Notre Dame

Through three quarters of football, Pembroke battled Notre Dame to a draw, but when Jake Weatherwax dashed into the end zone from six yards out with five minutes left in the game, the Dragons were unable to answer and fell to 1-2 on the season, 34-27.

It was Notre Dame's first win of the season.

The Dragons and Irish were pretty evenly matched throughout the contest, with each team averaging 5.8 yards per play on offense and only being a minute apart on time of possession for the game.

Weatherwax finished with 187 yards rushing on 29 attempts (he scored four times) and Pembroke's Zach von Kramer had 187 yards on the ground on 27 attempts, and he had two TDs. 

Pembroke's Reid Miano had 13 completions on 29 attempts for 209 yards and two TDs.

Notre Dame's Brendan Klotzbach was 8-19 in the air for 126 yards. He was intercepted once.

"Pembroke’s a great team," said Notre Dame Head Coach Rick Mancuso. "They’re very well coached and they have a couple of great athletes on that team. We knew we would have our hands full. Their quarterback threw the ball fantastic and Von Kramer is just a phenomenal running back. We had our hands full. There’s no doubt."

Von Kramer also caught a TD pass and gained 74 yards on three receptions.

Mancuso thought it was a great win for his team, which struggled a bit through the first two games of the season.

"I think we're getting better each week," Mancuso said. "We're not there yet, obviously, but I think the kids had a great week of practice."

Mancuso was impressed with the game Weatherwax had.

"Jake did a fantastic job," Mancuso said. "He's a gritty, hard runner. He makes great cuts. He reads the blocks. I thought he did a terrific job."

Defensively, Notre Dame played tough, but the team still has some holes to plug.

"Defensively, we brought it," Mancuso said. "We really worked hard this week on staying diligent to our plan and working hard and I thought the kids stuck with it. I thought they did a very nice job of executing."

Caleb Wolcott had 10 tackles and a sack. Brad Misiak had 10 tackles.

"We’ve got a lot to work on," Mancuso said. "I mean, they put up 27 points. I’m not ecstatic about that, but those are things we need to clean up and each week we’ll get better."

For the Dragons on defense, von Kramer had 12 tackles.

Four Notre Dame receivers had two catches each -- Ryan Moffatt, Nico Zambito, Misiak and Jordon Weatherwax. Moffatt gained 45 yards and Zambito gained 42.

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The Alexander Trojans beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a Saturday night game played in Warsaw (because of renovations to Alexander's field) 45-15.

The Trojans scored all of their points in the first half and the Irish scored theirs in the second.

P.J. Brennan was 10 of 16 passing for 198 yards and three TDs and zero interceptions for Alexander. Derrick Busch caught three balls for 75 yards and two TDs. Dane Heberlein rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries and scored twice. Job Smith had 12 yards on three carries and scored. He also had two receptions for 26 yards and scored on a nine-yard TD pass. Chris McClinic caught two passes for 54 yards.

On defense, Eric Scharlau had three sacks and Zach Jasen had a sack and two tackles.

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After graduating 15 seniors, Notre Dame's starting varsity will feature a lot of new faces, but Head Coach Rick Mancuso says his players are working hard and will be ready for Thursday's season-opening kickoff at Alexander.

"We have a good group of kids," Mancuso said. "We’re really happy with the effort. We just came off our scrimmage the other day. We’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up, but the effort that they’re putting in is good."

Brendan Klotzbach takes over at QB and a trio of players -- Jordan Weatherwax, Jake Weatherwax and Cam Clark -- will rotate through the backfield.

The offensive and defensive lines are strong.

"We're down in numbers, but what we have is quality," Mancuso said. "We’ve got lot of growing pains to get through to get up to speed as quick as we can."

Press release:

For the ninth consecutive year, Notre Dame High School is ranked as the #1 secondary school in Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties, according to rankings announced last week by Buffalo Business First.

In addition, this is the ninth consecutive year that Notre Dame is included in the "Top 15 Percent" of all 136 secondary schools -- public and private -- in Western New York. And it is the 12th straight year that the Catholic school ranked in the publication's "Top 10" of WNY private schools.

Notre Dame, home of the Fighting Irish, offers a physically and emotionally safe learning environment that is welcoming to all, resulting in a graduation rate of 100 percent for the Class of 2016, with 97.4 percent attending college earning $4.6 million in scholarships.

The 2015-2016 academic year brought home 79^th and 80^th Sectional titles, in Ice Hockey and Softball, with 15 of 17 varsity level athletic teams achieving “Scholar Athlete” status as designated by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. This long-standing "Tradition of Excellence" continues with the most current Buffalo Business First rankings.

Now accepting applications for the ’16 – ’17 school year. Financial aid available, call today to discover the difference.

Michael C. Napoleone was born May 13, 1998. He succumbed to Burkitt's Lymphoma in 2006. Had he lived, he would have graduated from Notre Dame High School yesterday with the Class of 2016. In recognition for his love of Notre Dame and the charitable work of his family through the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, Michael was granted an honorary degree, accepted by his mother, Laurie, and father, Mark, pictured with Principal Wade Bianco.

Notre Dame graduated 28 seniors yesterday in a ceremony held in the forum at Genesee Community College.

Valedictorian, Luca Zambito.

Salutatorian, Jack Sutherland.

Connor Logsdon walking up to receive his diploma.

Former Principal Joe Scanlan was honored for his contributions to the school.

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With a 7-6 win over Lyndonville in the Section V Class D2 championship softball game yesterday, the Fighting Irish became Notre Dame's 80th girls team across all sports to win a sectional title.

Notre Dame took a 6-1 lead into the sixth, but Lyndonville put together a rally to tie the game. The Irish won on a walk to Jessica Bukowski with the bases loaded, bringing Callie McCulley in to score.

Photo submitted by Kathy Antinore.

The Kiwanis Club of Batavia today honored a dozen students from Notre Dame High School today for academic and artistic achievement.

Receiving awards were: Ethan Osborne, Vocal Performance; James Farmer, Instrumental Performance; and Bryan Moscicki, who received the Citizenship Award.

The top academics in the senior class are Luca Charles Zambito, John William Sutherland, Emily J. Sherman, Jessica Lynn Bukowski, Nichol Marie Salvador, Emily Elizabeth Fischer, Joseph Thomas Bergman, Stephanie Lynn Pingrey, Cindy Sophia Skalny and Bryan Alexander Moscicki.

Several parents of the students also attended today's lunch.

Students from Batavia High School will be honored next Thursday.

These photos are from game two of yesterday's Rotary Club Baseball Tournament, between Notre Dame and Attica.

Batavia beat Oakfield-Alabama in the first game, 6-2, then Attica beat ND 5-3.

Trevor Sherwood threw a no-hitter in the nightcap to give Batavia the championship with a 12-1 win over Attica.

(Submitted photo.)

Courtesy of our news partner WBTA:

The Genesee ARC awarded $1,000 scholarships on Saturday to each of three local students planning to pursue a career in the field of developmental disabilities.

Receiving the scholarships were: (seated on stage from left) Michelle Martinucci, Notre Dame High School; Hunter Marzlof, Alexander High School; and Alison Reiner, Pembroke High School.

The scholarships are named in memory of Mary Anne Graney, parent, educator, advocate and friend of the ARC. The scholarships are funded through the annual Mary Anne Graney Friends & Family 5K run.

Presenting the scholarships on Saturday were: Ted Graney, Mary Anne’s son, NYS Assemblyman Steve Hawley and ARC Executive Director Donna Saskowski.

Interview and photos by Mike Carney.

Three times this season, Notre Dame played Geneseo and lost, but there was really only one game that truly mattered, and that was the fourth one.

The Fighting Irish won that game, 2-0, to capture the Class B Section V championship in hockey.

"Coming into this game, I think the kids were anxious for one last shot, one last shot," said Head Coach Marc Staley. "I said, 'The good thing about the first three losses is no one handed a trophy out after those games, but they're handing one out tonight boys and you can erase the demons with one good effort.' "

That effort put the emphasis on defense. Notre Dame has scored prodigiously all season long, but Staley said he recognized that Geneseo goalie Morgan Brown is the best player in the league.

"We knew that weren't going to score four or five goals against them, so we thought we had to play a crazy good defensive game," Staley said. 

H. Toivainen scored the game-winning goal in the first period at 8:28. The second goal was by B. Moscicki on an empty net late in the game. The MVP was Toivainen.

Notre Dame seems to be peaking at the right time, scoring goals in bunches in post-season play, sending them to a Sunday final against a team they've played close three times this season, but came up a goal short each time.

On Thursday at RIT, the Fighting Irish flicked in three goals in under two minutes to start the second period and lock down a playoff victory against Aquinas, 8-1.

All four of Notre Dame's lines scored at least one goal for the second straight game.

"This is a good sign at the right time of year," said Head Coach Marc Staley.

The game was scoreless for the first six minutes and Staley said some of his team's lack of offense can be blamed on nervousness. Aquinas had beaten Brockport earlier in the year, and one of Notre Dame's four defeats was a lopsided loss to Brockport.

There was also a "feeling out" period to start the game.

"I thought we came out a little nervous tonight, which is to be expected, but we rotate four lines and they rotate two lines, so we knew if we kept shifts short and made good line changes that eventually they were going to tire and that's exactly what happened," Staley said.

The three quick goals in the second were a boost of confidence and the 5-1 lead was deflating for Aquinas, Staley said.

"We don't give up a lot goals," Staley said. "There were only three games all year where we've given up four goals or more, so when we get up four, five to one, we can shut it down and teams know that."

The sectional title game against Geneseo is at 1 p.m., Sunday, at RIT. Geneseo has beaten Batavia three times this season, by scores of 6-4, 3-2 and 2-1. Staley said his team is eager to rise to the challenge of meeting a season-long nemesis in a title game.

"It's going to come down in the belief you have in yourself in the locker room, and I believe we've got that right now," Staley said.

Here's the scoring table for the game:

0 - 1 1 1   5:58  B.Moscicki  R.Webster   0 - 2 2 1   6:49  P.Madafferi  M.Keeler   1 - 2 3 1   9:51  T.KELLY  E.CLEMMONS   1 - 3 4 2   0:30  R.Antinore  H.Toiviainen   1 - 4 5 2   0:50  B.Misiak  E.Hutchins   1 - 5 6 2   2:10  H.Toiviainen  R.Antinore   1 - 6 7 2   9:52  R.Antinore  D.DAlba   1 - 7 8 3   4:01  C.Clark  R.Webster  H.Toiviainen 1 - 8 9 3   9:25  D.Grimshaw  R.Antinore  

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In a hometown rival matchup the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2nd seed) played the Batavia Blue Devils (7th seed) for the Section V quarter finals Saturday at the Faletti Ice Arena.

Batavia came out strong the first period to attack Notre Dame's Ethan Conrad but he held strong on Batavia's attempts. 

Late in the first period at 4:21, Notre Dame went on a scoring streak scoring three quick goals in three minutes. Brad Misiak scored the first goal from Cameron Clark, pictured below. Hayden Chamberland and Michael Keeler scored the second Irish goal 50 seconds later. Ryan Webster from ND, pictured above, scored the third goal with a minute left in the first period. Shots on goal were 15-6 after one period of play.

The referees called no penalties in the first period when Notre Dame lead 3-0. During the second period, Batavia got physical with some interference and roughing calls that led to a power play goal by Ryan Webster just shortly after Peter Madafferi added one and the irish led by 5-0 midway through the second period.  

Both teams drew multiple penalties in this period as the game got more intense. Exchange student Henrik Toivianinen tallied the sixth goal with a minute left in the period, which became the final, 6-0. Batavia added seven shots to Notre Dame's nine.

The third period was very scrappy on both sides as frustrations mounted for Batavia. More penalties were added on both sides and the shots were 15-6 for a game ending 39-19 led by Notre Dame.

The Irish will move on to the semifinals this Thursday night at 7:30 versus Aquinas at the Gene Polisseni Center at RIT.

For more pictures go to: Steve Ognibene Photography

Sparked by a string of three-point buckets in the 2nd quarter, Notre Dame built an insurmountable lead over Fillmore in a first-round Class D Section V playoff game and ran away with the victory, 58-42.

Half of Fillmore's points came in the final quarter while Notre Dame rested some starters. Fillmore scored only eight, six and seven points in each of the respective first three quarters.

Tyler Prospero led the Irish with 19 points and Casey Midwick added 13.

In other local boys basketball playoff games Wednesday night:

• Oakfield-Alabama beat Keshequa 65-51 to advance in Class C2. Ryan Douglas scored 18 points;
• Pembroke, seeded #5, was upset by #12 seed Gananda, 38-37 in Class C.  Zach Von Kramer scored 11 and Reid Miano, 10.

In the girls games:

• Alexander beat Red Creek 54-42. Stephany McBride scored 10 points;
• Pembroke fell to Avon 17-26. Olivia Kohorst scored eight for Pembroke;
• Notre Dame beat Addison 39-30. Rebecca Krenzer scored 12;
• Cal-Mum beat Byron-Bergen 46-34. Dana Van Valkenberg scored eight points;
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Cuba-Rushford 60-17. Brianna Smith scored 13.

Schedule:

• Le Roy boys (12-8) vs. Wellsville (16-4), 7 p.m., Friday, at Wellsville;
• Batavia boys (13-7) vs. Monroe (8-13), 4 p.m., Saturday, at Batavia;
• Oakfield-Alabama boys (12-9) vs. Geneseo (16-5), Friday, time and place TBA;
• Notre Dame boys (11-10) vs. York, Friday, time and place TBA;
• Elba boys (18-2) vs. Webster-Christian (7-13), 7 p.m., Saturday, at Elba;
• Batavia girls (17-2) vs. Eastridge (6-15), 7 p.m., Friday, at Batavia;
• Elba girls vs. Belfast, 7 p.m., Friday, at Elba
• Le Roy girls (8-12) vs. Attica (9-11), 2 p.m., Saturday, at Attica;
• Notre Dame girls (14-7) vs. Cal-Mum (18-3), 2 p.m., Saturday, at Cal-Mum;
• Alexander girls (15-6) vs. Letchworth (17-4), 5 p.m., Saturday, at Letchworth;
• Oakfield-Alabama girls (15-6) vs. Lyons (12-8), 2 p.m., Saturday, at O-A;
• Elba girls (12-8) vs. Belfast (13-7), 7 p.m., Friday, at Elba.

Notre Dame beat Batavia 6-3 in a regular-season hockey game today at Falleti Ice Arena.

The hometown rivals will face off again next weekend in a first-round sectional playoff game.

In her basketball career at Notre Dame High School, Christina Volpe was a prolific scorer and a leader who helped her team to a state championship, but it was more than just her athletic success that left a lasting impact on the school, said Athletic Director Mike Rapone during a ceremony Friday to retire her number.

"She always had a quick smile, was always kind and found a great pleasure in helping others," Rapone said. "As special a basketball player as Christy was, she may have been a more special person. She will always be remembered fondly here at Notre Dame."

Volpe died of an apparent heart attack at age 34 in her home in South Carolina in October.

During her playing career at Notre Dame, Volpe scored 2,392 points, grabbed 1,365 rebounds and amassed an 83-consecutive game streak of double-doubles.  She was named to the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. With Volpe on the court, Notre Dame won three consecutive Class DD Section V championships, and in 1999, the team won both the state championship and the federation championship and Volpe was named MVP of both tournaments.

Bill Wade, who coached Volpe's team, said the Notre Dame team is the only girls basketball team in Section V history to win a federation championship.

Rapone said Volpe inaugurated a tradition of excellence in girls basketball at Notre Dame that continues to this day. She inspired the next generation of girls to take up the game and play hard and work hard, leading to a second state championship under Head Coach Dave Pero in 2013.

"Along with the talent, she had an amazing work ethic," Rapone said. "She had a burning desire to realize her potential. As talented as she was, she constantly worked to get better. She spent countless hours in the Notre Dame and St. Joe's gyms fine-tuning her game."

Volpe taught her teammates that hard work wasn't just something you brought to the game, you brought it to the gym for every practice, Wade said. She came early, stayed late and made every drill count.

"That's how she became our leader," Wade said. "She led our team to greatness."

Through her example, she not only made her team better, she made her teammates better, both in the game of basketball and in life.

"You compete to beat your own numbers," Wade said. "That's what made us better and that's what made us cherish Christina Volpe. She taught her teammates so much and made her teammates lives better. She made her coach and her coaches better because of the person she was. Christina Volpe is not just a legendary player, she was a treasure because she made all of our lives richer."

Bill Wade.

Joining Rapone and Wade next to the lectern were members of Volpe's family and her former Notre Dame teammates.

Prior to Notre Dame's game with Elba, the players wore T-shirts with Volpe's number and name.

This tribute to Volpe will be hung in the entry hall of Notre Dame.

Volpe's jersey will hang, framed, next to the scoreboard the rest of this season and next season.

Mike Rapone, athletic director for Notre Dame HS, has discovered some holes in the school records on who has won male and female Athlete of the Year awards. The school is planing to rennovate the display in the entrance hallway.

Rapone said he would like to properly recognize the achievements of each year's winner and is asking members of the community to help identify past winners where the records are incomplete. If you have the information for the years below, please e-mail michael.rapone@ndhsbatavia.com.

Female Missing Years: 1957 / 1959 / 1961 / 1966 / 1973 / 1975 / 1976 / 1978 / 1980 / 1989 / 1992 / 1993 / 1995

Male Missing Years: 1956 / 1960 / 1961 / 1965 / 1966 / 1968