!" by a mom.

9:16 a.m. After a series between O'Hara's defense and Cleve Hill's offense (in which Joe Pops and his camera almost got run over on the sideline -- twice :-) ), Burgard's defense takes on O'Hara's offense. The Bulldogs looked ready to go, with No. 0 Victor Peoples calling out plays for the defense, which stuffed a few O'Hara plays in the series I watched.

Here's a nice pass breakup by O'Hara (below) -- check out the deft move by Joe Pops to pull the tripod out of the way just in time. This was our first play of the day. Some more good commentary by coach Sciandra as well.

Here (below) Burgard did a good job to bottle up O'Hara standout back Robert Davis (who had some big fans on the sideline):

9:24 a.m. We've seen enough quality stuff (and gotten it on video) to hit the road up to Lockport, which is hosting Sweet Home, North Tonawanda, Grand Island, St. Francis and Williamsville South. Kensington Ave. brings us to the I-290 and we're headed to the 990, Millersport Highway and Transit Road.

9:55 a.m. Arrive at Lockport's Emmett Belknap Middle School, home of the Lions' football field (my first visit). We see the end of the first session and are on hand for a great show between defending state champions Sweet Home and North Tonawanda, which was a blast to watch.

The first session had quarterback and Jordan Johnson moving Sweet Home's offense very well against NT's defense; the second session had NT starting slowly but finishing strong with several scoring plays.

All teams are pretty hyped up to start Scrimmage Saturday -- there were loud pregame hollers going on at Cleveland Hill -- but you got the sense from both defending state champions that this scrimmage matchup would mean more than most.

You can hear the energy in the teams' opening play, as NT players are clapping it up before a tone-setting run by Sweet Home's Ralph Neasman that the sideline loved (above).

After another run by Neasman, check out this great play (above) -- Johnson for his scramble and Coleman for a lot of reasons. 

Coleman -- in the backfield -- dispatches with a blitzer to help enable Johnson to get free on a run that he would end extremely solidly in a big collision with an NT defender. But listen and watch Coleman after the play. Sweet Home players were understandably fired up with the big hit, but then Coleman tells them to "take a knee!" as the player is down.

I believe you can hear him off camera telling the player he's going to be alright. The player did get up and walk off under his own power, and Coleman yells to the player, "You good, you good! Told you it was just a stinger!"

After a tough Coleman run up the middle, Neasman took a pitch to the far right (above) for a touchdown.

Sweet Home's next possession started with a Johnson scramble to the left side, followed by Juwan Douglas with a run to the right (above) in which he kept his legs churning.

After a pass to the left, Coleman went in easily for a touchdown run (above), taken from a scrimmages-only camera vantage point (leaning on a goal post on the back line of the end zone).

When Sweet Home headed back near midfield for a new series, coach John Faller hollered at his team, "Let's have some fun ... all those two-a-days ... this is fun. Let's have some fun." 

The Panthers' next possession was a quick one as K.J. Zinermon went in motion and caught a pass from Johnson before he dodged some tacklers to speed down the right sideline (and right by me) for a touchdown (above).

Another quick strike by Sweet Home: Johnson heaves it down the right side (above) and Brian Barnes adjusts to the ball and goes in for a touchdown. 

NT gets an interception of Johnson (above); Sweet Home obviously had a nice offensive set but NT did get some pressure up the middle and a few sacks on some other plays. We can't show 'em all, of course.

The second session during this rotation was outstanding because while NT's offense came on to battle Sweet Home on one half of the field, fans got to watch University at Buffalo-bound quarterback Joe Licata and the Williamsville South offense take on Lockport on the other. 

Licata twice hit Kevin O'Connell on the right side, once to get into scoring range and the second time for the touchdown (below).

Here's the fun second session in a nutshell (below) ...

... Licata completes a long pass on the left side of the field, then Joe Montesanti runs for North Tonawanda on the right side.

NT finds a big hole in the defense for a rushing touchdown (above) that gives Lumberjack players and fans cause for celebration.

Back to the South scrimmage ... Licata hits Phil Stasiak (I believe) for a long completion (above) but there's a fumble at the end of the play.

Here's another two-for-one clip (above) and it's defensive minded as Sweet Home and Lockport both stopped up run attempts by NT and South, respectively.

NT finds another hole in the defense (above) by running to the left for a touchdown.

Afterwards, Sweet Home coach Faller scolded some of his frustrated troops with: "Don't point fingers! Don't point fingers ... unless you're perfect."

The run-and-fun-and-gun Billies of South haven't seemed to change much, as they show here with an nice reverse run for a score.

I'm disappointed I didn't get over to watch two outstanding programs in Grand Island and St. Francis go at it on the practice field behind the bleachers (Joe Pops did with the video camera, however), but there was just too much going on on the main field. As is the case with the entire day, there's just not enough time to catch everyone.

10:57 a.m. Back in the car and ready to move shortly. This was our first chance to actually catch up on the blog, pounding away at the laptop in the car in the parking lot at Lockport. 

11:08 a.m. We're on our way to Riverside, where a good group of the Frontiers, Bishop Timon-St. Jude, McKinley and Maple Grove are in action. This will be a relatively quick stop because we need to get out to Canisius' West Seneca field for their scrimmage with Orchard Park.

11:43 a.m. Arrive at Riverside and its newly paved parking lot adjacent to its new facility, which looks great with the four teams in action and a modest group of fans checking it out.

Maple Grove's offense is going against McKinley on one half, with new quarterback Alex Grace completing several screen passes against the Macks. On the other half of the field, Riverside's defense is standing very tall against Timon's offense.

Here's a look:

12:11 p.m. We're off to zip around the I-190 to Canisius' Stransky Complex in West Seneca.

12:27 p.m. We arrive at Canisius' fine facility on Clinton Street, where in a mile or three you go from citylike to suburbanlike to countrylike surroundings.

This scrimmage might have just two teams, but if you're going to check out a two-team affair, you can't get much better than the defending Monsignor Martin champion and one of Section VI's best programs.

When we arrived, the teams were going through rudimentary special teams plays, like punt and kickoff returns without the full units on the field.

It was a good time to catch up on what happened earlier, and word on the sideline (just for the record, it was the Canisius sideline, but all from very reliable sources :-) ) was that the Crusaders had a great early session when the No. 1 offense and defense from both teams matched up.

Canisius had two touchdowns on early drives while it stifled OP's drive, which, sources said, didn't get across midfield while the Crusaders also had at least three takeaways. A standout was Canisius running back Mercer Timmis, a transfer from Canada who had plenty of people talking after some strong runs.

I was pleased to find out that the No. 1s would be going at it again, and Orchard Park fared much better than it apparently did earlier. It moved the ball quite well, including a nice completion by senior quarterback Kyle Witkowski (below).

I remember Witkowski playing in last season's semifinal loss at North Tonawanda, but the first thing I think of is how he was involved in the hoops play that ended with's Troy Nowak's game-winning buzzer-beater that beat Jamestown last season.

In the next nine-play segment, Orchard Park had a great start with a few run stops as well as an interception (above).

Canisius showed the offensive firepower it displayed last season when Eman, after hitting a pass across the middle, delivered a deep spiral down the left side and Theo Russell stretched out to reel it in.

OP came up with a good finish to the session as well. It stopped two runs inside the 10 and, on the ninth-play on what would have been a third-down, a linebacker made a nice read on an Eman pass for another interception (above).

In a final series between the top units, Eman hit Russell -- this time for a long touchdown -- just before the close of the scrimmage.

1:39 p.m. After shooting our "stand-up" (TV term) for PrepTalkTV -- which is also referred to by me as my "blabbity-blah," we're heading back to the office where I'll be updating a ton on the blog.

1:48 p.m. We're back at One News Plaza, where I'll update the blog with a lot of stuff while Joe Pops puts the episode of PrepTalkTV together. I'll have that posted here as soon as it's completed.

I'll be heading out two two evening scrimmages (hosted by Iroquois and Amherst) and will have more updates and details later. 

4:36 p.m. I'm hitting the road again, hitting Iroquois and then Amherst. 

5:19 p.m. Make that Amherst and then Iroquois. It made too much sense to swing by Amherst after driving Joe Pops back to his car.

5:28 p.m. With some good highlights in the phone, I'm off for my lengthy trip to Elma and the Chiefs' scrimmage with Lackawanna and Frontier.

There were some nice plays between Hutch-Tech's offense and West Seneca West's defense on one half and the Kenmore East defense and Amherst offense on the other.

Hutch-Tech scored a touchdown on West Seneca West as I walked into Dimp Wagner Field, then put in a two-point conversion. Amherst scored a nice passing touchdown on one of the first plays I watched; on the next play on that half, Kenmore East's sideline got fired up after its defense knocked the Tigers back for a loss.

Here's how it went down:

5:52 I arrive at Iroquois and, thanks to my trip here last year, I know where I'm going.

I take the dirt road behind the school to near the baseball field, then walk through some high grassy and wooded areas into a clearing and what you could call the Chiefs' practice field of dreams.

I'm told by noted Prep Talk Nation first-ballot Hall of Fame blogger Milt Latimer that there has yet to be a touchdown, and there won't be in my stay there, although there are some solid plays.

Lackawanna's Keith Taggart probably had the play of the day -- he managed to handle a pitch that bounced on its way to him, then evaded tackler after tackler has he advanced well into the secondary.

The Steelers had some effective pass plays in the time I was there, while Frontier and Iroquois both had some nice stops.

Here are the best ones the phone and I captured from the sidelines:

6:59 p.m. After a good discussion about the day's action as well as the upcoming season with Milt, I walk up the hill, drive back up the dirt road, pass Latimer Field, and head back to One News Plaza.

The two evening trips brings us to a total of 22 teams covered across six sites. Whew. That's over a quarter of the teams in Western New York (87). Booyah.

(And 35 video clips! Booyah again.)

If you were at any scrimmages, let us know which ones and what you thought of the action in the comments section below.

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We appreciate your patience with the new look of the comments as well as the registration procedure. Our Web team is still working on having the comments appear at the bottom of every page, which will help the flow of the conversation.

If you are having any problems with registration or have any feedback you'd like to offer, email me at kmcshea@buffnews.com.

---Keith McShea

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

Hello and Happy First Day of Football Season to you.

Today is the first day that football teams -- as well as many other fall sports -- can hit the practice field for the 2010-2011 school year.

It is always a big day in football as every program starts its official training after an offseason full of weight room visits, passing leagues and camps, but this season there is a little more buzz in the air due to the addition of Buffalo Public Schools to Section VI. That is a major part of the new year, with new teams and a new alignment for Section VI and a serious test for the city programs.

There's plenty of other things to watch this year: again, Western New York boasts four defending state champions. Canisius returns quarterback Travis Eman to its championship team, while rival St. Joe's has a new coach in Dennis Gilbert and a new QB in junior Chad Kelly, the nephew of the famed Buffalo Bills' Jim. Speaking of quarterbacks, Joe Licata is due to set more passing records for Williamsville South. And there will be plenty more to keep an eye on.

I've got plans to visit a few schools throughout the day. I'm going to start by heading south to Canisius' field in West Seneca and might check out St. Francis and Orchard Park as well. I'm scheduled for a midday stop at Sweet Home and have St. Joe's and Riverside on my target list as well. Should be a fun time. There was an overnight thunderstorm but its another great day in what has been a super summer for Western New York.

Before heading south I'm going to swing by All High Stadium behind Bennett High on Main Street to see if the Tigers -- or any other city school -- has hit the field. 

Stay tuned and feel free to file any first-day reports in the comments section below.

9:29 a.m. I pull into All High Stadium and there are some orange t-shirts and white t-shirts among a group working out on the turf. Looks like Bennett has started its season. Back with a report soon.

9:57 a.m. My first goof of the season -- as I got closer to the field, I realized the white helmets and black-and-orange uniforms where those of McKinley. As a group of 30 or 40 went through drills at three different stations, I spoke with defensive coordinator assistant head coach Kenny Boone, a Riverside grad who played at Buffalo State.

"We're very optimistic," said Boone. "In terms of being able to compete, we're at that level from an athletic perspective regarding our kids. But I think it will be a good opportunity for them to see other ball players. I think we'll fit in very well, very well. They're excited now. Guys are ready to go."

McKinley has the All High field from 8 to 11 a.m., so perhaps we'll stop by later to visit with another team. For now, time to head south.

11:28 a.m. We just visited Orchard Park, where the Quakers just finished their morning practice, which they spent mostly on offensive material.

After a huddle, some players spent the break eating their lunch tailgate-style in the parking lot. Coach Gene Tundo and assistant Bob Ferrentino went over some defensive drills that would be used in the afternoon session -- with Tundo running through imaginary drills himself. I think I saw him put a swim move on Ferrentino at one point. 

Here's coach Tundo on opening day (wouldn't be opening day without some opening day cliches :-) ):

We have to admit we probably should have to run a few laps for driving to Canisius' field at its Stransky Complex, where the JV was practicing. The varsity is at the school -- I'll take the blame on that one, although it gets a little confusing when you're trying to differentiate the Stransky Complex and Tripi Field and Koessler Field and where they play and where they practice and where they scrimmage. We're hoping to catch the Crusaders during their afternoon set.

  Next it's maybe St. Francis, maybe North Tonawanda, maybe both, before hitting Sweet Home.

1:19 p.m. Just arrived at Sweet Home after spending some time at North Tonawanda -- and no, not enough time to swing by St. Francis.

At NT, I was hoping to get a couple of words from coach Eric Jantzi, and I did. "Hi Keith." 

Just having some fun with coach there. Jantzi was understandably busy running his practice, from the extensive warmup featuring walks like "Frankenstein" and "Spiderman" to the four-station, and then six-station setup. Jantzi coached the offensive lineman in a simple drill in which he went into serious detail about body position and leverage. 

The tone and the energy of the practice was something that you'd expect to see from a defending state champion.

2:30 p.m. Speaking of state champions, the practice at Sweet Home was very business-like as well. They had six and sometimes seven stations going, including two in which players caught not footballs but tennis balls in what appeared to be an agility/hand-eye coordination drill.

There were some cool sights and sounds, but you're going to have to wait for those. Sweet Home was the site of our first episode of PrepTalkTV for the 2010-11 season. I met videographer/reporter Lauren Mariacher at Sweet Home and you'll see the video up here later today.

I'm heading to Canisius next (they had an afternoon session starting at 2:30) with Riverside a definite stop -- they begin at 4 p.m. St. Joe's, Williamsville South and St. Francis are also possibilities.

3:25 p.m. If I played for Canisius, I'd be cut by now. After a quick pit stop home, I thought I'd hit Canisius before Riverside, but as I drove up I saw the last players leaving the field. They go again at 6 tonight, so I'll be back.

4:55 p.m. Had a good stop at Riverside, where coach Tony Truilizio gave a cafeteria full troops a rousing welcome and educated them on how big a season this is for all city football teams.

Here's a portion of what Trulizio told his team.

His take on getting started with the season.

6:15 p.m. Watched the end of the first practice for St. Joe's, then talked with first-year coach Dennis Gilbert and new junior quarterback Chad Kelly.

Here's coach Gilbert -- a 1984 St. Joe's grad who takes over for Bob O'Connor -- answering my question about if there was anything he did at the first practice to put any kind of personal stamp on the program or the new season.

You could definitely pick out Kelly at practice. He's won national NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competitions and the zing on his passes, whether they were deep balls, thrown with his feet quickly planted or thrown on the run. He certainly has commandeered the team already -- you could hear his calls at the line in drills a block or two away around Kenmore Ave.

We're catching up on some multimedia blogging material from our own home sweet home before heading to Williamsville South and finally Canisius.

7:02 p.m. Check that. We're running out of time so we'll hit Canisius on the way to One News Plaza -- we've still got a story to put together for Tuesday's paper. I'm bummed but there's no way I'd get down Main St. to Will South and back to Canisius before their practice ends at 7:45 p.m.

The good news is that video interviews are up from Riverside and St. Joe's. Gotta run.

8:20 p.m. Back in the office after a visit to Canisius, where there were so many wind sprints that I got tired just listening to all of the gasps for air. I have some more video interviews to post but I've got to get some stories for tomorrow's paper done first.

Here is the feedback from Canisius -- my apologies on the wind gusts that whipped up during coach Brandon Harris' talk.

The Canisius setup is unique to all of Western New York, I have to believe, in that the team is actually at a training camp at the Delaware Ave. school. Coach Harris has done that each of his previous three seasons here. The team stays and eats at the school, with three practices held during the day: morning, afternoon and evening.

Having the entire team together for a training camp has to have enormous benefits not only for attention to detail and a player's mindset, but also for team building and camaraderie. While other teams end practice and players go home, Canisius players literally are eating, drinking and sleeping football.

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As promised earlier, here's what we put together after our visit to Sweet Home's opening practice: the season debut of PrepTalkTV.

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Stay tuned throughout the preseason for more updates. We'll be making the rounds on Scrimmage Saturday (Aug. 28) with another blog and video and we'll have our annual season preview -- including video and Web features in addition to our comprehensive special section -- in the week leading up to Week One (Sept. 3-4).

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For the lowdown on the new and evolving commenting format, check the link at the right, read the previous post, or just click here.

---Keith McShea

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

Hello from One News Plaza. I'll be heading to the Middle College at Riverside 5:30 p.m. game, followed by a trip to South Buffalo for Nichols at Bishop Timon-St. Jude, which tips at 7:30 p.m.

I thought I might be able to catch the 4:15 p.m. game of Burgard at Seneca, but there was some work to do, including the news that Nichols will play Jamesville-Dewitt next week.

5:32 p.m. We're off to Riverside.

5:54 p.m. Get a good parking spot (not easy at Riverside), walk into the Riverside gym and Middle College has a 9-5 lead a few minutes in. The Riverside gym has been refurbished since last year and the changes are subtle but very nice -- there is now seating on the side of the court opposite the scorer's table in additon to the cool balcony seating seen at several city gyms. The bleachers -- and the new wall padding -- is all Riverside purple.

6:03 p.m. Middle College calls a timeout after taking a 19-9 lead on a fast break. There is 1:32 left in the first quarter.

6:07 p.m. Davon Alexander hits a three-pointer (that we have on video) just before the buzzer and Middle College takes a 23-11 lead after the first quarter.

6:30 p.m. We are at halftime and Middle College leads Riverside, 43-24. Not the greatest game, a little sloppy with MC taking advantage of turnovers and having too much firepower for the Frontiers.

6:42 p.m. Justin Stokes threw down a dunk for Middle College early in the third, but we were uploading video instead of shooting it. Arghh. In a related story, the Alexander three has been posted above.

Riverside's lead is now 47-24 after a Stokes fast-break basket with just over five minutes left in the third. We have a strong feeling we'll be leaving this game early to get a good spot at Timon.

6:53 p.m. At the end of the third quarter, things haven't changed -- Middle College leads Riverside, 56-30.

We're packing up and heading to Timon.

7:23 p.m. Arrive at Timon with the JV game still going on; updating here from the iPhone. I'm in the same seat -- first seat, second row, across from visiting bench -- that I watched the Canisius OT win here. Trying to figure out if i should move to the balcony where there is a table to work at. Love the view here, though.

7:58 p.m. The view on the balcony is pretty good, too, and I definitely need the work space. We've got the laptop out, some great Timon folks helped get our extension cord plugged in, and we're set. That was only after I got up to the balcony only to realize I left my wireless card in my car. There were three minutes on the clock counting down when I sprinted to the car, retrieved it and made it back in time for the tipoff. Workout for the day done.

 On the court, Timon has a 17-9 lead with 2:19 left in the first quarter. Kyle Kobis has hit three three-pointers.

Bad news for Timon just now as Dut Dour went down to the floor, then hopped off the court with some sort of leg problem.

8:05 p.m. At the end of the first quarter, Timon leads, 19-11.

In the last two minutes, Will Regan just stole the ball at midcourt, had a high dribble that Timon fans wanted called for a travel -- and they really wanted it after Regan threw down a dunk with one hand. Fun stuff. And I got it with the iPhone. Whew.

8:14 p.m. With 2:48 left in the second quarter, Nichols calls a timeout as it is trailing, 31-24.

8:17 p.m. Timon calls a timeout with 58.7 seconds left and a 35-26 lead.

8:22 p.m. We are at halftime and Timon leads Nichols, 35-26.

8:26 p.m. Quality halftime entertainment going on here; the Timon PA guy has a wireless mike and is running a raffle and shooting contest.

When he's announcing, he's one of Timon's biggest fans and telling the officials that they may have missed something (I'm thinking he'll be heard on some of the highlights -- not that there's anything wrong with that). When he does that, the mike is switched off -- but one of these days the hollering will get  caught on the big mike, right? That will be a fun game to be at.

8:39 p.m. Nichols calls a timeout with 2:58 left in the third quarter. Timon with some nice energy recently and it has a 44-30 lead.

8:42 p.m. Another Nichols timeout with Timon now up, 48-30, with 1:37 left. Combination of good shooting, hustle and steals getting the Tigers up big.

8:47 p.m. At the end of the third quarter, Timon has a 50-36 lead.

8:50 p.m. Timon calls a timeout after a dose of Regan to start the fourth: Jumper, block, dunk and Timon's lead is down to 50-40 with 7:17 left.

8:55 p.m. With 4:21 left in the game, Regan scores in the lane and Nichols calls a timeout trailing, 54-46. Regan has been terrific in the fourth. Had an assist on a basket since my last update.

Let's go to the video:

Continue reading "Friday Night Live: Bishop Timon-St. Jude beats No. 1 Nichols, 64-60 (with lots of video)" »

There is pretty great schedule of high school action tonight, and when it's through I'll be on a live chat at 10 p.m.

I'm going to start my high school day at the early-bird boys basketball special of Bishop Timon-St. Jude at St. Joe's at 4:30 p.m. The next stop is during the Yale Cup's 5:30 p.m. lineup -- I'll head to Riverside as they host Grover Cleveland. Then I'll probably catch some action at the St. Joe's-Canisius hockey game at the Amherst Pepsi Center -- it's a 7 p.m. start -- before getting my first look of the Jamestown basketball team as the Red Raiders visit Clarence in ECIC I play (it's a 7:30 p.m. start, but you JV guys, take as long as you like so I'm able to catch more of the action :-) ).

I'll have live updates from my travels on the blog, then I'll head back to One News Plaza for the chat. See you there (actually, see you here).

If you won't be around for the chat, feel free to ask some questions in the comments section below and we'll tackle them during the session.

Also, if you've caught a game, feel free to let us know what you thought of the action in the comments space below.

Here's last week's chat, and here's the previous chat, held Dec. 15 live from St. Mary's.

---Keith McShea

Hello from what should be a busy -- and fun -- evening of high school sports.

Check out a separate post about our planned travels tonight -- that same post will host tonight's chat.

(Note: I added most of the videos after my travels).

5:13 p.m. It is halftime at St. Joe's and Bishop Timon-St. Jude has a 30-21 lead here in the Town of Tonawanda. The Tigers were up, 17-6, after one quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Mike Scarcello.

St. Joe's had some good possessions in the second, but Timon continued to hit big shots, including three threes by Dave Scarcello.

5:15 p.m. The second half has started.

A quality back-and-forth series here with not many misses.

5:34 p.m. At the start of the fourth quarter, Timon leads, 43-37.

Continue reading "Thursday Night Live: Timon, Grover, Jamestown win (with videos)" »

Today's Lafayette at Riverside boys basketball game has been postponed to Jan. 28.

On the girls side, the Lafayette/Riverside game has been moved to 4:15 p.m. after the cancellation of the JV game; also, the Bennett/East girls game is also at 4:15 after the JV game was cancelled.

---Keith McShea

The finalists for the Trench Trophy, which honors the area's top lineman, are:

Troy Bigelow (Eden), Jasen Carlson (Southwestern), Dillon Gallagher (Williamsville South), Eric Harnden (Grand Island), Matt Hornung (Cheektowaga), Desmond Howard (St. Francis), Zach Marsh (Panama), Sean Mulhern (Riverside), Casey Shreve (North Tonawanda) and Kyle Shreve (North Tonawanda).

Tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section below. Also, what do you think of the list? Who's not on the list that should be?

Remember to be RESPECTFUL of ALL of the players because they all had a great seasons.

I'll be keeping my thoughts to myself for now since we are deliberating the All-Western New York team.

The winner will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the Lancaster Elks Lodge No. 1478, which is the sponsor of the award. It is located at 33 Legion Parkway, Lancaster.

Reserve tickets are available by calling the Lancaster Elks at 685-1478 or by calling Carl Kuras at 698-1893. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will follow at approximately 6:30 p.m. The cost per ticket is $20.

As always, another great job by the Trench Trophy committee to honor high school athletes. This award is a result of a lot of people doing a lot of hard work and they should be commended for adding another tradition to high school football in Western New York.

---Keith McShea

The Trench Trophy Committee has announced its finalists for this year's award to the top lineman in Western New York.

Troy Bigelow, Eden
Jasen Carlson, Southwestern
Dillon Gallagher, Williamsville South
Eric Harnden, Grand Island
Matt Hornung, Cheektowaga
Desmond Howard, St. Francis
Zach Marsh, Panama
Sean Mulhern, Riverside
Casey Shreve, North Tonawanda
Kyle Shreve, North Tonawanda

Finalists will be honored at the annual Trench Trophy banquet on Dec. 9 at the Lancaster Elks Lodge, 33 Legion Parkway, Lancaster. Tickets are available via reservation by calling the Lancaster Elks at 685-1478 or by calling Carl Kuras at 698-1893. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will follow at approximately 6:30 PM. The cost per ticket is $20.

---Keith McShea

Today's 106th Harvard Cup championship between Burgard vs. Riverside at All High Stadium.(11 a.m.) will be broadcast on WJJL (1440 AM) as well as at wjjl.com and nhsbn.com. Pregame coverage begins at 10:40 a.m.

---Keith McShea

Ever since the Harvard Cup's opening weekend, when Burgard beat defending champion Riverside, those teams were expected by many to meet for the league's championship on Thanksgiving. And here we are.

The 106th Harvard Cup championship: Burgard vs. Riverside, 11 a.m. Thursday at All High Stadium.

The game will be broadcast on WJJL (1440 AM) as well as at wjjl.com and nhsbn.com. Pregame coverage begins at 10:40 a.m.

As always, discuss your vote and the game in the comments section below.

---Keith McShea