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John Moriello's NYSSWA blog
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008: No. 1 West Genesee loses, No. 2 Orchard Park sneaks by
   Leading off today: Defending state Class AA football champion and top-ranked West Genesee had its 10-game winning streak ended last night by previously winless Fayetteville-Manlius, 47-37.

   The teams combined for 846 yards of offense. Matt Fallico scored four times on short runs and Matt Taylor carried 24 times for 117 yards and two more scores. Fallico's third TD gave F-M a 33-10 lead early in the third quarter.

   West Genesee scored three quick touchdowns, including a 35-yard interception return by Kevin Petrick, and cut the lead to 33-31 early in the fourth. Fallico (105 rushing yards) closed the game out with a six-yard TD run on a fourth-down play.

   West Genesee quarterback Jim Marks was 16-of-28 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. The Wildcats host Syracuse CBA (5-0) next week.

   Close call for OP: Orchard Park, ranked second in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association, had to stop a two-point conversion midway through the fourth quarter to edge Frontier, 14-12.

   Mark Schuster’s one-yard run brought Frontier within 14-12, but safety Kyle Robinson stopped Schuster short of the end zone on the conversion attempt.

   Orchard Park senior Jeff Tundo rushed 27 times for 182 yards, and QB Kyle Hoppy threw two TD passes.

   Turnovers can't trip up Minisink Valley: Minisink Valley fumbled the ball five times but pulled out a 28-7 non-league win over Middletown.

   Andrew Haelen and John Behler, playing in place of injured running back James Ferrier, each fumbled in the first half and then scored TDs later. Middletown tied the game in the closing monents of the second quarter, but Minisink Valley struck back with a four-play drive capped by Kevin Freeman's 53-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Vavricka with just more than a second remaining in the half.

   Streak at 37: William Floyd, ranked fourth in Class AA, ran its winning streak to 37 games with a 31-7 victory over Patchogue-Medford as Vaughn Magee carried 12 times for 101 yards and two TDs.

   Quarterback Steve Murphy went 11-for-18 for 138 yards and also carried the ball seven times for 54 yards.

   Friday's rapid recap: Capone Smith ran for 244 yards, passed for 54 and threw for two TDs as No. 4 Lackawanna beat No. 5 Fredonia in Class B, 30-14. Lackawanna scored on its first two possessions and got three TDs from Dwayne Bennett.

   No. 10 Syracuse CBA overcame 11 penalties for 125 yards and won a clash of Section 3 unbeatens by blanking Cicero-North Syracuse, 25-0. CBA opened the game with a 14-play, 70-yard drive capped by a one-yard TD run by Tom Trasolini. Jared DePalma, starting at QB for Tyler Hamblin (separated shoulder), was 17-of-29 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown.

   Cohoes, No. 19 in Class B, needed three overtimes to put away Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, 13-7. Steve Weaver snuffed out R-C-S's third OT possession with a sack and then scored the winning TD on a one-yard run. Weaver, who had a 55-yard scoring run in the third quarter, finished with 24 carries for 201 yards.

   Baldwinsville topped Class AA No. 19 Rome Free, 27-24, behind 26 carries for 204 yards and three touchdowns by Malik Burks.

   Victor QB Chris Rose was nearly perfect, compiling 209 yards on 17-for-19 passing as the No. 8 Blue Devils fought off No, 25 Irondequoit in Class A, 41-33. Fellow senior Chuck Beckwith scored three touchdown runs and ran 32 times for 192 yards.

  
   Junior Tyler Fenti threw for 117 yards and ran for 84 to help Honeoye Falls-Lima spring a 26-21 upset of Class B No. 12 Hornell. Fenti's 40-yard TD run in the fourth quarter made the lead 26-14.

   Joe Oliverio threw five touchdowns -- four to Alex Nuetz (nine catches, 163 yards) -- and Eddie Weiser ran for 245 yards and two TDS as Class A No. 16 Grand Island overpowered Williamsville South, 47-27, with a 546-yard offensive output.

   Milestones: Monroe-Woodbury senior Jamie Boyle went 6-for-6 on on a wet field to set the state record for consecutive extra points made. Boyle's showing during a 42-7 victory against Kingston gave him 65 consecutive conversions, breaking the mark of 62 by Adolfo Rivera of Walkill in 2003-04.

   Whitesboro coach Tom Schoen picked up his 200th win as Jordan Smith and Adam Greenwell ran for two touchdowns apiece in a 41-8 win over Syracuse Nottingham.

   Nanuet's Rich Conklin will be going for his 200th football coaching victory today against Pelham. Combined with his 200 wins as Nanuet's former wrestling coach, he would become the sixth person in Rockland County history with 200 coaching wins in two sports.

   National hoops playoff discussed: Nike, Paragon Marketing and ESPN are working on an eight-team national boys basketball tournament in April in Washington, D.C., USA Today reported.

   The tournament would include national powers that do not play state championships, such as Newark, N.J., St. Benedict's; Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.; Rockville, Md., Montrose Christian; and possibly the Washington and Baltimore Catholic League champions.

   The event would be held at Georgetown Prep on April 3-4, the same weekend as the NCAA Division I Final Four.

   "The event has the potential to someday determine a national champion," said Tony Dorado, national manager of high school basketball for Nike.

   In charge of Section 3: The Post-Standard's M.F. Piraino did a piece last weekend on John Rathbun, who became Section 3's executive director over the summer.

   Though he's long been involved in sports -- including 28 years as a basketball referee -- Rathbun doesn't have a background in the schools system. Rather, he spent 11 years working as director of sports development for the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, which was probably no small consideration in the hiring process as many sections around the state have put increasing emphasis on business expertise.

   Rathbun inherits some challenges right off the bat, including finding facilities to replace Syracuse's Manley Field House. That complex is scheduled to be redeveloped next year and will no longer be able to host indoor track or other high school events. Without a suitable replacement, probably at another local college, Section 3 indoor track could shrivel up quickly and even die.

   In addition, he cited concern about long-distance travel in the era of $4/gallon gasoline. "If four or five golf teams are going to Rochester to play in an invitational," he said, "maybe have one bus come and pick up all those teams and ride up there together. We're trying to come up with creative ideas to save some school districts some money."

   Extra points: Senior midfielder Ashley Hughes scored twice for Aquinas in a 5-3 victory over visiting Buffalo Nichols, which had beaten the Little Irish 2-1 on Sept. 22. Aquinas is ranked fifth in Class AA and Nichols second in Class B. . . . Suffern distance runner Shelby Greany said she will accept a scholarship to run at Providence College. Greany is a three-time Foot Locker national finalist and won the 2,000-meter steeplechase last spring at the Nike Outdoor Nationals.


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