Attica

Wheatland-Chili's Lauren Drago had a tremendous season and led her Wildcats to the Genesee Region League  Division II title.

W-C went 13-3-1 and Drago - a senior midfielder/forward - scored 23 goals and dished out 13 assists, scoring 59 points to earn GR Player of the Year.

She is one of three Wildcats on the Genesee Region League all-star squad, getting selected as a forward.

Chloe Smith is a junior midfielder and earned all-star props after scoring three goals with five assists. Junior defender Lindsey Hall is also an all-star, for leading the defensive unit.

Holley won the Division I title after an epic race for the championship with an 11-3-4 record, and coach Jill Mann was named Coach of the Year.

Three members of her team are named to the all-star squad.

Sophomore goalie Julie Brooks was in net for every 1,480 minutes the team played this season and made 118 saves while allowing just nine goals. That's an amazing .486 goals per game average.

Brooks got a lot of help from fellow all-league selection, junior defender Corinne VanSchoick.

Junior midfielder Emily Troup led the team in scoring with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points.

Troup battled Alexander's Hannah Wilson to a 0-0 tie in the final game of the season that determined the division winner, and Wilson was also named an all-star keeper.

Wilson allowed just 24 goals while making 161 saves, averaging 1.289 goals per game.

Two other Trojans made the team.

Senior midfielder Rachel Pettys was selected after scoring eight goals with two assists, for 18 points, and eighth-grade defender Abby Shilvock is also on the team.

Shivlock had three goals with a helper this season.

Elba had a pair of players make the team in junior midfielder Julie Marshall and senior forward Chelsi Clark.

Clark was a scoring machine, getting 24 goals with six assists for 54 points. Marshall had a goal with seven helpers.

Stacy Maskell and Todne Crowe were selected as all-stars from Byron-Bergen.

Maskell - a junior forward - scored 12 goals with three assists, for 27 points, and Crowe - a senior midfielder - added four goals and five assists.

Pembroke had a pair of all-stars in senior defender Rachel Warren and senior forward Nicole Sharick.

Sharick scored 25 times and had 11 assists, finishing with a league-high 61 points. Warren dished out three assists.

Midfielder Hillary Bates of Oakfield-Alabama makes the squad as a senior. She scored five goals this season.

Attica senior defender Christina West is an all-star after scoring six goals with an assist and Kendall sophomore forward gets the all-star nod after scoring eight goals with six helpers.

 No surprise here.

The Oakfield-Alabama football rolled to a perfect 7-0 season and captured the Genesee Region League title, and nine players from that squad were named to the GR all-star team Monday night.

Coach John Dowd was named Coach of the Year as well for delivering the first undefeated regular season for the Hornets since 1986.

O-A has rushed for a whopping 2,242 yards as a team during the regular season. Week 7 counts as non-league games because the Class D teams were already in the playoffs.

That being said, two of the three running backs on the squad and three offensive lineman lead the way.

6-foot-3, 275-pound Chris Williams was a unanimous choice at guard and 6-foot-1, 275-pound center Craig Campbell also was a key on the best offensive line in the league. Both were all-state selections two years ago, with Williams making all-stars for a third-straight year.

5-foot-8, 200-pound tackle Derek Hicks also made the all-star squad.

The O-A offensive line opened many holes for Tim Smith and Brad Riner, who both earned all-star recognition as seniors.

Smith led the Hornets in rushing with 771 yards and 11 touchdowns through six games, then rested in the final game of the season against Holley. He was the offensive Player of the Week for Class C in Week 4.

Riner, a fullback, picked up 639 yards and 10 scores this season, including a three TD game in the final game of the season.

Noah Seward had 29 tackles, an interception and four sacks and Tyler Kowalczyk had 2.5 sacks, an interception and 23 tackles. Both made the all-star team as defensive linemen.

It is Seward's second all-star nod.

Linebacker John Koenig had 17 tackles and two fumble recoveries and is joined by A.J. Kehlenbeck - one of only two juniors - on the all-star squad. Kehlenbeck had three interceptions and 17 tackles.

The Hornets are ranked No. 10 in the state for Class C and open up the Section 5 playoffs with a home game against Dansville Friday night.

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Pembroke ended the year one point away from the league title after its only loss came to Oakfield-Alabama, 25-24, in Week 6.

Quarterback David Kleckler had a stellar year and leads the group of seven Dragons to make the team.

Kleckler completed 30-of-56 attempts for 651 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also rushed for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

Andrew Wright made the team as a wide receiver, but could have been selected as a running back. He gained 774 yards on the ground and got into the end zone 10 times, while catching 13 passes for 340 yards and three TDs.

He also had a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD, a 58-yard punt return for a score and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Tight end Ken Babcock caught 15 passes for 275 yards with five touchdowns and made the team because of his big-play ability in the red zone. He is a two-time all-star.

Graham Jensen is 5-foot-11, 210-pounds and made the team as a guard while 6-foot-2, 235-pound Matt Klotzbach is an all-star defensive lineman.

Jensen had 42 tackles on defense and Klotzbach had 45 stops with a sack.

Josh Hanel - a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder - was selected as a linebacker and safety Mike Dibble was selected as a defensive back.

Hanel had 45 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery and Dibble made 62 tackles. Dibble also rushed for 522 yards and eight touchdowns.

It is the second all-star appearance for both Babcock and Jensen.

Pembroke opens up the Class C playoffs with Bishop Kearney on Saturday.

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Notre Dame gets four all-star selections after going 4-2 in the regular season. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 and playing Perry on Saturday at East Rochester in the Class D semifinals.

Kevin Francis made the squad for the second straight year as a wide receiver. He caught 27 passes for 337 yards with five touchdowns in six regular season games.

Francis returned five kickoffs for 145 yards and nine punts for 142 yards and a touchdown.

Craig Houseknecht is a 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior and made the team as a guard while Rick Lair makes it as a linebacker.

Lair had 41 tackles and 34 assists with two forced fumbles and eight tackles for a loss.

Matt Thompson is only a junior but garners all-star recognition for the second time as a kicker/punter.

Thompson converted on 26-of-30 extra point attempts and had a season-long 35-yard field goal. He averaged 43.5 yards on kickoffs with 10 touchbacks while averaging 40.4 yards per punt, including four inside the 20.

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Attica went 4-3 during the regular season and gets three all-stars.

Andy Ruddock earned offensive Player of the Week for Class B in Week 3 and is an all-star for the second time. He rushed for 936 yards with 10 touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a score.

Shawn Dupuis had 29 tackles with a fumble recovery and makes the team as a defensive back. He was the leading receiver for the Blue Devils, catching 26 passes for 530 yards and six touchdowns.

Kevin Gallinger was the defensive Player of the Week in Week 6 and had a huge year at linebacker. Gallinger had 54 tackles and an interception.

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Barker went 1-5 and nearly shocked top-seed Clyde-Savannah in the Class D playoffs last week.

Defensive lineman Ray Paul makes the all-star squad with 33 tackles and a sack.

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Honorable mentions: 

Alexander - Joe Aurrichio, Lucas Czechowski, Steve George, Jordan Leitten, Ryan Piechocki, Ryan Wilson.

Attica - Luke Pariso, Brandon Rollins.

Barker - Cody Blackley, Greg Brown, Rob Johnson, Josh Sonberg.

Elba/Byron-Bergen - Brent Crawford, Zach Green, Brandon Shuknecht, Cody Torpey.

Holley - Cory Blood, Guy Hills.

Notre Dame - Greg Barr, Nick Bochicchio, Eric Houseknecht, Kevin Schildwaster, Cam McDonald.

Oakfield-Alabama - Josh Athoe, Jon Fisher.

Pembroke - MIke Wells.

Poking around YouTube this afternoon—doing some research on Alexander and Attica in anticipation of the next two parts of The Batavian's migration—I stumbled across this video about the Attica Prison Rebellion of 1971. In this video, the prisoners talk about what it was like on the inside leading up to the takeover and the infamous Bloody Monday massacre that resulted in the retaking of the prison by the authorities.

 The Oakfield-Alabama football team didn't start a lot of the usual names because of a flu that kept several players out of practice this week.

They also didn't do a very good job of keeping the ball from hitting the ground.

But the Hornets did just enough to beat host Attica 35-20 Friday night.

It was senior night for the Blue Devils and a couple of seniors gave the squad a very quick lead. Andy Ruddock busted off a 21-yard run and Nate Berry hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior Brandon Rollins to get things going, just 1 1/2 minutes into the contest.

O-A blocked the extra point.

The Hornets didn't take very long to answer as Tim Smith returned the kickoff 34 yards and Josh Athoe made his mark.

Athoe hasn't played in any high school game since getting injured at the start of last baseball season, but got the start at fullback in this game.

The 6-foot-2, 185 pound junior busted off an 11-yard run that set up his 12-yard touchdown run, with the Jon Fisher giving Oakfield-Alabama a lead that would never go away.

Ruddock ripped off a 30-yarder on Attica's next drive, but Chris Williams sacked Rollins to kill a drive and force a punt.

The Blue Devil defense did its job by stopping the Hornets on a fourth-and-2, but the offense fumbled the ball away on the first play of the next drive.

Athoe kicked off the second quarter with a 9-yard TD run, giving O-A a 14-6 advantage.

The Hornets got the ball back after an Attica punt and moved the ball through the air, with A.J. Kehlenbeck hooking up with Noah Seward and Tyler Tamblin on passes before finding Brad Riner with a 4-yard touchdown pass with just 17 seconds left in the half.

Tim Smith - who finished with 162 rushing yards on 20 carries - started the second half scoring with a 20-yard TD run.

Attica then started making a comeback.

Rollins hooked up with Shawn Dupuis on a 44-yard pass that moved the ball all the way down to the O-A 1, where Rollins scored on a keeper. The conversion pass failed and Oakfield-Alabama led 28-12.

Just seconds ticked off the clock before Kyler Dabolt popped the ball out of an O-A runners hands and Berry picked it up, scampering 62 yards for a score. Rollins ran in the conversion and Attica had cut O-A's lead to 28-20 near the end of the third period.

And then Smith stepped up again. Last week he earned Class C Offensive Player of the Week in a win over Notre Dame, and he stepped up with the big play this week.

The senior busted through the line and busted off a 52-yard run. He scored a couple of plays later from eight yards out.

As Attica tried to drive, Kehlenbeck had a big interception to kill a much-needed opportunity. 

The Hornets fumbled the ball away again, and had a couple of penalties that put the Blue Devils into great position to score.

On a third-and-goal from the Oakfield-Alabama 11, Seward picked off a pass to wrap up the victory.

Athoe rushed for 83 yards on 16 attempts and Riner gained 110 yards on 24 carries. Kehlenbeck completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 50 yards.

 Attica falls to 3-2 while O-A improves to 5-0 and will be hosting currently unbeaten Pembroke next Friday night.

 The Attica boys soccer team had not won a Genesee Region League match, until Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils scored first then held on to beat visiting Lyndonville 3-0.

"We've been behind in almost every game and we were on a six game losing streak," Attica coach John Dickhut said. "It was nice to get one early on somebody."

Brandon Reiner scored eight minutes in on a header, off a pass by Andy Hagen to get the ball rolling.

Matt Sheffield then scored an unassisted goal eight minutes later.

"We have quite a few guys that can score," Dickhut said. "We had relied on Andy Hagen a lot early on, but just about anybody can put it in. A couple of games ago I changed my strategy and added another forward to boost the offense a bit."

Joe Wolak added an insurance goal late in the second half off a pass by Reiner to cap off the victory and give Attica a 1-5 league and 4-6 overall record.

Goalie Jacob Seiferth made 10 saves.

"We haven't helped him out too much this year," Dickhut said. "This was his first shutout of the year and he didn't have to work super-hard to get it. The defense really helped him out today."

Lyndonville falls to 2-4, 3-5-1.

 Well, it took three weeks but a local football player was finally named Section 5 Player of the Week.

Attica's Andy Ruddock rushed for 193 yards on 18 carries as the Blue Devils beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 Friday night and he earned the offensive honor for Class B.

Ruddock also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Attica is 2-1 and will be playing at Barker this Saturday.

There was no lack of entertainment in Genesee County this past weekend. And it seems that Daily News reporter Roger Muehlig got a little taste of it all. Muehlig was in Attica Sunday for the 51st annual Attica Rodeo that drew more than 7,000 spectators over the weekend. Says Waterport resident Carl Miller of the rodeo: "We like it."

Muehlig was also at the Elba Onion Festival Saturday for the crowning of the Onion Queen. Seventeen-year-old Nicole Heffle received the honor. "It's always (been) like my dream to be Onion Queen," she said.

As if those two grand events weren't enough for one tireless reporter, Muehlig got over to the Toys for Kids chicken barbecue fundraiser Saturday outside T-Shirts Inc.'s new location at 438 East Main St. All proceeds from the barbecue will benefit Don Carroll's Toys for Kids campaign for Christmas.

I hope Muehlig is home taking a day off today.

The one place Muehlig wasn't to be found this weekend was at the town of Murray's bicentennial celebration. No matter, Tom Rivers was on hand to cover the festivities that culminated in a bocce tournament Sunday.

For more on these and other stories, pick up a copy of the Daily News. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.