Week 3 football previews

 Elba/Byron-Bergen (1-1) at Attica (1-1)

7 p.m. Friday

The Blue Devils lost a lead to Notre Dame last week and are probably going to be looking for a chance to make a statement.

Attica's Andy Ruddock has had two solid rushing weeks and will probably be the focal point of this contest.

If the Lancers are able to hold him in check, Brandon Rollins has demonstrated an ability to both run and throw the football. He had a couple of long scrambles against the Fighting Irish last week.

Elba/Byron-Bergen is a team on the rise, but will struggle in this road contest.

The rushing game is E/BB's best shot to win the game as Zach Green and Brandon Spurling have to get going early. Green rushed for 101 yards in the Lancers' 24-16 victory over Holley last week, with Spurling rushing for nearly 200 yards in a loss to Oakfield-Alabama in the opening week, then 60 more yards in Week 2.

Alexander (0-2) at Oakfield-Alabama (2-0)

7 p.m. Friday

The Hornets feel like they can beat every team in the league by 80 points - and why not.

The running game has been nearly perfect - minus a couple of turnovers last week - and is proving to be unstoppable. Tim Smith has put up absolutely sick numbers as a wingback and special teams player, and Brad Riner has quieted criticism that he wasn't big enough to be a fullback.

O-A was cruising past Elba/Byron-Bergen before taking the starters out in the second half, allowing the Lancers to start making a comeback with their first team players.

Barker had no such luck as O-A pounded them 49-0.

Alexander hasn't had much to be excited about on the field thus far, but with new coach Dave Radley, a new staff and many new starters, it's going to take time.

A bright spot has been the play of Ryan Piechocki, who has ran the ball well, including a 40-yard TD run in a loss against Pembroke last week.

Le Roy (2-0) at Wellsville (1-1 )

7:30 p.m. Friday

Travis Fenstermaker to Mike Humphrey for a touchdown - Le Roy fans are getting used to hearing that  as the two started getting hot last postseason and have continued into this year, hooking up on three TD passes so far.

Fenstermaker is very possibly the best small-school quarterback in all of Section 5.

He has the ability to take over a game with his feet, but also throws a pretty ball. It would be hard to argue against him being the best player in Livingston Conferece Division II after the first two weeks.

The Oatkan Knights have also had superior running by Andrew Alexander and when he's not in the game, Tyrone Wyckoff has shown that his ability is just as good. He would be a great featured back on almost any Section 5 team.

Wellsville typically is one of the weaker teams in Livingston, but started off the season with a 32-7 win over Bolivar-Richburg in the opening week. Then they got destroyed by Cal-Mum.

But a 1-1 start for the squad is pretty good, so Le Roy will be careful not to make any early mistakes that could start the ball rolling towards an upset.

Waterloo (0-2) at Batavia (0-2)

7 p.m. Friday

It really sucks to have your heartbroken. I'm sure that many people reading this can sympathize with that.

The players on the Batavia football team had their hearts ripped out by Palmyra-Macedon last week worse than anybody could imagine.

Pal-Mac came back to score with seven seconds left in regulation before scoring and hitting the extra point in overtime. Then Batavia scored, and missed the extra point. It really doesn't get much harder to take than that.

But when you are 0-2 - with both games at home - there is no excuses, especially when 0-2 Waterloo comes to town.

If the Blue Devils lose Friday night, you can basically forget about making the sectional tournament. 

Coach Dan Geiger and his players are well aware of this, so expect a huge effort.

Rob Williams didn't touch the ball much in the opening week, but after switching his number from No. 1 to No. 30 last week, he blew up like not many players I've ever seen.

He had 17 rushes for 154 yards and four touchdowns, recovered two fumbles, had an interception and had a key stop on a two-point conversion.

It is an abomination that he didn't earn either Offensive or Defensive Player of the Week for Class B.

Anthony D'Aurizo has been one of those backs that you can rely on to just pound the ball up the gut and get the tough yards and when defenses focus on him too much, watch out for Williams.

Quarterback Joe Canzoneri did get banged up a bit last week, but should be back for this week and I wouldn't be shocked to see him put up some passes.

Waterloo has been nowhere near as competitive as Batavia, so if this game isn't a blowout, it is not good for the Blue Devils.

If it is a loss, it is catastrophic.

Pembroke (2-0) at Holley (0-2)

1:30 p.m., Saturday

The Dragons have plenty of star power.

That program typically has a lot of players that can get the job done on both sides of the ball, but I'd imagine David Kleckler, Andrew Wright, Mike Dibble and Ken Babcock are a lot of fun.

I actually hope to make it out to this game to see these guys play.

I'm going to make the very early prediction that Wright and Babcock will be the best 1-2 combination during the basketball season, and I'm saying that those two are also big member of the football squad.

Wright's numbers were beyond stupid-crazy last week.

Who the heck gains 185 yards and scores four touchdowns on just eight carries? Wright that's who. He did it in a 56-13 win over Alexander last week.

Babcock hasn't put up any huge numbers yet, but he will. He is fighting O-A's Noah Seward as the top tight end in the league and he plays in an offense that isn't afraid to throw the ball.

Holley didn't have a varsity football team last year and it's going to take some time.

But they put up a valiant effort against a fast Elba/Byron-Bergen squad last week and only lost 24-16.

I haven't seen the Hawks, but I hear they run a lot of single wing, so it will be a lot of fun to see what they do with it, especially against a team that can contend for the Class C title.

Guy Hills is the name, if you are looking for a star on Holley's roster.

Notre Dame (1-1) at Barker (1-1)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

Barker has the reputation of playing everybody tough. They beat Holley in Week 1, but got spanked by Oakfield-Alabama in Week 2.

They are hosting a Fighting Irish squad that is pumped up after beating Attica last week and will give a great effort.

But Notre Dame should be the easy favorite.

Coach Rick Mancuso has done a great job of mixing the pass and the run as Nick Bochicchio was the star in a Week 1 loss against Pembroke, connecting on 27-of-34 pass attempts, while allowing running back Mike Pratt to go off for 115 yards and three touchdowns last week.

You can't predict what to expect from this squad week-to-week on the offensive side of the ball.

Barker is making a lot of strides under coach Bill Bruning, but is fighting numbers like a lot of smaller schools are.

You can basically throw the Week 2 loss against O-A right in the garbage, but you will get a better idea of what potential this team has when you look at the 25-14 Week 1 win over Holley.

Greg Brown had a special performance, scoring twice and rushing for 136 yards. Big man Ray Paul is also a factor in every game.