Prep Talk

Live from Scrimmage Saturday: Seven stops and 24 teams (with 34 video highlights plus an episode of PrepTalkTV)

If it's the last Saturday of August, it must be Scrimmage Saturday, and we must be on our way to seeing as much football action as we can.

We'll be bopping around Western New York today -- as we have the last two years -- to catch as much football as we can in a limited time.

Disclaimer/explainer: Regular visitors to the blog know how much I love it when fans cite scrimmages as evidence for one team being better than another during the regular season, especially when it comes to the discussion of our polls. Just because I'm interested in all of the scrimmages (and getting to as many as I can), and learning about teams and players, they are still scrimmages. Once the season starts, I don't want to hear about them. :-)

If you're out and about like we are today, we want your reviews and breakdowns of what you saw. Keep it in context -- try and notice which first-team units are out there and what the teams are trying to do. Be sure to comment here our on our Facebook page, tweet us at @KeithMcSheaBN or send an email.

8:34 a.m. We are on our way. I met up with photographer Mark Mulville at One News Plaza and we're headed to Cheektowaga for our kickoff.

Eden, Springville, Tonawanda and West Seneca East are visiting Cheektowaga. We're planning a quick stop before heading nearby to Cleveland Hill. 

9:22 a.m. Great start to the day for us -- and for Eden. The Raiders, known for their ground-and-pound-and win formula, threw for two touchdowns against Cheektowaga -- including one on the first play of the scrimmage! -- and added in another touchdown as we were leaving. 

We were on hand for some warmups before things got started, with Tonawanda coach Rob Gross asking his team, quite loudly, "What's this half-speed!? Why are we doing anything half speed?!"

After a fairly lenghty prepractice address by the officials, we got started as the head referee said, "Rock and roll, Scott," to Cheektowaga coach Scott Zipp.

And early misstep by Cheektowaga against Eden prompted a "Do your job!" admonition from an assistant coach to a player.

On the other half of the field, West Seneca East scored a TD against Tonawanda. 

And let's go to the video:

Above is our first play of our season as West Seneca East got things off and running against Tonawanda. 

Talk about a great start for Eden. This is their first play as their offense went against Cheektowaga. 

A nice run for Eden.

9:30 a.m. Just about to pull in to Cleveland Hill. (Reminder for any hey-buddy-keep-your-hands-on-the-wheel fans: Mulville is driving).

9:37 a.m. iPhone update from Cleve Hill, where they haven't started due to Silver Creek being late. This may screw up some of our travel plans. We'll see.

9:48 a.m. Official addresses teams: "Next week it starts for real, today's for fun."

10:24 a.m. Back in Mulville's Honda heading north to Lockport. It's a super bummer that Cleve Hill was behind because we're a half hour off the ideal schedule I had set up for the day. That's alright. Every game (and every assignment) isn't going to go as planned and you've got to make those key adjustments, right? 

On the bright side, we saw the first-stringers for all four teams at Cleve Hill. The defenses ruled the first round as a fired-up Silver Creek unit bottled up Burgard and the Cleve Hill defense kept Cardinal O'Hara out of the end zone. 

Daryl Spencer had a nice sack for a big loss for Cleve Hill on defense, then looked very good with some rollout completions on offense. Zeddie Williams, who should be the feature back after the graduation of older brother Zach, looked solid out of the backfield for Silver Creek. Burgard also had some very solid run stops. 

Here are the top videos from Cleve Hill:

10:36 a.m. It's a long trip to Lockport. We're just on to Transit from Millersport & the I-990. Six top programs in action up at Emmet Belknap Intermediate: St. Francis, Sweet Home, North Tonawanda, Williamsville South, Grand Island and the host Lions. 

Trying to plot out a backup plan -- a main stop for us is Orchard Park, which is hosting Canisius in a scrimmage that started at 10.

11:02 a.m. Got to Lockport in time to catch the tail end of Jordan Johnson of Sweet Home leading the offense against Will South. Johnson and Sweet Home looked to be moving the ball fairly effectively -- he had a touchdown pass to the far left side of the field called back on a penalty. We didn't see a ton of Sweet Home against Will South but we saw a few more plays against Lockport. 

Williamsville South and Grand Island were paired up on the other end and there were some hard hits, including a busted play for South that almost resulted in a hit on coach Kraig Kurzanski, who was in the customary coaches' spot behind the huddle. 

St. Francis finished strong on defense against Grand Island and then paired up with North Tonawanda. I caught the second half of that pairing, with NT making some nice stops on defense. 

Here's our best video from Lockport:

11:31 a.m. We're on the road again, heading south and hoping to fit in a stop at Riverside but that might not be a great decision with OP are key final stop. 

11:37 a.m. Just talked to PrepTalkTV partner Lauren Mariacher at Canisius. The first-stringers are done there -- she has video and interviews from there so I might not go down there. I think we'll head to Riverside.

11:40 a.m. Just checked in with Lauren again. Canisius and OP will be on the field for another hour, so Mark and I are going to squeeze in a visit to Riverside, which is hosting McKinley, Bishop Timon-St. Jude and Maple Grove.

Even if we stay just a few moments, we'll be able to get some video, photos and some looks at the teams. Right now we've seen 14 teams in three stops.

With Scrimmage Saturday, it's certainly about quantity, not quality.

11:54 a.m. And JUST when we think we've come up with a great plan, we pull into the Riverside parking lot and pass a kid wearing orange-and-black carrying his shoulder pads out. 

"That's not a good sign," says Mark. 

It wasn't. The Riverside field was empty.

The kid was from McKinley. Arghhhhhhh.

If I wrote what I'm feeling right now, I'd get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Maybe two.

Off to OP. Arrrrrrgh. Sigh.

1 p.m. We caught the very end of the Canisius scrimmage at Orchard Park, did some interviews and filmed an intro for PrepTalkTV. Lauren Mariacher is working on that and it'll be posted later today. 

I'm headed back to One News Plaza to get some more videos and details posted before heading out to evening scrimmages at Iroquois and Amherst. 

More updates to come ...

3:02 p.m. Here is the finished PrepTalkTV product (now starring on the buffalonews.com home page):

3:49 p.m. I've posted a bunch of video here, and I'll have more to come from the six-team Lockport scrimmage as well as some from my next two stops -- Iroquois and Amherst.

4:26 p.m. Hello from the awesome back field setting at Iroquois.

5:40 p.m. Note to football coaches and athletic directors. If you want Prep Talk hanging out at your scrimmage for a long time, have it at night :-).

Got a good long look -- along with the Prep Talk blog's "Milt Latimer" -- at Lackawanna, Frontier, Iroquois and Niagara-Wheatfield, seeing all of their first-strings go at in in their second go-round of '1's.

Lackawanna was very impressive with Keith Taggart leading the way not only at running back but on defense. Some big hits there.

Niagara-Wheatfield sure looked the part, sporting uniforms which looked ready for gameday, right down to every player's pulled-up red calf socks with a black Falcon logo on them. Coming off a winless season and with a new coach in Tim Hagerty, the program looks like it has a little spark. The sideline was extremely into the final offensive session against Iroquois in the first go-round.

Iroquois and Frontier both had good spurts in their session against each other, some nice run stuffs and scoring drives. Frontier got a spark on its offensive series after it made a change at quarterback.

It looked like a productive scrimmage for all four teams.

Here are the video highlights, which were included the best stuff I saw all day:

With six stops and 20 teams seen, now I'm off to Amherst for the final stop of the day.

6:25 p.m. Arrived at Amherst, which is hosting West Seneca West, Kenmore East and Hutch-Tech.

7:09 p.m. Saw some nice play at Amherst's Dimp Wagner Alumni Field, where it appeared that the hosts were the top unit -- not too surprising based on last season and the Tigers' returning experienced players, but certainly impressive nonetheless. Amherst is very fast, and they showed it off on both sides of the ball against a West Seneca West unit that made a few unforced errors, including some turnovers on offense. The Tigers had one player sprint from the backside to chase down a run, and also sped to big gains off of short passes.

Hutch-Tech had some nice run stops and moved the ball better than Kenmore East did in their two series.

The highlights:

And check this out -- I call it a day and walk off the field, and as I walk out of the gate, I run into Tonawanda coach Rob Gross. He was the first coach I saw this morning, and the last coach I see as I leave. Can't make this stuff up.

I think that gives us a very strong finish to our Scrimmage Saturday -- looks like we're ready to go for next weekend.

* * *

Also check out a photo gallery by Mulville.

---Keith McShea

(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

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

Live from state semifinal boys lacrosse: Silver Creek falls to III-Cazenovia, 15-13

Hello again from Growney Stadium at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, site of the state semifinals in boys lacrosse for the Western half of the state.

We were here on Saturday for the Far West Regionals, when Silver Creek became the first Section VI team to win a regional game to advance to the state final four. The Black Knights will try to continue their historic playoff run as it faces Cazenovia of lacrosse power Section III (Syracuse area).

7:24 p.m. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m., but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. We have 4:32 left in the third quarter of the Class B game between Irondequoit and Jamesville-Dewitt (J-D just took a 4-1 lead).

8:03 p.m. We have a final score in the Class B game: Jamesville-Dewitt 9, Irondequoit 6.

With the ceremony going on now and warmups to follow, it's going to be a close call for my deadline, which is before 10 p.m.

8:13 p.m. Yikes. There are just over 26 minutes counting down on the scoreboard, giving us a first faceoff at about 8:40 p.m. Yikes again. 

With that yikes-like stuff in mind, I'm going to do a lot of prep work before the game. 

When the action starts, I'll go to the live blog below. Please be mindful that I'll do my best to post comments but my primary goal is to have an account of the action for my story. I won't be able to answer many questions if any. Thanks much for your understanding.

After the game, feel free to make comments on the post.

---Keith McShea
(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

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

Live from Far West Regional boys lacrosse: Silver Creek makes history; Clarence edged by Pittsford, N-W falls (with video)

Hello from St. John Fisher, the site for today's Far West Regionals in boys lacrosse. The day starts with the Class A game between Clarence and Pittsford at 1, the Class B game pits Niagara-Wheatfield against Irondequoit at 3:30 and the Class C game has Silver Creek facing Penn Yan at 6.

1:17 p.m. No blog until now because there's been nothing to blog about.  

We're in a lightning delay, with 17 minutes counting down on the scoreboard clock, so we're running a half hour behind. That's, of course, if there isn't any more lightning. Some good news is that a very steady rain has just let up a bit and the heretofore grey skies seem to be lightening (not to be confused with lightning).

In the mean time, feel free to browse our Section VI championships post, which includes a bunch of video interviews and a few highlights (from farrr away :-) ).

1:22 p.m. Update: The Class A faceoff is now scheduled for 1:55 p.m.

My take on today is that Clarence and Niagara-Wheatfield are not expected to win and it would be a surprise if either won. Pittsford is 19-0 and has been highly regarded all season; Irondequoit is a regular here and is 16-3 with two losses to Section V Class A teams (one was Pittsford) and one to Duxbury, Mass. In the regular season, the Section V teams in Class A and B have won nonleague games against Section VI teams to the point where it appears that Section V teams have the edge this year. 

Now, Class C could be a lot of fun. Penn Yan is a state power and Silver Creek has had a season-long goal of making it to the state final four. No Section VI team has ever won the Class C regional since it was formed in 2000. It will be fun to see how the Black Knights' explosive offense and stickwork do up against one of the top programs in the state for decades.

Penn Yan is 16-3 against its typically tough schedule, but Section VI fans can point to Clarence's 7-6 win at Penn Yan as encouraging. Silver Creek recorded a big win over Orchard Park this season, and, of course, Clarence beat OP in the Section VI final.

1:56 p.m. That 1:55 time was pretty much dead-on. Teams are concluding warmups right now and introductions will soon begin.

2:10 p.m. My apologies on some browser problems at the start. 

Pittsford calls a timeout with Clarence doubling the ball with 6:39 left in the first quarter. 

Clarence's Jack Lally won the first faceoff, Clarence failed to convert an extra-man chance; senior Zach Johnson has had two great saves on Pittsford -- going low with the stick. One very poor turnover by Clarence a possession ago, but otherwise it's not like they look like they are out of place here. 

2:14 p.m. Pittsford takes a 1-0 lead as Corey Parke blows by a short stick and scores on the left side with 4:40 left in the first.

It was a lengthy possession during which Johnson with another fine stop -- getting a leg on a shot.

2:16 p.m. James Burke rolls off a defender and scores nicely for a 2-0 Pittsford lead with 3:24 to go in the first.

2:18 p.m. Pittsford goalie is double-teamed near midfield and it's another timeout for the Panthers with 2:02 left in the first.

2:23 p.m. Man, Clarence has a knack for getting goals in the final seconds of quarters.

At the END OF THE FIRST QUARTER, Pittsford leads Clarence, 2-1. 

The Red Devils got on the board with a really pretty play as Charles Warkenthien had his defender fall down; he then went to the cage, drew a defender and went cross-cage to Dave DeCirce to scored on the open side. 

2:27 p.m. Tyler Skowronski drives and draws a foul with 9:42 left in first. 

2:29 p.m. Great stick check by Andrew Larson gets possession for Pittsford after the expiration of the man-up. 

2:30 p.m. Parke with a nice individual run down the left side and a goal for a 3-1 Pittsford lead with 6:57 left in the first. After a lengthy empty possession by Clarence, including the man-up, Parke got taht goal with some quick work. 

2:33 p.m. Clarence gets a goal with 6:16 left on a very nice play by Wittig, who takes a hit but finds Troy Boller for the goal and a 3-2 game. The hit results in a man-up for Clarence, which wins the faceoff with Lally and a wing man doing nice work, and coach Mike Silverstein with 6:04 left in the second quarter. 

2:38 p.m. Some nice defensive work by Clarence to get the ball down and the officials grant a timeout with 3:23 left in the second although the ball may have popped loose on a check. Pittsford coaches take turns yelling at the sideline official, with one marching down the sideline purposely to berate the referee.

2:43 p.m. Clarence has possession for the final minute, but they can't make it another quarter with a final-second goal. 

At HALFTIME, Pittsford leads Clarence, 3-2.

2:55 p.m. We're going live-chat for the second half.

Here's the Class B game:

5:19 p.m. The second half has just started. We're going old school with the updates with the game pretty much out of hand. An official just visited the press box so the timekeeper was aware of the mercy rule, in which a running clock is instituted after a team takes a 12-goal lead. 

5:22 p.m. Now 14-4 after Enright scores from Coholan with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. N-W had a lengthy possession before that goal.

5:24 p.m. Timeout Niagara-Wheatfield with 7:49 left in third.

5:26 p.m. Miller scores off a pass from Kostyk with 6:04 left. ... Followed by George Jerman scoring right off the faceoff with 5:54 left in the third. A running clock starts after the next faceoff as it is now 16-4.

5:29 p.m. Bissell scores off a nice feed from Patterson to make it 16-5 and the clock stops at 5:00 left in the third. 

5:36 p.m. With 29.7 seconds left in the third, Irondequoit scores with Brandon Costanzo and the lead is back to 12 at 17-5. 

5:37 p.m. At the END OF THE THIRD QUARTER, Irondequoit leads Niagara-Wheatfield, 17-5. 

5:40 p.m. Mo Bissel finishes off a pass from Dubec to make it 17-6 with 10:33 left. 

5:42 p.m. Kostyk scores for a 18-6 lead with 9:22 left. 

5:46 p.m. Brad Thomas answers an Irondequoit goal and with 5:24 left it is 19-7. 

5:52 p.m. 20-7 after a man-up goal by Irondequiot's No. 23, who is not in the program. Not a good thing when players not in the program are scoring on you, of course. 

Reported as Joel Romer. 

5:54 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Irondequoit 20, Niagara-Wheatfield 7.

6:30 p.m. Time for the Class C game. And back to the live blog ...

Here's Silver Creek's celebration from the sideline to the field:

---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

Silver Creek boys lax ends OP's 95-game WNY win streak

Silver Creek boys lacrosse recorded a massive win at Orchard Park this evening, beating the Quakers, 12-11, to end OP's Western New York win streak at 95 games.

I certainly thought the Black Knights would give OP a good run, but I didn't think the high-quality-but-low-quantity Class C champs (who I wrote about in Tuesday's Scholastic Spotlight) would be able to take down Class A's OP, which is renowned for overwhelming teams with its depth.

OP's having to go OT to win at Lancaster Thursday night was certainly an eyebrow-raiser, but I thought late-season games against Clarence or Bishop Timon-St. Jude would be the ones to end OP's run.

The scoreboard page has some stats and highlights -- here's an expanded version of the online recap and the story that will appear in Monday's paper:

* * * 

Silver Creek coach Bill Brennan told his team that if they pulled off a victory at Orchard Park on Saturday, they'd be a front-page story in The Buffalo News.

Guess where the Black Knights are going to be in Sunday's paper?

Silver Creek delivered a landmark win in Western New York high school sports by beating Orchard Park, 12-11, to end the Quakers' 95-game win streak against local competition.

The last time the dominant OP program lost to a Western New York team was on April 15, 2005, when it had a WNY winning streak of 129 games (lasting over 11 years) end with a 14-5 loss at Amherst.

"I told the boys, that if they won it was going to go on the front page," said Brennan. "[At the final whistle] the boys ran out on the field like we just won the championship. I didn't watch the clock late in the game, but it seemed like it was running forever. Give the boys the credit. They put in the hard work, and hard work pays off."

OP has won 19 of the last 20 Class A championships, including the last 16 in a row. Silver Creek has won the last two Class C titles. Silver Creek (7-0) took a 7-4 lead at halftime and was up, 10-8, after three quarters.

Senior Johnny Jimerson's highlight goal put the Black Knight's up, 12-10, with 5:12 minutes left. Jimerson dodged through the defense and, as he was falling to his knees, scored by shooting the ball through the OP goalie's legs.

"He scored as he was falling to the ground," said Brennan. "That was a huge goal."

After OP (9-3) scored to come within one, the Quakers were called for a 1-minute penalty with 2:06 left. Silver Creek possessed the ball, not only throughout the penalty but for the rest of the game. OP had its goalie out to challenge for possession, but "they just ran the ball and worked it around," said Brennan.

Silver Creek -- which won its 2009 C title without substituting for its 10 starters -- used just one substitution during the game, rotating different players in different positions throughout the field.

Jimerson had three goals. Sophomore Zeddie Williams also had three goals while brothers Zach Williams (a senior) had two and Sherman Williams (an eighth-grader) had two goals and two assists. Freshman goalie Connor Graves made 14 saves for Silver Creek, including a big one with about three minutes left.

Brennan cited Zach Williams and freshman Marvin Curry for winning the majority of the faceoffs.

"We've always got to credit Zach," Brennan said. "In field lacrosse if you control that ball, that's half the battle. Zach won a lot of faceoffs and our ninth-grader won three or four. Young guys like Marvin, Sherman and Connor, they played like seniors.

"And I always preach defense. Our defense is really picking up the system, playing unselfish help defense, basically jumping players. When attackmen are trying to dodge, our defensive guys are stepping up at the right time. Everyone on the team played well. It was a full team effort."

OP goalie Nick Owens had 17 saves, including, Brennan said, several big stops late in the contest.

"I want to [OP] coach Gene Tundo for the opportunity to come there and play such a great program," said Brennan. "I let the boys know, it's a nonleague game -- win or lose it doesn't help us in any standings or anything like that. But it gives us confidence when we go against teams in the playoffs and in the Far West Regionals -- if we get there."

* * * 

Definitely check out the story in Sunday's paper -- right on the front page of the sports section. 

* * * 

Sidenote/correction/my bad: I had the arithmetic wrong for OP's streak in my story on Tuesday, which was pointed out by JLG in Wednesday night's chat. Thanks to laxpower.com's excellent archive (here's 2005, with other seasons linked on the same page), I redid the numbers and got it right. My apologies.

---Keith McShea
(www.twitter.com/keithmcsheabn)

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

Prep Talk Live's D regional replay: Silver Creek vs. V-Caledonia-Mumford

Go to the Prep Talk Live page for blogging, video and photos from all of this weekend's Far West Regionals from All High Stadium.

Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments section.

---Keith McShea

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

Prep Talk Live's Class D replay: Randolph vs. Silver Creek

Go to the Prep Talk Live page for blogging, video and photos from all of the Section VI championships at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments section.

---Keith McShea

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

Who's going to win Class D football?

Last year the Section VI champion won the state title? Before Maple Grove can try to repeat as a state champion, it has to do so as a sectional winner. Can they do it?

poll by twiigs.com

As with all of our polls, we want to hear how and why you voted. Let us know in the comment space below.

Be sure to vote in all of the polls: Class AA, Class A, Class B and Class C. 

---Keith McShea