Prep Talk

Live from Far West Regional softball: N-W's makes first final four, Falconer homers to win (with video)

Hello from Brockport State for the Far West Regionals in softball. We've got a tripleheader, starting with the biggest and ending with the smallest of the top three classifications. 

The Class AA final is scheduled for 2 p.m. and pits Niagara-Wheatfield against Greece-Athena. That's followed by the 4 p.m. A final between Williamsville East and Pittsford-Mendon and the 6 p.m. B final of Falconer against Mynderse Academy.

The winners today advance to the state final four in Queensbury on Saturday.

2:13 p.m. The captains meeting at home plate -- we're a bit delayed here as Wheatfield's bus was late to the venue.

Starting lineups:

Niagara-Wheatfield (14-1): Leadoff Caitlin Attfield ss, Katie Gruarin cf, Lara Crooks rf, Leauren DeVantier 1b, Ally Gonyea 3b, Meghan Maranto c, Alyssa DePetris dp, Tori Baron lf, Katie Mazierski 2b; the pitcher is Alyssa Sciria.

Greece-Athena: Leadoff Olivia Miller 3b, Kelsey Johnson 1b, Riley Johnson ss, Chelsea Touchstone of, Emily Shoemaker lf, Sierra Valentine p, Lexi Stiewe dp, Kristen Cardella rf, Marissa McKenna c; Brianna Capezzuto is at 2b.

2:19 p.m. We are under way. Greece-Athena bats first as the away team.

2:27 p.m. One runner for Greece but no damage. Miller flew out, Kelsey Johnson reached on an error at short and moved to second on a wild pickoff attempt by the catcher, but she stayed there after a flyout to right by Riley Johnson and a strikeout, looking, by Touchstone. Middle of first: No score. 

2:41 p.m. Niagara-Wheatfield has to love this start. The Falcons send nine batters to the plate and score three runs on just one hit. Attfield bunt singled, then went all the way to third on a wild throw. On the first pitch to Gruarin, she put down a bunt back to the pitcher and Attfield slided acrosse home plate for the run.

I'm furious with myself for missing the play with the iPhone. If it was the second pitch, I woulda had it. Ugh. Attfield had a great head-first slide across the plate right below us.

Gruarin went to second as the throw home went behind the catcher. Crooks blooped out to second. DeVantier walked. Gonyea singled opposite-field to right to score Gruarin and move DeVantier to third. Maranto walked to load the bases after a Gonyea steal. DePetris grounded to short and she came home to get the force and the bases remained loaded on the fielder's choice. Baron walked to force in a run. Mazierski struck out. End of first: N-W, 3-0.

2:46 p.m. Another great half-inning for Wheatfield as Sciria strikes out the side: Shoemaker, Valentine, Stiewe. Middle of the second: N-W, 3-0.

2:58 p.m. More good things for N-W. Six batters, four hits and two more runs. Attfield doubled to start against a bunt-defense, five-player infield, scooting to second when the ball got past the center fielder. Gruarin singled, Attfield scored. Crooks struck out looking. DeVantier blooped a single to right to drive in Gruarin. Gonyea blooped a single to center, just over the shortstop. With runners on first and second, Maranto hit a liner to short, and Riley Johnson nabbed it out of the air and stepped on second, almost in one motion, for an inning-ending double play. End of second: N-W, 5-0.

3:02 p.m. Sciria keeps cruising. Three up, three down. Strikeout of Cardella, McKenna lined softly to first, Miller popped out high to first. Middle of third: N-W, 5-0. 

3:06 p.m. First quiet inning for N-W as Valentine may have settled down in the circle. DePetris grounded to the pitcher, Baron struck out, Mazierski lined out to left. End of third: N-W, 5-0.

3:09 p.m. Three up, three down again for Sciria. Kelsey Johnson flies to left, Riley Johnson grounds to short, Touchstone grounds to pitcher. Middle of fourth: N-W, 5-0. 

3:15 p.m. Another quick one for N-W as Attfield lines out to left, Gruarin pops out foul to the first baseman, and Crooks flew out to left. End of fourth: N-W, 5-0. 

3:20 p.m. A hint of a rally but still only three batters for Athena. The no-hitter for Sciria is over (wasn't my fault -- I didn't mention it :-) ). Shoemaker reaches on an infield single; Valentine struck out swinging. Then Shoemaker went on a steal and Maranto threw to Attfield who swept a tag as Shoemaker arrived and the call is out; definitely a close play, tough to tell if there was actual contact on the tag. Stiewe lined out to short to end the inning. Middle of fifth: N-W, 5-0.

3:24 p.m. Innings going quite quickly. Three up, three down for the Falcons as DeVantier fisted a liner to short, Gonyea foul-popped out to catcher and Maranto grounded to second. End of fifth: N-W, 5-0.

3:30 p.m. Cardella flew out to right, McKenna grounded to first, and then Miller delivered a solid single to left. The inning ended when Kelsey Johnson grounded to Sciria. Middle of sixth: N-W, 5-0. 

3:37 p.m. Nothing for N-W. Grounder to short by DePetris, single to left by Baron, foul pop by Mazierski which is caught nicely by a sliding Kelsey Johnson, grounder to second by Attfield. End of sixth: N-W, 5-0. 

Three outs to go for the Falcons. 3-4-5 batters upcoming for Athena.

3:57 p.m. Whoops. Forgot to update the blog before going to get quotes :-) 

We have a FINAL SCORE: Niagara-Wheatfield 5, Greece-Athena 0.

In the seventh, Riley Johnson was hit by a pitch then was out on a fielder's choice that put Touchstone at first. Shoemaker walked to put runners at first and second, but then Sciria finished it off. Valentine flew out to right, which went as a sacrifice. Sciria fielded a grounder by Stiewe and threw her out to end the game.

Here's the final out: 

It is the first trip to the state final four for Niagara-Wheatfield softball.

Back with the A game in a few moments. Infield practice going on. 

4:27 p.m. Starting lineups being announced now. We'll try and type those in right now.

Williamsville East is the visitor.

Williamsville East: Leadoff Dani Silvestri lf, Marci Tirone cf, Jenna Reilley ss, Jenna Allers rf, Catherine Krok 3b, Tara Schiumo 2b, Sam Weaver p, Machenzie Klun 1b, Dana Larkin dp (for Jami Cohen c).

Pittsford-Mendon: Leadoff Courtney Case ss, Jenna Lazar 2b, Lauren D'Hont cf, Brittany Grage p, Anna Valentine 1b, Kelsey Julien rf, Michelle Hochman c, Katie Brennan lf, Erin Lyons 3b.

4:39 p.m. One hit but nothing more for Will East in the top of the first. Silvestri grounded to third. Grage struck out Tirone and Allers with a single to right from Reilley in between. Middle of first: No score. 

4:45 p.m. Two strikeouts for Weaver, but a run for Pitt-Mendon. Case struck out looking, Lazar singled to right, D'Hont struck out swinging. Grage then blasted a fly ball deep to center, over Tirone's head for a double that scored Lazar. Valentine ended the inning with a grounder to third. End of first: Pitt-Mendon, 1-0. 

4:53 p.m. Two baserunners this time for East, but another inning-ending strikeout. Krok grounded to third, Schiumo legged out an infield single, Weaver lined out, Klun reached on catcher's interference, putting runners at first and second, and Cohen struck out swinging. Middle of second: Pitt-Mendon, 1-0.

5:01 p.m. The inning started tamely enough but ended poorly for the Flames. Julien and Hochman grounded out to pitcher and third, respectively. Brennan then grounded to third and it looked like the ball might be headed down the line, but Krok went full extension on a dive to keep the play to a single. When Lyons followed with a double to deep left-center, it looked like Krok's play would be huge as it kept a run from scoring. However, the hits kept coming as Case smacked a single just out of the reach of Schiumo for two RBIs and a bloop single by Lazar scored Case (who moved to second on the throw home and to third on a stolen base). D'Hont ended the inning with a grounder to Weaver. End second: Pitt-Mendon, 4-0.

5:05 p.m. Nothing doing for East. Silvestri grounded out, Tirone struck out swinging, Reilley lined out to left. Middle of third: Pitt-Mendon, 4-0.

5:13 p.m. More hits for Pitt-Mendon, but a strong finish for Weaver prevents any more scoring. Grage led off with a single, Valentine flew out to right, Julien doubled on a ball that apparently went over the third base bag. Will East coach Ron Schumacher came out to protest afterwards but it wasn't a long discussion. But with runners on second and third, Hochman flew out to right -- with Allers throwing home strongly to prevent an attempted tag-up -- and Brennan went down swinging. Weaver got the last two strikes on an off-speed strike that was taken, then got a swinging strikeout with a hard one. End of third: Pitt-Mendon, 4-0.  

5:21 p.m. Baserunners, but no hits or runs for East. Allers walked, Krok struck out after two foul bunts, Schiumo was hit by a pitch, Weaver grounded sharply to the pitcher, who threw to third for a nice fielder's choice. The inning ended with Klun grounding to second. Middle of fourth: PItt-Mendon, 4-0.

5:28 p.m. More runs for Mendon. Lyons led off with an infield single that banged off the knee of Reilley; she was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Case; Lazar singled and moved to second on a throw home. D'Hont grounded to third, but after she was out at first, Lyons broke for home. She scored, the throw was wild, and Lazar came around to score. More runners but no more scoring as Grage wlked, Valentine singled and Julien grounded to pitcher. End of fourth: Pitt-Mendon, 6-0. 

5:31 p.m. Very quick inning for East. Strikeout swinging for Larkin, Silvestri grounded to pitcher, Tirone grounded to short. Middle of fifth: Pitt-Mendon, 6-0.  

Allers is now pitching; Weaver replaced her in right.

5:43 p.m. Another long inning for Mendon, and another run. Hochman singled to right, Brennan sac bunted her over, Lyons popped out. Case reached on an infield single on which Reilley made a great play to get in front of it on a dive, then even tried to throw her out while sitting on the dirt. Lazar followed with a single which Schiumo nearly tracked down in shallow right; that scored Hochman. D'Hont struck out to end the inning. End of fifth: Pitt-Mendon, 7-0. 

5:50 p.m. Will East gets a run thanks to Reilley's leadoff blast to center field which went for a triple. Allers grounded out to second to score the run. Krok fisted a soft liner to short. Schiumo walked but the inning ends with a Weaver groundout to third. Middle of sixth: Pitt-Mendon, 7-1. 

5:55 p.m. Ka-blam. Grage turns on one and blasts a home run over the left-center field fence -- the fences are an even 200 feet away all around. In bottom of sixth: Pitt-Mendon, 8-1.

5:58 p.m. No more damage as the next three go down. End of sixth: Pitt-Mendon, 8-1. 

Three more outs for the Flames to mount a comeback.

6:12 p.m. At leadoff there was a great battle by Machenzie Klun, who fouled off eight pitches before muscling a single over third base. Great at-bat by Klun to start a rally for East. 

Alissa Davis flied out to deep left as a pinch hitter; Silvestri reached on an infield single to deep short; Tirone fouled out to first. Reilley grounded to short but the throw was wild, allowing two runs to score. The game ended with a great catch by center fielder D'Hont on a blast by Allers. 

We have a FINAL SCORE: Pittsford-Mendon 8, Williamsville East 3.

6:20 p.m. Just finished interviews -- this was the final game of Ron Schumacher's 34-year coaching career. 

Back with the B game in about 15 minutes or so.

6:43 p.m. Starting lineups being introduced. Falconer is the visitor. 

Falconer: Leadoff Sadie Stuart ss, Kayleigh Erickson cf, Shannon Gunnell c, Cherise Gunnell p, Erika Hines 1b, Shelby Overturf rf, Morgan Spallino 2b, Ashley Gunnell 3b, Allyson Roach lf. 

Mynderse: Leadoff Megan Tuttle ss, Allie Deal rf, Abby Dygert c, Courtney Johnson p, Mariah Foser lf, Sydney Rogers 2b, Meghan Felice 3b, Alysha Bachman 1b, Jessica Parish cf. 

6:50 p.m. First pitch of the B game. Since I have to write up three games, I might skimp on some details here. I'll still have scoring updates and probably inning updates. 

6:55 p.m. Falconer threatens but does not score in the top of the first. Stuart reached on an infield single, but then Johnson struck out Erickson and Shannon G. Cherise G. reached on an error by the shortstop, with the wild throw allowing Stuart to third and Cherise G. to second. Johnson then got Hines to end the inning with a groundout to short. Middle of first: No score. 

7:04 p.m. A mini-threat for Mynderse as well, but Cherise G. gets a strikeout to end the inning. Tuttle started with a strikeout, Deal walked, Dygert popped up, then Johnson thumped a single up the middle to put runners at first and second. Cherise G. got Foster on a swinging strikeout. End of first: No score.

7:07 p.m. Quick and quiet second for Falconer. Two very strong plays by shortstop Tuttle, who goes into deep short to get Overturf -- thanks to a sweep tag by Bachman; then she went deep on a hard shot by Spallino, threw off the base but again Bachman reeled it in and stepped on first in time. Ashley G. ended the inning with a foul out to catcher. Middle of second: No score. 

7:15 p.m. Only four batters for Mynderse, but one was a big one. After a leadoff strikeout to Rogers, BOOM. Righty Felice turned on an inside pitch and her high fly homer landed well over the left field fence. Cherise G. struck out Bachman and then Parish rolled out to first. End of second: Mynderse, 1-0.

7:22 p.m. Roach strikes out, Stuart with another hit on a single to left, but then Erickson strikes out and Shannon G. is out on a fielder's choice as they got the out at second. Middle of third: Mynderse, 1-0. 

7:44 p.m. Lots of good news to update for Falconer fans. Cherise G. had two strikeouts in facing four batters in the bottom of the third, and then Falconer blew up in the top of the fourth. 

Cherise G. led off with a single that landed her at third when her solid shot to center scooted past the center fielder, then Hines singled to right to drive her in. After Overdorf' bunt attempt was caught on a pop out to the pitcher, Spallino reached on an error on the first baseman, who couldn't handle the throw from the third baseman. Ashley G. bunt singled to load the bases. Roach then lined out to center. 

Then the most impressive HOME RUN of the day, as Stuart clobbers a GRAND SLAM to very deep left to turn a tie game into a 5-1 Falconer lead.

Here it is ... hard to see the ball, but it lands well past the fence in left center. 

Then Erickson made it back-to-back HOMERS just left of center to make it a 6-1 lead. Shannon G. was hit by a pitch, stole second and move to third on a passed ball before Cherise G. -- who led off the inning -- flew out to deep center. Middle of fourth: Falconer, 6-1. 

7:50 p.m. Three up, three down for Mynderse with two strikeouts for Cherise G. End of fourth: Falconer, 6-1.

7:56 p.m. Wow. Another HOME RUN for Falconer. Spallino gets around on one and another one goes sailing well over the left center wall. That came with two outs in the inning. Middle of fifth: Falconer, 7-1. 

8:11 p.m. We're heading to the bottom of the sixth and Falconer's lead is four. Mynderse got two runs in the bottom of the fifth without a hit: two hit by pitches, a sac bunt, a walk, a wild pitch (scored one) and a sac fly (scored another). In the top of the sixth, Falconer went down on two fly outs and a pop-up. Middle of sixth: Falconer, 7-3.

8:20 p.m. Cherise G. rebounded from a shaky inning with as strong an inning as you could want: she struck out the side. End of sixth: Falconer, 7-3.

8:25 p.m. Falconer sends five batters to the plate but no runs. Falcons are now three outs away from the final four. Middle of seventh: Falconer, 7-3. 

8:34 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Falconer 7, Mynderse 3.

Here's the final out.

Interview time for me. Gotta run.

11:28 p.m. Thanks to the Brockport Tim Hortons for becoming a satellite office for The Buffalo News High School Sports Desk. Got some food, drink, a seat and an electrical outlet to do my story ... and to do a re-do of an update of my story after my computer locked up. Gotta love it.

I'm back tomorrow evening for Silver Creek boys lacrosse's attempt to make the state championship game, which should be very exciting. I'll have the live blog going for that but the 8 p.m. scheduled start is a real booger for my deadline. We'll get it done.

---Keith McShea

(@KeithMcSheaBN on Twitter)

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

Will North hockey wins state title; Will East falls

A report from the state hockey championships in Utica from correspondent A.J. O'Hagen:

Williamsville North defeats Saratoga, 3-2, to win the Division I state championship. Brad Ferrel scores the game winner 2:30 into the third period. Parker Gahagen stopped 22 shots.

The Cazenovia Lakers defeated the Williamsville East Flames by the score of 6-2 in the Division II (small school) final. Mike Sarcinelli scored both goals for the Flames. Tucker Weppner stopped 28 shots for East.

Here's the story from Monday's newspaper.

Video: PrepTalkTV wraps up Week Three (all three days' worth)

Week Three of PrepTalkTV went from Thursday to Saturday night -- here's our wrapup, which includes action from all three days:

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Scroll down here on the blog or click here to watch a special edition of PrepTalkTV on Kenmore West's victory and the school's tribute to the late Brian Dugan.

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You can find all of our videos easily by going to the video player and clicking the "PrepTalkTV" tab.

---Keith McShea

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

Thursday walkthrough (and games tonight!)

Just when I thought last weekend was a long -- but fun -- one for football (just scroll down and see), Week Three gets kick-started a day early with some bonus football tonight.

The Williamsville schools are playing their traditional Thursday games due to Friday's Yom Kippur holiday, and this year we're treated to a top 10 large school matchup as No. 2 Williamsville South visits No. 9 Amherst at 6 p.m.

The second game of the night has an intriguing angle as Williamsville East first-year coach Chris McDuffie takes on his alma mater, Williamsville North, and the game is -- get your Northtowns compass ready -- at Williamsville South with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Should be a fun night. It sure was last year, when South quarterback Joe Licata threw for a Section VI record 492 yards in a 62-32 home win over North (check out video highlights from that game). Note: that blog has the yardage total that was originally reported but was later changed.

Here's our poll asking your choice of the weekend's top game (it's also available, as always, at our high school home page.

poll by twiigs.com

Our poll to kick off the week brought in about 800 votes as of Wednesday night -- excuse me while I pat myself on the back for that one for providing choices that apparently people dug. Clarence's first win over OP in a decade rightly won the poll, and a whole zero percent picked the none-of-the-above option. 

---Keith McShea

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

More from the Section VI boys golf championships

For Alex Kammerer, it was an unfortunate end to a memorable round.

The Niagara-Wheatfield sophomore found himself in a playoff with Matt Petrosian of Lew-Port for Monday's Section VI golf title.

Instead, he took an eight on the par 5, 10th hole, putting back-to-back shots in the fields to the right of the fairway. Petrosian wasn't much better taking a 7, but it was enough to win the title.

Kammerer settled for second place in the field of 72, not a bad consolation prize.

Kammerer posted the lowest score after the first 18 holes, a 1-under 71. He had a 39 over the final 9.

"It bothers me that I kind of blew up on the playoff hole, but it really doesn't bother me too much because I'm going to states. I'm still happy about the day," said Kammerer. "I pushed my drive and got a real bad kick, and it pushed into the hazard. [Then] I made stupid move. I should have made a smarter play and ended up hitting a shot back into the hazard. From there on, it was just a disaster."

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* With the win, Petrosian joins a select fraternity of Lew-Port golfers who have won Section VI golf titles. Frank Garcia won it in 1998 and Nick Morreale of the Lancers was the 1997 champion. Petrosian looks to continue his golf career as a walk-on at Division II University of Tampa.

* Lew-Port was the only team to qualify two golfers. Joining Petrosian was teammate Mike Boss, a junior. Iroquois had two make the team, but only junior Brennan Fonfara is expected to play while Kyle Kapturowski is the alternate. Fonfara birdied No. 14 twice and made a nice save on No. 15 after hitting into the hazard.

* Diamond Hawk made a big impression on some of the top finishers. Most said the greens were firm and rolled great.

* Senior Scott Brady of Olean earned his first trip to states. His round was highlighted by a 50-foot, par-saving putt on his last hole. He's taking his golf talent and ping-pong skills to St. Bonaventure in the fall.

* Austin Nowak of Lancaster returns to states after finishing 13th last year.

* Williamsville East's Sean Mahon's first 18 holes included chip-ins on No. 7 and No. 16.

* Kyle Jeziorski of Orchard Park carded an eagle on No. 9, capped with a 20-foot putt.

* How about that Niagara Frontier League with golfers finishing 1-2, on an Erie County course, no less?

* The Lancaster-Depew rivalry doesn't quite extend to golf as Andrew Romano of Depew and Austin Nowak of Lancaster have played their share of rounds together. They'll play two more at states. "Right now I'm not playing to my full potential," said Romano. "Me and Austin, gees we got so many rounds in. We actually had good weather to start the year off, but we could both play so much better."

---Mary Jo Monnin

More from the Section VI Division I wrestling championships

SANBORN -- Greetings from Niagara County Community College, site of the Section VI wrestling championships this weekend. Division I (large schools), finished a couple hours ago, while Division II (small schools will wrestle all day Saturday, with finals set to start at 4:30 p.m.

We're finished with our print responsibilities for the night and have plenty of notes left over to share. First, an observation: The simple finalist information sheet each coach fills out for his wrestlers is a valuable tool for the announcer and media in attendance. One of the toughest aspects of covering high schools sports is the availability of (reliable) statistical information, so when coaches have stuff like that prepared, it helps journalists write a better, more complete story on their student-athletes.

On to the winners and some information about them, as well as additional quotes that didn't make the paper.

96-pound champion: Steve Michel, Lancaster: Michel beat teammate Eric Lewandowski, 4-3, in a match I'm not sure either wanted to wrestle. Lewandowski was emotional after the loss, while Michel didn't seem to take much happiness out of his second straight 96-pound title. Here he is on the move that gave him the deciding points: "I shot a sweep single, then I hooked his leg and I stepped over."

103: Ronald Rodriguez-Spencer, Cheektowaga: The Class AAA winner improved his record to 32-5 and was the youngest competitor (eighth grade) to win a sectional title.

112: Tim Schaefer, Lancaster: Schaefer is 3-for-3 in sectional tournaments. He won at 96 in seventh grade, 103 last year and now 112 as a freshman.

119: Dylan Caruana, Kenmore West: One of the best matches of the night, Caruana held off Daiquann Burney of Sweet Home with a late reversal for a 6-3 decision. Here's Caruana on the fantastic finish: "The end was really exciting. I just didn’t want to give up that take down. He was about to get behind me and I couldn’t let him do it. I was only up by a point, so it was real close." Caruana has won two most outstanding wrestler awards this season, at the Orchard Park Tournament and last week at the AAAA tourney.

125: Joey Malvestuto, Niagara-Wheatfield: Plenty on this match in the print product, but a quick note: Malvestuto has overcome a broken hand and knee injury this season. He's rounding into form and improved to 31-3. Opponent Ben Mikac lost his first match of the season, falling to 34-1.

130: Joe Kalinka, Iroquois: The first of three Iroquois champions on the night, Kalinka (46-2) will make his second straight tip to states. He won the AAA tourney last week, while his opponent, Mike Feeney of Lockport, won the AAAA tourney.

135: Pat Mix, Lake Shore: Both Mix and opponent Zack Fummerelle had just one loss entering the mach. Mix took control with an early takedown, then held on for the win. Nice celebration by the Lake Shore coaches and Mix after the match, too. A school not known for its wrestling program made nice strides this season.

140: Jimmy Kloc, Iroquois: Kloc, who is a pitbull on the mat, looked like he was going to cruise, but Gage Bateman of Sweet Home gave him all he could handle. A fitting final for a weight class my wrestling go-to guy, Fredonia assistant coach Ross Conti, called the deepest of the tournament.

145: Jacob Beichner, Williamsville East: Beichner was the only wrestler not seeded first or second (he was third) to win. His reaction after winning showed all that's right with high school sports: a tearful hug with his parents. Here's Beichner on what the win meant to him: "He was beating me up pretty good in the beginning, but I’ve been training my whole life for this moment. I just wasn’t going to let that stop me. I knew he was getting tired and he was breaking. It’s my senior year, I just went full force." The loss was the first of the season for Irvin Buck of Niagara Falls.

152: Kris Duge, Clarence: It was the 38th win of the season for Duge, a senior.

160: Raleigh Defields, Iroquois: Defields was struck with pneuomia during the season and didn't start to get healthy until the end of January. He had dropped an earlier decision by one point to his opponent Friday, Lancaster's Sean Woods. Defields was a fun interview after his match. Here's some of what he had to say: "I set a goal as a freshman that I always wanted to at least win [a] class [tournament] and going to states is just an awesome bonus." On his recovery: "I've been busting my hump in practice getting my conditioning levels back and it paid off because I could have gone another minute if need be." On the end of the match, which went to overtime: "I looked up at the clock with five seconds left, held on for dear life and smiled."

171: Tony Lock, Pioneer: A sophomore who has progressively improved this season, Lock picked up his 40th win.

189: Angelo Malvestuto, Niagara-Wheatfield: Falcons coach Rick Sweney called him the best wrestler ever to come through Niagara-Wheatfield, which sums up Malvestuto's career well. He was the only one to record a pin Friday night.

215: Kyle Colling, Pioneer: A 2009 national champion, the only surprise in Colling's title is that it didn't come by pinfall. According to Conti, it's believed Colling could become the first wrestler in state history to win class titles in Division I and II, due to Pioneer moving up to Division I this season (he won Division II last year).

285: Jim Donner, Niagara-Wheatfield: Donner gets a chance to build on his fifth-place finish at last year's state tournament.

Talk to you tomorrow from the Division II tournament.

---Jay Skurski

 

 

Live chat Feb. 11 from Fed hockey

Another week, another shift before the snap for our weekly chat.

This week we've shifted to Thursday. We'll be chatting live from the Amherst Pepsi Center at around 10 p.m.

I'll start my day at the Middle College at Grover Cleveland Yale Cup showdown at 5:30 p.m. before heading to the always-entertaining Federation hockey Thursday doubleheader. This week, St. Joe's and Canisius battle at 7 p.m. followed by Williamsville South and Williamsville East skating at 9 p.m. 

As the postseason looms for some sports -- and has started for others -- we'll certainly have a lot to talk about. Anything in the high school sports world is up for discussion, from the polls to PrepTalkTV.

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.

Here are some previous chats from the winter season: last week (Feb. 3), Jan. 28, Jan. 20, Jan 14, Jan. 6, Dec. 15.

---Keith McShea

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

Friday Night Live from a Shell-Strong Sweet Home: Will South tops Panthers, 65-61 (with video)

I drove past Sweet Home earlier today and their electronic sign out front reads "Sweet Home is Shell Strong."

Tonight the school is holding a Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser during a girls-boys doubleheader -- the Williamsville East girls visit at 6 p.m., the boys' game that follows at around 7:30 p.m. is Chapter Two of the Sweet Home-Williamsville South battle, the first of which was won by host South last week.

The doubleheader honors "Shell Strong," the initiative to support Jacob Shell, the 9-year-old son of Burnt Hills football coach Matt Shell (Sweet Home has beaten the Albany-area school in the last two state championship football games).

Read Kim Shell's touching journal about Jacob's battle with neuroblastoma. Deshanaro "Day-Day" Morris, who has been a fan of Jacob's for a while, is among those behind the fundraising effort.

I'll be hitting the road a little later on and will stop by Lafayette at East before heading to Sweet Home. Updates to come.

6:15 p.m. Here at East High and the hosts are dominating Lafayette, 47-23.

I'm off to Sweet Home.

7:08 p.m. I'm set up very nicely at a courtside table and I'll have updates throughout the night.

The electronic scoreboard outside is still going Shell Strong. I took a picture of it and that will be up soon.

They have already sold out of the Shell Strong orange T-shirts, complete with a Superman 'S' on the front. I am super-bummed I missed out on getting one of those shirts. Why orange? It's Jacob's favorite color.

It's a great scene. Fans of both teams are wearing the shirts, adults and kids, even the Williamsville South players just walked by in them. Just a great night here.

Everyone walking in gets a special edition roster sheet which has Jacob's story and some pictures of him on one side. The sheets are orange, of course.

There is also a huge banner that people are being encouraged to sign. It reads, "From our Sweet Home to yours." Great stuff.

At the end of the third quarter of the girls game, Williamsville East leads Sweet Home, 49-28. There is a good crowd here for the girls game and the parking lot is jammed already. The place should be packed for the boys game.

7:26 p.m. We have a final score from the girls game: Williamsville East 57, Sweet Home 40.

7:41 p.m. I just did my attempt at introducing a video that will be online later tonighthan. 

7:47 p.m. We're about to start. An extremely fine National Anthem by members of the Sweet Home orchestra.

7:57 p.m. Williamsville South calls a timeout with 3:32 left in the first quarter and we're tied at 13-13. Nice job by Sweet Home to withstand an attack which included four straight three-pointers to start the game for South, which was up, 12-6, at one point.

8:09 p.m. At the end of the first quarter, Sweet Home leads South, 26-20.

8:21 p.m. With 3:58 left in the second quarter, Sweet Home leads, 32-27.

8:23 p.m. Sweet Home calls a timeout with 2:36 left in the second quarter. A Keron Briggs layup off a wild back-and-forth gave the Panthers a 34-27 lead. 

Some tremendous action here, great environment, two top-notch teams going at it. A lot going on here trying to post stuff and keep track of the game. One thing worth noting -- D.J. Nettles is not in uniform.

8:30 p.m. We are at halftime and Sweet Home has a 39-38 lead. Joe Licata has 15 points (all on three-pointers) while Briggs has 13. Some great momentum bursts going back and forth -- Sweet Home had a 39-33 lead with about two minutes left in the quarter. Mark Coppola has been doing his usual outstanding orchestration.

8:48 p.m. With 4:01 left in the third quarter, Sweet Home has a 47-42 lead.

8:51 p.m. Sweet Home calls a timeout with South having taken a 49-47 lead with 2:37 left in the third. Coppola just scored on what centercourt described as a tough-as-nails left-handed drive high off the glass. Nice hoop, nice description.

8:57 p.m. Check out the coaching going on here as the third quarter winds down.

At the end of the third, South leads Sweet Home, 52-51.

9:02 p.m. Williamsville South calls a timeout with Sweet Home up, 57-56, with 5:01 left in the game. Just a tremendous couple of minutes there which you'll see later on video.

And here they are:

9:06 p.m. A timeout awarded to South after a scramble with South up, 58-57. South had a great basket out of the previous timeout (video below). There is 4:18 left.

9:11 p.m. A great little story here about sophomore Rashaun Crule, a junior varsity call-up for Sweet Home.

Denzel Kirkland went down with an injury and had to be taken off the floor for a few plays. He was fouled on the play in which he got hurt, so he was unable to hit the free throws.

Coach Paul Shintzius turns to the scorer's table where his JV coach is keeping the Sweet Home scorebook. "Can your guy hit these free throws?!" Schintz hurriedly asks. The JV coach says yes.

In walks Crule with 3:38 left in the game and Sweet Home down by three (60-57). If fans are looking over the roster they picked up on the way in, his name and number (No. 20) aren't even on it.

Let's go to the video clip:

Sweet Home trails by one (60-59). Nice job on the varsity, Mr. Crule.

Out of the timeout, South missed its next shot, Sweet Home missed in transition and South came back with a fast-break layup by Stasiak to go up, 62-59.

9:15 p.m. Sweet Home calls a timeout with 1:12 left in the game and South with a 65-59 lead. Erik Hansen just took the ball strong for a drive that put the Billies up by six. Hansen had a free throw for South's previous point.

9:20 p.m. We have a FINAL SCORE: Williamsville South 65, Sweet Home 61.

* * *

9:56 p.m. Whew. We've written a first-edition story for the paper, did a short video stand-up, got the box score in, talked to South coach Al Monaco and kept our extension cord plugged in.

Just a tremendous night here. The atmosphere was outstanding, the way it should be at all games. South made some key plays down the stretch to break away from such a close game. 

I'll have more video clips while reporter Lauren Mariacher (who is editing her video on a laptop on the gym floor -- at least I have a seat :-) ) will have a video package up and running as soon as possible.

* * *

10:59 p.m. It was great to have Jacob participate in the comments section below.  

I need to pass along a handwritten note to Jacob that was left on the press table for me. It was obviously written by someone who follows the poignant diary kept by his mother, Kim.

"Please tell Jacob we are happy that he and Giraffey are reunited. Sweet Home hopes that we can bring a smile to him today. GO Jacob. be strong. Sweet Home is Shell Strong."

* * *

The scoreboard has been posted.

Not too many surprises -- maybe some surprising margins of victory. Some authoritative victories by Nichols, East, Jamestown, Olean and Southwestern. Some closer-than-expected wins for Niagara Falls and Grand Island.

Check out more in the roundup.

* * *

If you were at a game tonight, or if you want to send wishes Jacob's way -- I've been told his family will be checking the blog tonight -- just type away in the comments section below.

---Keith McShea

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

Vote for the four Section VI wrestling class tournament champions

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Soccer updates: Clarence boys win in OT, Will East girls fall in OT

Correspondent Dan McCarthy reports that the Williamsville East girls fell in the Class A Far West Regionals when Greece Arcadia scored with six seconds left in the second overtime.

The boys Class AA game went to Clarence when Scott Berardi scored with 1:36 left in overtime -- that comes courtesy of the reports from AA Brkt Mstr in the comments section of our soccer playoff post. Greatly appreciate those updates. Clarence returns to the state final four in Oneonta, where it fell in last year's championship game.

---Keith McShea

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