Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011: Recapping Friday's football action

   Leading off today: Close calls involving ranked teams dominated the New York high school football landscape Friday night, with none more dramatic than No. 22 West Genesee's 39-38 win over Baldwinsville to improve to 5-0.

   Junior QB Ginestro, who came in when starter Matt Naton was injured in the third quarter, threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nate Flask with 5.7 seconds to play and then hit Garrett Waldron for the winning two-point conversion.

  It capped an 11-play drive that started at the West Genesee 24 with 1:08 to go, a march that was kept alive by a pass interference call combined with an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. That first-down play moved the ball to the Bees' 13 with 15 seconds to go.

  Ginestro finished 5-of-11 for 74 yards. B'ville's Tyler Rouse carried for 222 yards in the loss.

   Alden hangs on: No. 3 Alden scored two second-quarter touchdowns and held on without injured running back Justin Patterson (20 carries, 149 yards) to edge No. 8 Depew 14-13 in Class A action in Section 6.

   Patterson put on a 76-yard burst down the sideline for the first Alden TD. After Depew tied, sophomore QB Brian Stoldt hit Ryan Sosnowski for a 12-yard touchdown.

   Depew closed to 14-13 midway through the fourth quarter, but a two-point conversion failed. The Wildcats got one more chance, but a 30-yard field-goal attempt with 1:03 to go was blocked.

   Newburgh rallies: Aaron Johnson ran for two TDs in the fourth quarter as Class AA No. 23 Newburgh rallied past Middletown 20-16.

   Middletown ended the first half with a goal-line stand, scored to cap a 13-play drive on its first possession after the half and then intercepted a Mark Risio throw late in the third quarter, but UConn recruit Mikal Myers recovered a fumble on the next play to get the Goldbacks started.

   Wallkill survives: QB Eric Wellmon scored on a 60-yard run with 1:00 to play, lifting Class A No. 19 Wallkill to a 28-21 home win vs. Monticello.

   Wellmon threw two touchdown passes and also recorded a 43-yard scoring scamper in the second half. Monticello's Shane Jackson threw two TD passes and returned a punt 65 yards for his team's other score.

   Avon still perfect in D: Two defenders tipped the ball before Avon's Brandon Fuentes reeled it in and completed a 68-yard scoring play with 0:33 to go, giving No. 3 Avon a 28-22 win over No. 13 Caledonia-Mumford in Section 5 Class D action.

   Cal-Mum had rallied from a 14-2 deficit to take the lead with two scores in the final 4:05. Jon Cappotelli (33 carries, 158 yards) rushed for an 8-yard TD, then junior Madison Suhr caught a 61-yard scoring pass from Matt Hartford for a 22-21 lead with 1:15 to go.

   Fuentes finished with 18 carries for 100 yards and scored three TDs.

   Dobbs Ferry coasts: Dobbs Ferry stormed to a 34-0 halftime lead and went on to a 40-0 victory over defending NYSPHSAA champion Tuckahoe.

   Dobbs Ferry is ranked seventh in Class C and Tuckahoe 11th in D by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   Quarterback Spencer Avalos, who split time at halfback and left guard in 2010, ran five times for 96 yards, threw a TD pass, recovered a Tuckahoe fumble and returned a punt 45 yards.

   Victor responds: Injuries are turning Victor into a younger team with each passing week, but the No. 11 Blue Devils continue to respond in Class A.

   Freshman Mike Wagner, who inherited the starting QB job at the start of the year via injury, limped off early in the first quarter and classmate Sam Byassee came on to engineer a 16-0 win vs. Greece Arcadia.

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   Byassee ran 11 yards for the first Victor TD late in the first quarter.

   Minus running back Tommy Wagner, who suffered a season-ending leg injury last week after rushing for 300 yards, the Blue Devils were still able to grind out yards on the ground in the second half, and senior Dale Mattics capped a five-play drive with a 2-yard TD run with 4:10 to play.

   Checking in on Section 2: Lucas Nelson ran for 266 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries as Warrensburg routed Lake George 50-20 in Class D action.

   In Class AA, No. 9 Shenendehowa surrendered its first points of the season but beat Ballston Spa 37-20. Tony Fusco ran for 116 yards and two TDs.

   Lather, rinse, repeat: Senior Tommy McQuillen scored six touchdowns for the second straight game to carry LeRoy past Perry 62-26.

   McQuillen did all of his scoring in the first half as the Oatkan Knights took a 49-20 lead. He scored on runs of 10 and 20 yards in the first quarter, and on runs of 11 and 80 yards, a 42-yard pass from Andy Lowe (8-for-8, 136 yards) and a 25-yard fumble recovery in the second quarter.

   Tough to prepare: Newsday took a closer look at one of the toughest weeks of the year for football teams. Several teams took the field on Wednesday as schools attempted to steer clear of Rosh Hashanah, even if it meant playing four days after Week 3 contests.

   "It was really weird. We had no precedent. We didn't know what to do," said coach Leif Shay of Riverhead, which defeated Half Hollow Hills East 47-35. "Do you go full gear or not? It was seat of your pants."

   Because the schools could not practice on Sunday, that meant only two days to prepare between games.

   "It was nuts," Hills East coach Mike Patrovich said. "You had to jam five days of work into two days."

   Patrovich scheduled four-hour practices in full pads on Monday and Tuesday, which might have been overkill but also not completely unreasonable. "We couldn't afford a less intense day," Patrovich said.

   East Islip defeated Half Hollow Hills West 28-7 as Tyler Rigo ran 35 times for 236 yards and two TDs to end an exhausting week.

   Said Hills West coach Kyle Madden: "It was tough for us to come back and play again on Wednesday. We had a true 48-minute game on Saturday . We couldn't take out any of our regulars and give them some rest."