Lansingburgh High School senior running back Jake Luce runs with the ball during Friday's Section II Class A semifinal against Bishop Maginn. Luce ran for three touchdowns and 183 yards on 11 attempts in the 30-8 triumph for the Knights. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

TROY — The Lansingburgh High School football team had had enough of the come-from-behind victory.

After needing rallies each of the last two weeks, the Knights took care of business early against Bishop Maginn in Friday’s Section II Class A semifinal game.

Jake Shaw recovered an Antoine Johnson fumble on the second play of the Griffins’ first drive and Shaw booted a 32-yard field goal on the ensuing set of plays.

Anthony Fogarty made a shoestring tackle on fourth down to stop Bishop Maginn’s resulting 11-play drive and Jake Luce ran 65 yards to the end zone on the second play of Lansingburgh’s next set of downs. The Knights made that head start hold up in a 30-8 victory at Lansingburgh High School.

“The past two weeks, we played sloppy. It was bad conditions and we just weren’t ready for the game,” Luce, at right, said. “Last week, I don’t know, we just didn’t come out in the first quarter to play. Today we did and it showed. It definitely showed.”

Luce, a senior who converted from left offensive guard to fullback midway through the season, finished Friday’s game with 183 rushing yards on 11 attempts, scoring three touchdowns.

“I got the big man Mark Tracey right in front of me,” Luce said of his senior left tackle. “He just opens the holes up and I run right through them. Mark Tracey, he opens the holes. That’s why I love that kid. He should be getting more credit than I should. He’s the one that opens the holes. I just run the ball.”

Lansingburgh senior running back and defensive back Anthony Fogarty runs with the ball against Bishop Maginn Friday night in Troy.

Anthony Fogarty added 90 rushing yards on 11 attempts and Marcus Little ran for 82 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries for the Knights, but the biggest offensive weapon Lansingburgh had Friday night was its defense.

Video highlights from this game are available online at www.troyrecord.com

Lansingburgh forced four Maginn turnovers – Fogarty and Tom Blake intercepted passes thrown by Maginn quarterback John Sica and Mackenzie Carpenter added a fumble recovery – and the Knights forced the Griffins to turn the ball over on downs three times.

Bishop Maginn (5-4), the Southeast Division’s No. 3 seed, had upset Northwest Division No. 2 Amsterdam in the Class A quarterfinals last week. Matthias McKinnon paced the Griffins with 102 rushing yards on 24 attempts and Isaiah Phillips added a 93-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

A Lansingburgh defender tackles Bishop Maginn's Antoine Johnson during Friday's Section II Class A semifinal game.

Lansingburgh (8-1), the Southeast Division’s No. 1 seed and ranked No. 24 in the latest New York State poll, advances to its eighth Section II Super Bowl appearance since 2002. The Knights will face Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (9-0), the No. 3 ranked Class A team in the state, Saturday at 7 p.m. at Shenendehowa High School.

“For these kids, that’s been the mission,” said head coach Al McNall. “The mission was, we had them Week One and we wanted them in Week Ten and here we are.”

Burnt Hills posted a 25-15 victory at Lansingburgh on opening night. The Spartans have appeared in the New York State Class A championship game two years in a row.

“There is a lot of legacy here,” McNall said. “Every team that comes through, they want to uphold that and we’ve been pretty successful.”

“It means the world to us,” Shaw, at left, said of a chance to play in the Super Bowl. “It’s what we work for every day.”

“It’s tradition. It’s where we want to be,” said Luce. “We talked about toady being our last home game, the last game we’re ever going to play on this field. We had to make it count. We definitely did.”

LANSINGBURGH 30, BISHOP MAGINN 8

Bishop Maginn (5-4) 0 0 0 8 — 8
Lansingburgh (8-1) 10 6 7 7 — 30
First Quarter
L — Jake Shaw 32 field goal (6:49)
L — Jake Luce 65 run (Shaw kick) (0:08)
Second Quarter
L — Marcus Little 1 run (Shaw kick blocked) 8:53
Third Quarter
L — Luce 54 run (Shaw kick) 6:30
Fourth Quarter
BM — Isaiah Phillips 93 pass from John Sica (James Lawitz pass from Sica) 10:32
L — Luce 1 run (Shaw kick) 7:04
Individual Stats:
Rushing: Bishop Maginn (47-159): McKinnon 24-102, Johnson 16-47, Sica 2-6, J.Williams 1-4, McCarthy 4-1. Lansingburgh (36-355): Luce 11-183, Fogarty 11-90, Little 14-82.
Passing: Bishop Maginn: Sica 6-17-2-146-1; Lawitz 0-1-0-0-0. Lansingburgh: Grillo 5-10-0-13-0.
Receiving: Bishop Maginn (6-146): Phillips 2-105, Lawitz 2-21, McCarthy 2-20. Lansingburgh (5-13): Pryor 2-13, Luce 1-9, Little 2-(-9).

• Notes:Lansingburgh public address announcer Rich Sheffer continues to be the most accurate in the business from his perch in the Lansingburgh press box. He's also very fair in announcing player names from the opposing team, which is a nice touch.
• Lansingburgh's Anthony Fogarty had a big hit in the game (check the video for that) and Quincy Michael added a big hit late in the fourth quarter as well.
• Here is a series sequence that explains how the drives in the game broke down:
• Jake Shaw recovered a Maginn fumble after the Knights punted on their first possession. Shaw's field goal on the next drive put 'Burgh up 3-0.
• Fogarty stopped Maginn's Shaquille McCarthy on fourth down on the Knights' 28-yard line later in the first quarter. Luce scored on a 65-yard run two plays later.
• Fogarty intercepted a John Sica pass on Maginn's next drive. Marcus Little scored on a one-yard run on 'Burgh's following series.
• Maginn again turned the ball over on downs and 'Burgh's next drive sputtered as the second quarter ended.
• Mackenzie Carpetner recovered a fumble for Lansingburgh at the end of an 11-play drive for Maginn to open the third quarter. Luce scored two plays later on a 54-yard run.
• Shaw made a tackle for a loss on fourth down on Maginn's next drive, forcing another turnover on downs. 'Burgh was forced to punt on the next drive and Maginn scored its lone touchdown after that.
• Luce scored on a one-yard run to cap an eight-play drive later in the fourth, which essentially put the game out of reach for the Griffins.
•  I asked Jake Shaw how special it was for him to be able to play in the Super Bowl in 2010, after having to miss the game last year. Jake Luce hit him in the eye with a badminton shuttlecock in gym class last year, forcing Shaw to sit out the Knights' final few games. (For highlights from their response, view the video above).
• Quotes from the notebook: "It’s definitely more fun being a running back," Luce said. "I get to score touchdowns and run people over, you know what I’m saying? It’s not really a big transition. I’m sure anybody could do it. He could do it (nods at Shaw). It’s not too hard. All you have to do is get the ball and run."
• "When we made that switch, we took Jake from the guard and put him at the tackle spot," said McNall. "What that does is give us another dimension that people have to look at. With the hard work of offensive coordinator Jeff Pasinella and Mike Drinkwine with the offensive line, we've gotten to the point now where we can run both offenses pretty good."
• "Burnt Hills is Burnt Hills," said McNall. "They’re the big gun in Section II. If you don’t aspire to play them, you probably shouldn’t be out here. I think for the first week, welcome back to the As, here’s your first game, Burnt Hills, we played that game pretty well, but we turned the ball over and made some mistakes. You can’t do that against Burnt Hills."
  

TONIGHT
Class AA semifinals
E3 Shenendehowa 24, E1 Ballston Spa 14
Class A semifinals
N1 Burnt Hills 31, N3 Queensbury 14
S1 Lansingburgh 30, S3 Bishop Maginn 8
Class B semifinals
W1 Schalmont 21, R2 Albany Academy 7
R1 Ravena 27, W2 Hudson Falls 14
Crossover games
Corinth 25, Ichabod Crane 14
Cobleskill 34, Hudson 7
Schenectady 12, Guilderland 7
Amsterdam 36, Scotia-Glenville 18
CBA 49, La Salle 25

Sat., Oct. 30
Class AA semifinals
L3 Niskayuna at L1 Troy 1:30 p.m.
Class C semifinals
At Stillwater High School
N2 Greenwich vs. S1 Chatham 2 p.m.
S2 Fonda-Fultonville vs. N1 Hoosick Falls 7 p.m.
Class D semifinals
At Schuylerville High School
3 Whitehall vs. 2 Rensselaer 1 p.m.
4 Fort Edward vs. 1 Cambridge 7 p.m.
Crossover games
Mechanicville at Granville 1 p.m.
Coxsackie-Athens at Cairo-Durham 1 p.m.
Tamarac at Voorheesville 1 p.m.

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High school football central on www.troyrecord.com

AVERILL PARK — A season ago, Bishop Maginn High School’s football team sacked Averill Park quarterback Ryan Macari five times to roll to a victory over the Warriors.

This year, Averill Park changed the gameplan and kept it on the ground.

Tyler Dunworth ran for 184 yards and three touchdowns on nine attempts as the Warriors scored seven unanswered touchdowns and piled up 384 total rushing yards in a 49-20 Section II Class A Southeast Division victory over the Griffins at Averill Park High School.

Macari threw the ball just once, watching as Matt Joe leapt over a pair of Maginn defenders, snagged the ball and scampered 69 yards for a touchdown.

Averill Park's Tyler Dunworth eludes the grasp of Bishop Maginn's James Lawitz during Friday's football game at Averill Park. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

On Dunworth’s 51-yard touchdown run 90 seconds into the third quarter, he broke through a tackle attempt by nearly every Bishop Maginn defender as his legs just kept pumping and carried him into the end zone.

“Our line makes it all for us,” Dunworth said. “Ryan Macari is making great reads and our wide receivers are amazing. Chris Gummer is doing an amazing job blocking out there. So is John Rockwell. All of them. It’s beautiful.

“The blocks are up front. It’s not even me running the ball, it’s them making me a hole. But I do what I can, you know?”

Bishop Maginn (1-1, 2-2), which received a team-high 89 rushing yards on seven attempts from Shaquille McCarthy, jumped out to an early lead on Matthias McKinnon’s two-yard touchdown run just under five minutes after kickoff. The Griffins had been forced to punt after a three-and-out on their first series, but received the ball back when John Sica’s punt attempt hit an Averill Park player and was recovered by a Maginn player.

Dunworth ran for 58 yards on three of the four plays on the ensuing Averill Park drive, leading the Warriors to the tying score.

A gang of Averill Park tacklers wrap up Bishop Maginn's Antoine Johnson during Friday's game. The Griffins gained 221 rushing yards on 42 attempts, but many of those yards came in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to dominating line play on both sides of the ball, the Warriors scored three touchdowns in both the second and third quarters to pull away for the division triumph.

Matt Joe added 134 all-purpose offensive yards for Averill Park (69 receiving and 65 rushing on three attempts).

For video highlights from Friday's game, visit www.troyrecord.com

Senior running back Chris Miller, who is also one of Section II’s top sprinters on the track in the 100-meter dash, gained 24 yards on four attempts. Finally healthy in 2010, Averill Park head coach Zach Gobel is hoping he can emerge as yet another weapon out of the backfield.

“I think he had a concussion his sophomore year and last year it was the ankle,” Gobel said. “We got him back this year and we know what he can do on the track. The track staff did a great job with him. I wanted to run toss with him a couple of times and game and hope to get eight to 10 yards a play and he’s exceeded expectations by far.”

Averill Park senior running back Chris Miller runs with the ball Friday night against Bishop Maginn. One of Section II's premier sprinters during the track and field season, he's added some speed to the Warriors' backfield.

Bishop Maginn had won games against Averill Park each of the past four years by a combined score of 132-13. Averill Park last defeated the Griffins, 41-20, on Sept. 30, 2005.

Averill Park (2-0, 3-1) has drawn inspiration this season from a pair of losses to Class A rival Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. The Warriors were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Spartans a season ago. This year, Averill Park lost a 42-0 decision to Burnt Hills in Week Two.

“We all knew we were going to be a great team, but when we played Burnt Hills, we got a wake-up call,” Dunworth said. “Now everyone is in to play hard all the time. We’re not putting our heads down anymore. We’re not giving up. We’re not turning off. We’re playing all we got all the time.”

Next up for Averill Park is Southeast Division rival Lansingburgh (1-0, 3-1) on Friday. The team is going to enjoy the big victory over Maginn, but they know the division race heats up even more in Week Five.

“This means nothing to us,” Dunworth said. “Nothing at all. Next week we have Lansingburgh and they’re a team.”

AVERILL PARK 49, BISHOP MAGINN 20

Bishop Maginn (1-1, 2-2) 7 0 0 13 — 20
Averill Park (2-0, 3-1) 7 21 21 0 — 49
First Quarter
BM — Matthias McKinnon 2 run (John Sica kick) 7:08
AP — Tyler Dunworth 15 run (Jon Will kick) 5:08
Second Quarter
AP — Chris Miller 18 run (Will kick) 10:31
AP — Tyler Listing 23 run (Will kick) 6:21
AP — Matt Joe 69 pass from Ryan Macari (Will kick) 1:41
Third Quarter
AP — Dunworth 51 run (Will kick) 10:24
AP — Dunworth 5 run (Will kick) 6:39
AP — Joe 39 run (Will kick) 1:53
Fourth Quarter
BM — Antoine Johnson 1 run (Sica kick) 8:00.
BM — Shaquille McCarthy 1 run (kick failed) 1:29
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bishop Maginn (42-221): McCarthy 7-89, McKinnon 12-54, Sica 6-40, Johnson 17-38. Averill Park (34-384): Dunworth 9-184, Joe 3-65, Listing 4-47, Macari 7-35, Hardy 4-26, Miller 4-24, Marino 1-8, Sharpley 1-(-1), Mosely 1-(-4).
Passing: Bishop Maginn: Sica 5-13-45-0-2. Averill Park: Macari 1-1-69-1-0.
Receiving: Bishop Maginn (5-45): Lawitz 3-22, Phillips 1-13, Williams 1-10. Averill Park (1-69): Joe 1-69.

---
Here is an excerpt from Brien Bouyea's report on the Niskayuna-Shaker game. For the full story, check out Saturday's edition of The Record.

LATHAM -- Chris Landers was in all the right places at all the right times for the Shaker High School football team on Friday night.

Landers, a sophomore defensive back, thwarted three Niskayuna drives with interceptions and the Blue Bison did just enough on offense to register a 21-14 Class AA Liberty Division victory over the Silver Warriors on homecoming night at Arthur E. Walker Field.

Landers snuffed out a Niskayuna drive with a leaping interception in the end zone late in the first half and snared another key interception on the Silver Warriors’ opening drive in the second half. Landers’ interception early in the third quarter led to the game-winning score for Shaker, a 5-yard touchdown run by junior Kyle Bernard.

Form there, the Blue Bison defense bent but never broke in keeping Niskayuna out of the end zone for the remainder of the game. With the victory, Shaker improved to 3-0 in the division and 4-0 overall, while the Silver Warriors slipped to 2-2, 2-2.

"It’s a huge win for us. Niskayuna is a tough team and they kept coming at us, but we hung in there and made the big plays when we needed them," Landers said.

Casey Crotty, the Christian Brothers Academy quarterback, looks for running room against the Saratoga Springs defense during Friday's 27-2 victory over the Blue Streaks. (Photo courtsey The Saratogian).

Section II scoreboard

Class AA
Empire Division
Ballston Spa 35, Bethlehem 6
CBA 27, Saratoga Springs 2
Guilderland 34, Albany 26
Liberty Division
Shaker 21, Niskayuna 14
Colonie 20, La Salle7
Troy 53, Columbia 0
Non-division
Shen 35, Schenectady 21
Class A
Southeast Division
Averill Park 49, Bishop Maginn 20
Lansingburgh 21, Scotia-Glenville 0
Northwest Division
Burnt Hills 41, Gloversville 0
Queensbury 26, South Glens Falls 14
Non-division
Hudson 47, Mohonasen 31
Class B
West Division
Schalmont 56, Johnstown 0
Schuylerville 52, Broadalbin 12
Class C
South Division
Taconic Hills 23, CCHS 13
Chatham42, Voorheesville 13
North Division
Stillwater 35, Corinth 18
Lake George 41, Hoosic Valley 0
Hoosick Falls34, Granville 6
Greenwich 32, Mechanicville 0

EAST GREENBUSH — The Troy High football team is putting up lots of points and they still haven’t surrendered a single one in 2010.
The Flying Horses posted their fourth straight shutout, taking down Columbia 53-0 in a Section II Class AA Liberty Division matchup on Friday night.
Troy (4-0, 4-0) has now scored 188 points this season and they scored 27 in the first quarter against an overmatched Blue Devils (0-3, 0-4) squad.
Brian Marsh threw two touchdown passes, one to Noah Thomas and the other to Evan Vadney and also ran for a score.
Jordan Canzeri, Shatiek Lewis, Stephaun Grinage, Raheem Felder and Kyle Geraci all scored rushing touchdowns for New York State’s No. 5 ranked Class AA team.
Colonie 20, La Salle 7: The Class AA matchup went into the final quarter knotted at seven, then the Red Raiders tallied two unanswered touchdowns en route to a win at LaSalle (1-2, 1-3). Kevin Koberger paced the Cadets with 15 carries for 98 yards and a two yard score. Davion Brink had touchdown runs of 14 and 57 yards for Colonie (2-2, 2-2). Colonie quarterback Steve Wurtzer hooked up with Mike Fitzgibbons for a 24 yard go ahead score. Cadets’ running back Josh Landy chipped in with 18 carries for 110 yards.
CBA 27, Saratoga 2: Casey Crotty passed and ran for a touchdown for the Brothers (2-1, 3-1) in the victory.
The only points the CBA defense allowed was a safety in the third quarter.
Shenendehowa 35, Schenectady 21: Bronson Greene rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns as the Plainsmen (3-0, 4-0) remained unbeaten.
Tony Fusco also scored two rushing touchdowns for Shenendehowa.
Ballston Spa 35, Bethlehem 6: Troy Gargiulo hit the 200-yard mark and scored three touchdowns for the Scotties (3-1, 3-1) in the Empire Division victory.
Gargiulo need just 12 carries to get to 200 yards.
Jon Martin kicked two field goals for the Eagles (1-2, 1-3).
Guilderland 34, Albany 26: The Falcons (0-4, 0-4) managed to put up some big points, but still fell short against the Dutchmen (1-2, 2-2) in this Empire Division matchup.
Class A
Lansingburgh 21, Scotia 0: The Knights (1-0, 3-1) picked up their first Southeast Division victory by shutting out the Tartans (0-2, 0-4).
Marcus Little finished with 173 yards rushing on 17 carries and scored a third quarter touchdown.
Anthony Fogarty finished with 92 yards on 10 carries as Lansingburgh piled up 395 yards of total offense.
Adae Turner and Jake Luce also scored touchdowns for the Knights and Luce recorded a safety in the first quarter.
Burnt Hills 41, Gloversville 0: The Spartans (2-0, 4-0) had no trouble in the matchup.
Queensbury 26, South Glens Falls 14: The Spartans (1-1, 3-1) jumped out to a 20-0 lead and held on for the victory.
Class A-B
Hudson 47, Mohonasen 31: Tayron Bryant ran for a touchdown, returned a kick for a touchdown and threw two touchdowns for the Bluehawks (0-1, 2-2).
Class B
Schuylerville 52, Broadalbin 12: Ryan Mulligan scored three touchdowns and threw for a score to Steve Booth to give the Black Horses (2-0, 4-0) the West Division victory.
Mulligan scored two first-quarter touchdowns to get Schuylerville started.
Schalmont 56, Johnstown 0: Jaren Ramundo ran for three touchdowns and caught another from quarterback Joe Paskevich in the victory for the Sabres (2-0, 4-0).
Class C
Hoosick Falls 34, Granville 6: Tanner Williams scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to help keep the Panthers (4-0, 4-0) unbeaten.
Williams caught two scores from quarterback Mike Brewster and ran for one, finishing with 146 total yards on the evening.
Brad Burns and Brewster also ran for touchdowns for Hoosick Falls.
Brewster finished with 125 yards on 13-for-22 passing.
Jacob Jones scored the lone touchdown for the Golden Horde (1-3, 1-3) on a 15-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter.
Greenwich 26, Mechanicville 0: Tyler Pruiksma scored one touchdown and rushed for 180 yards as the Witches (3-1, 3-1) picked up the North Division victory.
Pruiksma scored on a 72-yard touchdown in the first quarter and Greenwich never looked back.
Stillwater 35, Corinth 18: Sean Ritter had three touchdowns for the Warriors (1-2, 2-2) in the North Division victory.
Ritter scored from 55 yards and 44 yards on the ground and then also caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Nick Dunn.
Taconic Hills 24, Catholic Central 13: Chris McKay ran for two touchdowns for the Titans (1-2, 1-3) in a South Division victory.
Lake George 41, Hoosic Valley 0: Willie Blunt scored three rushing touchdowns to lead the Warriors (3-1, 3-1) to a North Division victory over the Indians (0-3, 0-4).
Chatham 42, Voorheesville 13: Josh Keyes rushed for five touchdowns on 15 carries for 302 yards as the Panthers (4-0) cruised to a Class C win over the Blackbirds (2-2). Quarterback Ryan Duncan led Voorheesville with 132 yards passing on 19 attempts and Max Schuster rushed for 122 yards on 21 carries for one touchdown.

Saturday's schedule

Class A
Northwest Division
Amsterdam at Glens Falls, 1:30 p.m.
Class B
West Division
Cobleskill at Hudson Falls, 1 p.m.
Reinfurt Division
Ravena at Cohoes, 12:30 p.m.
Academy at Cairo, 1:30 p.m.
Non-division
I.Crane at Coxsackie 1:30 p.m.
Class C
South Division
Canajoharie at Fonda 1 p.m.
Non-division
Watervliet at Tamarac 1 p.m.
Class D
B.Gibbons at Warrensburg 1 p.m.
Ft. Edward at Cambridge 1 p.m.
Rensselaer at Salem 1 p.m.

Section II high school football standings, 2010

Class AA, League, Overall
Empire Division, W-L, W-L, PF, PA, QP
Shenendehowa, 3-0, 4-0, 117, 31, 21
Ballston Spa, 3-1, 3-1, 106, 40, 17.5
Christian Bros. Acad., 2-1, 3-1, 110, 55, 15.5
Saratoga Springs, 2-2, 2-2, 70, 60, 17
Bethlehem, 1-2, 1-3, 48, 121, 5.5
Guilderland, 1-2, 2-2, 95, 100, 7.5
Albany, 0-4, 0-4, 33, 141, 0
Liberty Division
Troy, 4-0, 4-0, 188, 0, 28
Shaker, 3-0, 4-0, 118, 49, 18
Niskayuna, 2-2, 2-2, 102, 102, 14.5
Colonie, 2-2, 2-2, 41, 95, 11.5
La Salle, 1-2, 1-3, 35, 125, 5
Columbia, 0-3, 0-4, 56, 145, 4
Schenectady, 0-3, 0-4, 70, 135, 3

Class A
Northwest Division
Burnt Hills, 2-0, 4-0, 156, 15, 14
Amsterdam, 1-0, 3-0, 105, 24, 6
Gloversville, 1-1, 1-3, 95, 147, 5.5
Queensbury, 1-1, 3-1, 97, 81, 7
Glens Falls, 0-1, 2-1, 106, 71, 1.5
South Glens Falls, 0-2, 1-3, 73, 89, 1
Southeast Division
Averill Park, 2-0, 3-1, 121, 101, 13.5
Lansingburgh, 1-0, 3-1, 129, 59, 7
Bishop Maginn, 1-1, 2-2, 111, 122, 6.5
Mohonasen, 0-1, 0-4, 69, 149, 1
Scotia-Glenville, 0-2, 0-4, 6, 105, 0

Class B
Reinfurt Division
Albany Academy, 1-0, 3-0, 157, 51, 7
Ravena, 1-0, 3-0, 115, 52, 7
Cohoes, 0-0, 0-3, 19, 146, 0
Cairo-Durham, 0-1, 0-3, 26, 132, 0
Hudson, 0-1, 2-2, 96, 102, 0
West Division
Schalmont, 2-0, 4-0, 199, 26, 14
Schuylerville, 2-0, 4-0, 169, 32, 14
Hudson Falls, 1-0, 1-2, 82, 88, 7
Cobleskill, 0-1, 1-2, 67, 55, 0
Broadalbin-Perth, 0-2, 0-4, 37, 229, 0
Johnstown, 0-2, 0-4, 20, 179, 0
Independent
Ichabod Crane, 0-0, 1-2, 72, 81, 0

Class C
North Division
Hoosick Falls, 4-0, 4-0, 144, 26, 27.5
Tamarac, 3-0, 3-0, 98, 40, 17.5
Greenwich, 3-1, 3-1, 123, 35, 21.5
Lake George, 3-1, 3-1, 115, 48, 18
Mechanicville, 1-2, 1-3, 35, 101, 7
Stillwater, 1-2, 2-2, 82, 121, 7
Granville, 1-3, 1-3, 86, 114, 10
Hoosic Valley, 0-3, 0-4, 0, 156, 0.5
Corinth, 0-4, 0-4, 63, 132, 3
South Division
Chatham, 4-0, 4-0, 147, 61, 27
Watervliet, 3-0, 3-0, 113, 19, 20.5
Fonda-Fultonville, 2-1, 2-1, 100, 71, 15
Coxsackie-Athens, 1-2, 1-2, 82, 86, 2
Taconic Hills, 1-2, 1-3, 62, 130, 7
Voorheesville, 1-2, 2-2, 75, 99, 5
Canajoharie, 0-2, 1-2, 48, 74, 0
Catholic Central, 0-3, 1-3, 55, 106, 0.5

Class D
Cambridge, 2-0, 2-0, 61, 15, 11.5
Rensselaer, 2-0, 2-0, 61, 29, 12
Fort Edward, 2-1, 2-1, 120, 62, 13
Whitehall, 2-1, 2-1, 73, 61, 14.5
Warrensburg, 1-2, 1-2, 40, 95, 8.5
Bishop Gibbons, 0-2, 0-2, 19, 50, 1.5
Salem, 0-3, 0-3, 35, 97, 1.5

--
Friday's non-football roundup:

TROY -- The Troy High girls’ volleyball team continued their terrific start to the 2010 season on Friday.
The Flying Horses (5-0, 9-0) remained unbeaten by defeating Bishop Gibbons 3-0, by scores of 25-10, 25-13 and 25-19.
Sylvia Sorriento finished with seven kills and four aces for Troy, while Rachel Martin had six kills and two blocks and Bridget Haggerty also finished with six kills.
Julianne Bouchard had five kills, four service points and two aces for the Knights (1-3, 2-6), while Caroline Bouchard added 10 digs.
Hoosic Valley 3, Schuylerville 1: The Indians (3-1, 4-4) dropped the first game, but came storming back to take the match behind a combined 30 service points from Alex Gurney and Maggie Brenenstuhl.
Rayn Nigro added nine kills for Hoosic Valley.
Jade Williams led the Black Horses (2-2, 2-5) with 12 service points, 12 assists, six kills and four blocks.
Cambridge 3, Granville 0: Paige Fortier had seven kills and Taylor O’Neil finished with eight assists as the Indians (1-3, 3-5) picked up their first Wasaren victory.
Danielle Milanese and Sarah Bourgeois each had two aces for the Golden Horde (0-4, 2-6).
Loudonville Christian 3, Germantown 0: Hattie Burgher made 11 kills and eight digs for the Eagles (3-0, 5-0) in a CHVL victory over the Lady Clippers by scores of 25-5, 25-15 and 25-6. Julia Brown added 24 assists for Loudonville.
Voorheesville 3, Ravena 1: The Blackbirds (6-0) took this Colonial Council showdown for first place behind Rebecca Balbin’s eight kills and eight blocks.
Kat Race had 26 digs for the Indians (5-1).
Saratoga 3, Averill Park 1: Britta Mobera had nine kills to lead the Blue Streaks.
Brianna LaRagina had 13 digs as did Katelynn Hannan, while Alex Fortin finished with four blocks for the Warriors.
Niskayuna 3, Mohonasen 0: The Silver Warriors (6-1) got seven kills, seven digs and five aces from Natalie Olsen.
Boys Soccer
Tamarac 0, Greenwich 0, OT: Kyle Rodd made five stops for the Witches (4-0-2, 5-0-2), while Alex Razzano made eight saves for the Bengals (1-2-2, 1-2-2).
Cambridge 3, Stillwater 1: Barry Linendoll scored twice and Greg Goldstone added another as the Indians held on for the victory.
Ryan DeCota scored for the Warriors.
Berlin 3, Loudonville Christian 0: Tyler Pomakoy scored twice and Jeremy Bell added a goal to lead the Mountaineers to the victory.
Phil Bruns made seven stops to record the shutout.
Girls Soccer
Heatly 3, New Lebanon 1: Alexi Anderson scored twice and Melissa Heffern added another for the Hornets in the win.
Anna Hogle scored the lone goal for the Tigers.
Berlin 10, Rensselaer 1: The Mountaineers posted an impressive victory on the road on Friday.
Lansingburgh 2, Cohoes 1: Sara Heffner and Meghan Strube each scored in the first half as the Knights posted the Colonial victory.
Kyleigh Roby scored for the Tigers.
Mechanicville 7, Holy Names 0: Abby Maiello scored four goals and finished with two assists as the Red Raiders posted the big victory.
Tessa Baker added two goals and Nina Fusco scored for Mechanicville.
Voorheesville 3, Albany Academy 0: Hannah Brackett scored twice and Emma Sipson added the other goal for the Blackbirds (3-1-1) in the victory.
Polly Grey made 10 stops for the Bears (5-1-0).
Schalmont 5, Cobleskill 2: Allie Gallo scored twice for the Sabres in the win.
Ali Thompson scored both goals for the Bulldogs.
Tennis
Ichabod Crane 6, Maple Hill 1: Emily Qua won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 singles to lead the Riders to the victory.
Caitlin Beebe picked up the Wildcats (8-0, 9-2) lone victory at No. 3 singles, winning 6-4, 6-3.
Niskayuna 8, Mohonasen 1: Emilly Laurillard won at No. 1 singles 6-3, 6-3 to lead the Silver Warriors to the victory.
Field Hockey
Hoosick Falls 6, Schuylerville 0: Samantha Skott and Karley Morin each scored twice for the undefeated Panthers (3-0, 8-0).
Alyssa Schneider and Rachel Quackenbush each added a goal in the win.
Aissa Murray made five saves for the Black Horses (1-2, 6-2).
Niskayuna 3, Guilderland 1: The Silver Warriors (4-2, 6-2) got goals from Anna Torrie, Erin Down and Sydney Bowker in the victory.

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High school football central on www.troyrecord.com

ALBANY -- Like many high school football coaches, Joe Grasso gives his players the right to vote for team captains a few days into practice every year.


For the three players voted captains by their teammates at Bishop Maginn High School in 2010, it's hard to imagine them doing very much campaigning in the locker room. They're not the vocal type.


For seniors Isaiah Phillps and Dion Williams, along with junior Sean Spath, Grasso had only the highest praise for their ability to lead by doing, not talking.

"These are the guys taking charge," Grasso said. "They're not vocal leaders, but they're take charge by example kind of guys. They are outstanding citizens in the school."

Phillips, a wide receiver and cornerback, and Williams, a running back and linebacker, are expected to be major players for the Griffins on both sides of the ball in 2010. Phillips will be working with a new quarterback following the graduation of Chris Jeffers and Williams will be among the players jostling for the carries vacated by the loss of Tymear Mallory to graduation.

"It comes from hard work in the weight room, practice over the years and doing what you’re supposed to do," Williams said.

"I feel like it’s a natural thing," said Phillips. "We all hang out outside of football and outside of school, so I think maybe the guys look up to me in different ways."

Isaiah Phillips runs through a pre-practice stretching drill Thursday afternoon at Bishop Maginn High School. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Sean Spath, a Bethlehem native and a two-way returning starter on the line, is one of a few players on the team that does not live in Albany. Still,the Griffins face a tall task every year in not only getting everyone to buy into Grasso's system and learn the plays. Moreover, many of the players at Maginn play football for the first time at the high school level.

"Coach has done a really good job," Spath said. "He gets plays in during the JV years and nothing changes too much. It works."

"We have a distinct disadvantage in that regard," Grasso said. "Pretty much every team we play has a Pop Warner, modified and JV team. They have feeder programs. Many of the kids that we get, I would say half of the kids we get, have never played football before the ninth grade. Their first year and a half to two years, it's a real learning process for them, but by the time they’re juniors, they have a decent amount of experience. They've learned techniques, but they're behind experientially. By their junior year, they've blended with guys that have played for a longer time. It's always worked out pretty well."

Bishop Maginn head coach Joe Grasso was one of the members of the inaugural class of the Capital Region Football Hall of Fame, but he's quickly gone back to work on the practice field. He is the only varsity football head coach in New York State who is also his school's principal.

For video highlights from Bishop Maginn practice, visit www.troyrecord.com/video/sports

Two years removed from a berth in the Section II Class A Super Bowl, the Griffins are setting their sights on a successful regular season that gives them a shot in the playoffs again in 2010.


"We feel like we can go a long way," said Phillips. "We have more experience this year than we had last year. Last year was pretty much everyone’s first year playing varsity and having varsity experience, so we should be better this year than we were last year." 

Sean Spath, a Bethlehem native, received a unique honor this year at Bishop Maginn when his teammates voted him a captain. Head coach Joe Grasso can only remember four times in his 30-plus years of coaching experience when a junior served as a team captain.

Bishop Maginn playbook
COACH: Joe Grasso
STARTERS RETURNING: 7 offense, 9 defense
2009 RECORD: 3-6
NICKNAME: Griffins
OFFENSE: Split back veer option
DEFENSE: 5-2
LAST PLAYOFF GAME: 2009
LAST SECTION II TITLE: 1983 (Division I)
DIVISION: Class A, Southeast

Bishop Maginn, 2009 game-by-game results
Amsterdam, W 20-17
GLOVERSVILLE, L 51-6
AVERILL PARK, W 25-7
Scotia-Glenville, L 39-32
Niskayuna, L 27-12
TROY, L 49-0
Mohonasen, W 33-30
Gloversville, L 39-0*
SOUTH GLENS FALLS, L 27-20!
*Section II Class A quarterfinals
!crossover
Home games in CAPS

Bishop Maginn, 2009 stats review
Rushing, Att, Yds., Avg., TDs
Tymear Mallory, 186, 1363, 7.3, 11
Passing, Comp., Att., Yds., Avg., TDs
Chris Jeffers, 54, 149, 762, 14.1, 7
Receiving, No., Yds., Avg., TDs
Pierre Sandaire, 15, 238, 15.9, 4
Scoring, TD, 2-pt, PAT, FG, Tot.
Tymear Mallory, 13, 0, 3, 0, 81

Bishop Maginn Roster
No., Player, Yr., Pos. Ht., Wt.
2, John Sica, Jr., QB-S, 6-2, 180
7, Isaiah Phillips, Sr., WR-CB, 6-1, 175
9, Zachary Vickers, Jr., QB-LB, 5-10, 170
20, James Lawitz, Jr., WR-S, 5-10, 175
21, Ra’sean Gill, Sr., WR-CB, 5-10, 150
22, Shaquille McCarthy, Jr., WR-CB, 5-10, 170
23, Dion Williams, Sr., RB-LB, 5-10, 175
24, Antoine Johnson, Jr., RB-LB, 6-0, 180
25, Matthias McKinnon, Jr., RB-CB, 5-10, 175
32, Albert Bruton, Jr., RB-CB, 5-8, 160
51, Sean Spath, Jr., C-NG, 5-9, 220
54, Kelvin Kennedy, Sr., T-DE, 6-0, 190
56, Cliff Graves, Sr., G-DT, 5-10, 240
60, Darrien Higgins, Frosh., T-DT, 5-9, 180
62, Xavier Vasquez, Jr., G-LB, 5-11, 185
70, Ja’juan Williams, Soph., T-DT, 5-10, 260
72, Brian Ziembec, Soph., G-DT, 5-10, 240
73, Dan Hill, Sr., G-DE, 6-0, 215
75, Frank Wilson, Sr., G-DT, 6-0, 250
77, Tommy Wheeler, Soph., T-DT, 6-1, 200
79, Eric Brabham, Sr., G-DT, 6-5, 320
80, Javon Williams, Jr., TE-DE, 6-0, 180
82, Wali Cooper, Jr., TE-DE, 5-11, 180
87, Derreck Thomas, Soph., WR-CB, 6-3, 165

Bishop Maginn’s three keys to the season
1, Scout teams must step up. With just 24 players on the roster, Maginn needs its backups to give the starters a good look in practice for the first team to feel adequately prepared.
2, Learn the game. Head coach Joe Grasso estimates that 50% of his players pick up football for the first time in their freshman year.
3, Find a new quarterback. Maginn lost Chris Jeffers to graduation, meaning junior John Sica will likely be staring under center on opening night.

Bishop Maginn, 2010 schedule
Friday Sept. 3, vs. South Glens Falls, 7 p.m.
Friday Sept. 10, vs. Glens Falls, 7 p.m.
Friday Sept. 17, vs. Mohonasen, 7 p.m.
Friday Sept. 24, at Averill Park, 7 p.m.
Saturday Oct. 2, at Albany Academy, 1:30 p.m.
Friday Oct. 8, vs. Scotia-Glenville, 7 p.m.
Friday Oct. 15, at Lansingburgh, 7 p.m.
Oct. 22/29, Playoffs/Crossovers, TBA

--
Keep checking back on the blog for a training camp report posted every day between now and opening day of the high school football season on Thurs., Sept. 2. The schools will be posted in no particular order, so please be patient if you don't see your school right away.

Also keep your eyes open for our 48-page preview section - Kickoff 2010 - which hits the newsstands inside The Record on Thurs., Sept. 2. It will feature 21 team previews, columns, feature stories, statistics and pictures to preview the upcoming 2010 high school football season.

Previous training camp reports:
No. 1, Lansingburgh High School
No. 2, Cohoes High School
No. 3, Watervliet High School
No. 4, Columbia High School
No. 5, Catholic Central High School; head coach Ray Gaston update
No. 6, Christian Brothers Academy
No. 7, Rensselaer High School
No. 8, Hoosick Falls High School
No. 9, Averill Park High School 
No. 10, Tamarac High School
No. 11, Troy High School


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Will former Bishop Maginn star Taran Buie return to Albany for a college basketball game next season? (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Our Ed Weaver was snooping around at the Times Union Center today at the NCAA Hockey regional and uncovered the following scoop of major interest to local high school basketball fans. I've pasted it below.

Ed Weaver
The Record

ALBANY -- Brigham Young University and Penn State University - Jimmer Fredette vs. Talor Battle - will play at the Times Union Center on Dec. 18 - maybe.

A local TV report and items on both schools' websites that refer to the game on Friday were "way too premature," says TU Center General Manager Bob Belber.

"(Former Bishop Maginn High School boys basketball head coach) Rich Hurley called me and asked about playing the game here," Belber said. "He said Dec. 18 was the only date they had. I told him I was holding that date for another group, but that I would try to clear the date."

Hurley was the Bishop Maginn coach when Battle was competing for the Griffins. Battle averaged a team-best 18.5 points per game for the Nittany Lions, who finished 11-20.

His younger brother, Taran Buie, who starred on Maginn’s 2008 New York State Class AA championship team, is set to join the Penn State team this fall.

Fredette is a Glens Falls High School graduate who averaged a team-best 22.1 points per game for BYU, which finished 30-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Belber explained that another production is booked in the TU Center on that date - he declined to identify it - and said the facility is attempting to "flip-flop dates" with another venue to open Dec. 18 for the Penn State-BYU game.

"That was (Thursday)," Belber said. "Today, it's (on local TV) and on both schools’ websites. I called Rich and said, ‘what are you doing?’

"It would be a really big event," Belber said. "Both kids grew up here, went to school here, they have a big following. We're trying to clear that date, but we probably won't know anything until Tuesday."

Cohoes High captain Bailei Tetrault lines up a shot attempt as Greenville's Bonnie Harvey looks to defend during Monday's Section II Class B opening round game at Cohoes High School. (Cohoes photos by Mike McMahon - The Record).

Cohoes got off to a slow start Monday night - perhaps 16 days of rest since their last game had something to do with that - but they sure turned in on in the second quarter. The Tigers scored the first 19 points of that frame and never looked back, knocking off 12th seed Greenville, 63-19.

Bailei Tetrault knocked down four three-point buckets en route to 14 points and eighth-grader Bella Vanelli chipped in with a trio of treys, as the JV call-up added 11 points for the Tigers.

"Our coach always tells us, ‘If they’re open, just shoot it up," Tetrault said. "That’s what we were doing."

Cohoes' Betsy Santoro slices through Greenville defenders Bonnie Harvey (14) and Stephanie Bouillon (20) during Monday's game. Santoro finished the game with six assists, four points, three rebounds and three steals.

Next up for Cohoes is Colonial Council rival Ravena, the No. 13 seed, which upset the No. 4 seeded Bluehawks of Hudson in a 46-33 opening round decision.

Cohoes, the No. 5 seed, beat Ravena by margins of 26 and 27-points, respectively, during the regular season, but they're expecting nothing less than a battle Wednesday night at Watervliet.

"It’s that matchup everyone talks about: the third time," said Cohoes head coach Dan Hytko. "Hopefully, at this point, we’re better than we were when we played them the first time and better than when we played them the last time. On the other side, they’re probably better too.
It will be one of those classic Colonial matchups, where the winner takes all."

Cohoes' Jocelyn Ahearn drives around the Greenville defense during Monday's playoff game at Cohoes. Ahearn was the only Tigers player not to score any points, but she contributed with a pair of rebounds, a steal and an assist in limited minutes.

Cohoes has five seniors on the roster - Jocelyn Ahearn, Betsy Santoro, Laura Rankin, Shanna Rankin and Katrina Minor - but the future is certainly bright for the Tigers, too.

Tetrault, a junior, is already one of the best ballhandlers in the Colonial Council and she'll have some experienced help around her next year.

My'Asia Alston, a sophomore, stands out on the court with her glasses and crooked ponytail, and her younger sister, Sha'Dasia Alston, made her mark Monday night. The younger Alston, a freshman, scored just three points, but she added two steals and an assist, bringing some pizazz to the floor with her quickness and energy.

Sophomore Ashley Dessingue and eighth-grader Bella Vanelli were also called up from the junior varsity down the stretch run for Cohoes and Hytko believes they will play a major role in the postseason.

"Without a doubt. That’s why they’re here," he said. "This is the first time in 15 years that I’ve moved up JV kids, but they work real hard in practice and I took a chance to take them. I thought they did a good job. They’re exciting to watch and hopefully it keeps going that way."

"We have a couple of others on the JV coming through," Hytko continued. "Like the sign says, ‘Tradition doesn’t graduate here.’ We just try to keep it going."

For the full story, check out Tuesday's edition of The Record.



Here are the clips from my new digital camera that I promised. The first clip is the Cohoes starting lineup and the second is My'Asia Alston making a nice pass to Bella Vanelli, who hits a three-point shot from the wing.

I will be trying to bring you as many videos as I can from the sectional tournaments, with action clips and interviews after the games, over the next week and adding them to the blog, my YouTube channel and the Facebook page.

--
In other news, we had space for a photo gallery for Tuesday's newspaper and photographer Tom Killips pulled a few of his extra shots from the weekend for the project.

Troy High junior point guard Elijah Jenkins pulls up his dribble while competing against Christian Brothers Academy Saturday evening at Hudson Valley Community College. He will be a crucial senior leader on what is expected to be a very tough Troy High team next season. (All boys hoops photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

Bishop Maginn senior forward Jerel Scott floats through the paint over Albany Academy's David Benoks during Saturday's Section II Class AA quarterfinal at Hudson Valley Community College. A player with outside range and inside skills, Scott is one of Section II's most exciting playmakers.

Run, run, run - that's what Devonte Gleason does as the architect of the Watervliet High School offense. He's seen here weaving through the Broadalbin-Perth defense during Sunday's victory at Hudson Valley Community College. The Cannoneers head to Glens Falls Tuesday evening to take on Schenectady Christian in a Section II Class B semifinal game.

Despite a lack of wireless internet during the games, here is a recap of the Coaches vs. Cancer High School Challenge at Siena College Sunday afternoon.
Brothers and head coaches Guy DiBacco (Lansingburgh) and Orlando DiBacco (Bishop Maginn) led their teams to victories.

Lansingburgh's Salaam Knight leaps for a layup over Cohoes' Reggie Johnson during Sunday's Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge game at Siena College. Knight scored 12 points and was named the game's Most Outstanding Player. (All photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

Lansingburgh played without 6-foot-10 senior center Tyler Hammett, and junior sensation Sajae Pryor was limited to just three points with a sore thumb. Up stepped Knight to take care of the scoring in a 56-21 Colonial Council victory over the Tigers.

"There was a lot of pressure on me because Sajae had two good games leading up to this one and he wasn’t doing what he had to do," Knight said. "He told me to step up and I had to step up."

Lansingburgh's Marcus Little slashes his way between Cohoes defenders Eric Maxwell (left) and Nate Monson (right) during Sunday's action at Siena.

Everyone on the roster except Blake Mosley scored at least two points, but Mosley added three nifty assists in the second half for the Knights. The fact that the Knights can get the job done without Hammett and a less-than-healthy Pryor has to be an uplifting thought for sectionals if those two fall into foul trouble late in a key game.

Guy DiBacco, hopes however, that both will be back ASAP.

"Hopefully it’s just temporary. He (Pryor) struggled holding on to the ball in the second half," DiBacco said. "We had the trainer here look at it and it doesn’t seem to be anything other than a normal jam. Holding on to the ball with a weaker thumb and tape is just something he’ll have to get used to."

Lansingburgh's Dominic Fruscio floats through the lane during Sunday's game against Cohoes at Siena. He scored four points and made four assists as the sixth man.

For the full story on the Lansingburgh-Cohoes game, make sure to pick up Monday's edition of The Record.

LANSINGBURGH 56, COHOES 21

Cohoes (21): Fogarty 1-0-3, LeMay 2-2-6, Shivers 4-1-9, Maxwell 0-1-1, Skaarup 0-2-2. Totals: 7-6-21.
Lansingburgh (56): Drake 2-0-5, Knight 5-2-13, Little 1-0-2, Pryor 1-1-3, Nichols 2-0-5, Fruscio 1-1-4, Garner 1-0-2, J.Jones 1-0-2, O.Jones 6-0-12, Laustrup 1-1-3, Luce 2-0-5. Totals: 23-5-56.
Cohoes (4-7, 4-10) 6 3 4 8 - 21
Lansingburgh (10-1, 13-2) 10 12 19 15 - 56
3-point goals: Cohoes 1 (Fogarty 1). Lansingburgh 5 (Drake 1, Knight 1, Nichols 1, Fruscio 1, Luce 1).

--
Sunday's other games certainly were exciting. Guilderland's Ryan Ochs scored a game-high 24 points as the Dutchmen held off a feisty Mohonasen team, 46-39, in a Suburban Council showdown.

It was a fun back-and-forth game as the lead changed four times and the score was tied on seven other occasions.

GUILDERLAND 46, MOHONASEN 39

Guilderland (46): Brown 1-0-2, Gallo 2-3-8, Drislane 0-4-4, Ochs 9-4-24, Murray 4-0-8. Totals: 16-11-46.
Mohonasen (39): B.Manikas 1-2-4, Kruzinski 3-1-8, Sisson 2-2-7, Brown 3-0-7, Dalton 2-1-5, Tallman 1-0-3, Schaninger 1-3-5. Totals: 13-9-39.
Guilderland (5-7, 6-8) 9 12 14 11 – 46
Mohonasen (3-9, 4-10) 11 12 9 7 – 39
3-point goals: Guilderland 3 (Ochs 2, Gallo 1). Mohonasen 4 (Kruzinski 1, Sisson 1, Brown 1, Tallman 1).

--
In the late games featuring Albany's private schools, Bishop Maginn certainly made a statement and the Albany Academy team, well it did, too.

Maginn clung to a narrow lead throughout the game but Newburgh, the reigning New York State Class AA champions and the current No. 2 team in the state, surged ahead by a point with 5:34 to play in the fourth quarter.

That was when Chris Jeffers took over. The Maginn senior scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in the final period, willing the Griffins to a 60-56 victory over the Goldbacks.

It was a bit of a retribution victory for Maginn in two ways. One, Newburgh had knocked them off a season ago downstate and two, the Griffins lost a game to Big 10 rival Friday night in the Collar City.

"They beat us last year when we went to their house," Jerel Scott, the game's Most Outstanding Player, said. "We knew when they came back we had to beat them in a statement game. This is a new beginning for us."

BISHOP MAGINN 60, NEWBURGH FREE ACADEMY 56

Newburgh (56): Cousar 4-4-12, Henderson 1-0-2, Scurlock 5-0-11, Bouton 2-3-7, McMillan 4-0-8, Johnson 5-1-11, Hopper 2-1-5. Totals: 23-9-56.
Bishop Maginn (60): Scott 5-0-12, Petruccione 4-1-11, Fields 3-1-7, Jeffers 5-4-14, Scurry 7-0-14, Johnson 1-0-2. Totals: 25-6-60.
Newburgh (7-2) 6 20 19 11 – 56
Bishop Maginn (9-3, 11-3) 11 18 16 15 – 60
3-point goals: Newburgh 1 (Scurlock 1). Bishop Maginn 4 (Scott 2, Petruccione 2).

In the final game of the day, the Nichols School of Buffalo stormed to a first quarter lead against Albany Academy and never looked back, defeating the Cadets 65-43.

University of Virginia-bound Will Regan scored 19 points and snared 22 rebounds in 26 minutes for Nichols (11-5), the No. 12 ranked Class A team in the state.

Still, Albany Academy has raised over $30,000 for the American Cancer Society the past two years by hosting this event and no matter the results on the court, the Cadets (7-8) certainly made a difference in the community.

"I’m going to look in the mirror because I didn’t do a good job and I asked them to look in the mirror, too," Academy head coach Brian Fruscio said. "That’s how we get better. It was our day as an institution, but it wasn’t our day as a basketball team."

For more on these games, check out Monday's edition of The Record.

NICHOLS 65, ALBANY ACADEMY 43

Nichols (65): Regan 8-2-19, Clauss 2-3-7, MacKinnon 1-2-5, Vandegriff 5-2-12, Wier 9-1-20. Totals: 25-10-65.
Albany Academy (43): White 3-2-9, Currie 1-0-2, McCarthy 1-0-3, Benocs 4-0-8, Hart 5-6-18, Alley 0-1-1, Davis 1-0-2. Totals: 15-9-43.
Nichols (11-5) 14 13 16 22 – 65
Albany Academy (7-8) 6 11 11 15 – 43
3-point goals: Nichols 3 (Regan 1, MacKinnon 1, Wier 1). Albany Academy 4 (Hart 2, White 1, McCarthy 1).

Here is a complete list of the All-Academic and All-Challenge teams announced after the games Sunday.

All-Academic team

Josh LeMay – Cohoes
Dominic Fruscio – Lansingburgh
Brian Manikas - Mohonasen
Michael Drislane – Guilderland
Eddie Hopper – Newburgh
Dylan Tully - Maginn
Matt Filanova – Albany Academy
Andrew McKinnon – Nichols Schools

All-Challenge team

Josh LeMay – Cohoes
Salaam Knight – Lansingburgh, Most Outstanding Player
Quinton Brown – Mohonasen
Anthony Gallo – Guilderland
Ryan Ochs – Guilderland, Most Outstanding Player
Devon McMillan – Newburgh
Jarrod Scurlock – Newburgh
John Scurry – Maginn
Jerel Scott – Maginn, Most Outstanding Player
Nolan Hart – Albany Academy
David Benocs – Albany Academy
Conner Vandegriff – Nichols School
Stan Wier – Nichols School
Will Regan – Nichols School, Most Outstanding Player

Fans around the Capital Region were waiting for the ultimate Albany private school boys basketball game in 2009, when Bishop Maginn would finally face Albany Academy.

Turns out we all forgot about another private school.

Maginn and Academy met in the Section II Class AA semifinals and it was without a doubt the best game of the season. Academy took Maginn to overtime, and Jimmer Bennett made the game-winning layup with just seconds to go.

But the Cadets ran into the Brothers from Christian Brothers Academy in the championship game and barely put up a fight. CBA, making its seventh consecutive appearance in a Section II title game, topped Academy 62-49.

Andrew Stire, left, was named the Class AA tournament MVP and his sidekick, Kameron Ritter (right) will be leading the Brothers on their run toward another finals appearance later this winter. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

The Brothers may have lacked the star power that Maginn and Academy had, but they played a team game and never wavered from those principles, which is why the school has been so successful year-in and year-out.

Albany Academy's Jimmer Bennett looks to dribble around Bishop Maginn's Taran Buie in the 2008-09 Section II Class AA semifinals.

Shenendehowa also had a wonderful 2008-09 season and were edged by CBA in another fantastic semifinal game.

This year, CBA and Shen could be on a collision course in the AA finals, but you can never count out Maginn, Schenectady, Albany Academy, Albany High and any of the Suburban schools. The 2009 tournament may have had more star power than any in recent memory but the 2010 race could be an exciting fight to the finish.

Kameron Ritter (24) drops in a bucket during a 2008-09 game against Bishop Maginn. Now a senior for the Brothers, Ritter is one of the elite scorers in the area. (Photo by J.S. Carras - The Record).

The Brothers travel to Albany Tuesday night to take on the Golden Griffins, and like usual, this isn't just another basketball game. Bishop Maginn has won 39 consecutive games in the Big 10 Conference, a streak that dates back to January 12, 2007, when CBA topped them, 62-61.

If you want a seat, plan on getting there early. Even at Maginn's relatively roomy gym (compared to CBA's) seats will be at a premium, unless you want to sit on the end in the dark.

In other action Tuesday night, Watervliet travels to Lansingburgh for an early-season Colonial Council showdown. The Knights, despite concerns coming in, have played very well in their first few games, but the Cannoneers have really lit up the scoreboard.

None of the league titles will be determined this week, but we could see a few of the front-runners emerge in rivalry games.

--

Check out The Record for our 2009-10 boys basketball season preview on Tuesday. The girls preview is due to be published on Sunday.

Tuesday, Dec 8
BOYS BASKETBALL
Big 10
Bishop Gibbons at Troy, 6:30 p.m.
Catholic Central at Schenectady, 7:30 p.m.
La Salle at Amsterdam, 7:30 p.m.
CBA at Bishop Maginn, 7:30 p.m.
Suburban Council
Averill Park at Columbia, 7 p.m.
Shaker at Niskayuna, 7 p.m.
Ballston Spa at Saratoga Springs, 7 p.m.
Burnt Hills at Shenendehowa, 7 p.m.
Guilderland at Colonie, 7 p.m.
Bethlehem at Mohonasen, 7 p.m.
Colonial Council
Cohoes at Voorheesville, 7:30 p.m.
Schalmont at Mechanicville, 7:30 p.m.
Watervliet at Lansingburgh, 7:30 p.m.
Patroon Conference
Rensselaer at Greenville, 7 p.m.
CHVL
Waterford at Heatly, 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Big 10
Troy at Bishop Gibbons, 6:30 p.m.
Schenectady at Catholic Central, 7:30 p.m.
Suburban Council
Niskayuna at Shaker, 7 p.m.
Saratoga Springs at Ballston Spa, 7 p.m.
Shenendehowa at Burnt Hills, 7 p.m.
Mohonasen at Bethlehem, 7 p.m.
Columbia at Averill Park, 7 p.m.
Colonie at Guilderland, 7 p.m.
Colonial Council
Ravena at Albany Academy, 7:30 p.m.
Voorheesville at Cohoes, 7:30 p.m.
Cobleskill at Holy Names, 7:30 p.m.
Mechanicville at Schalmont, 7:30 p.m.
Lansingburgh at Watervliet, 7:30 p.m.
Patroon Conference
Maple Hill at Taconic Hills, 7 p.m.
Chatham at Hudson, 7 p.m.
Rensselaer at Greenville, 7 p.m.
Catskill at Coxsackie-Athens, 7 p.m.
Ichabod Crane at Cairo-Durham, 7 p.m.
BOWLING
Wasaren League
Hoosick Falls at Stillwater, 4 p.m.
WRESTLING
Patroon Conference
Taconic Hills at Maple Hill, 7 p.m.
Non-league
Hoosick Falls at Whitehall, 6 p.m.
Albany at Shaker, 5 p.m.

Bishop Maginn's Pierre Sandaire drags down Averill Park's Tyler Listing in Thursday's Class A Division I game at Bleecker Stadium. The Griffins sacked Averill Park quarterback Ryan Macari five times in a 25-7 victory. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

"I’ve always said, the best way to defend the pass is that the quarterback can’t throw it when he’s on his back," Bishop Maginn head coach Joe Grasso said.

Averill Park junior running back Tyler Dunworth looks to corral the ball during Thursday's game. Dunworth stole the show as the Warriors' punter, once pinning the Griffins on the one-yard line and again dropping the ball inside the five, only to have his cover team muff it into the end zone for a touchback.

"They played a heck of a game and they brought heat," said Averill Park head coach Zach Gobel. "They’re an athletic team and they disrupted our routes. They did a good job of disrupting our routes in the secondary."

A host of Warriors look to pounce on a loose ball during Thursday's game. Averill Park took a 7-7 tie and plenty of momentum into halftime, but was worn down by Bishop Maginn's Tymear Mallory, who finished with 218 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

"The line just opened up the holes and I just found the open spaces," Mallory said. "I did what I do. I ran fast."

Averill Park senior running back and linebacker Justin Collen left the game late in the first quarter, apparently re-injuring his left knee. He suffered an ACL tear in the same knee last season.

"It’s the same thing it’s always been," Gobel said. "We’re having trouble getting him through a game. He’s getting that dinged up, but he’s certainly playing his heart out when he’s in there."

Check out the full story, as well as a recap of La Salle's 21-0 victory over Colonie, in Friday's edition of The Record.

Bishop Maginn senior running back Tymear Mallory runs through a drill during the first week of practice at the high school. (Photo by Tom Killips - The Record).

When you arrive at a Bishop Maginn practice, it's hard to think that they are a Class A school.

Longtime coach Joe Grasso said his numbers are bad every year and from a school with only 250 or so kids, that's to be expected, but the practice I was at they had fewer than 30 players for BOTH varsity and JV.

Grasso said the offensive will be mainly a running attack and probably revolve around seniors Tymear Mallory and Josh Panasik.

Grasso said the offensive line has a chance to be as good as last year's and they have decent size and good quickness as a team.

"Defensively, we have a lot of athletes who can run and they're aggressive kids," Grasso said. "I think we'll be pretty good on defense, although you lose some pretty darn good kids that are hard to replace."

The biggest challenge for the Golden Griffins will be replacing Bunduka Kargbo at quarterback.

Last year, he was an electric player on offense and defense and Grasso said that finding someone to play QB is one of the main focuses of preseason camp.

I had a chance to speak with Mallory and he is very excited for the new season, hoping the team can build off of a trip to the Super Bowl last year.

As far as scheduling, Bishop Maginn has it tough. They play at Amsterdam to start and have games at Niskayuna (who just dropped down to Class A) and against Troy (who is always tough).

Grasso said the competition is as ripe as ever in the A's.

"There haven't been too many weak sisters on the Class A schedule over the last five or six years that we've done this," Grasso said. "Every year, it seems like one team is real good and pulling away from the pack and that's kind of what Burnt Hills did last year, but I think we were right there with them."

It'll be nearly impossible to run off a record like last year, but a playoff spot is certainly a possibility for the Griffins this season.

Note: This post is written by Andrew Santillo, who is helping out with our 48-page high school football 2009 preview section, which is set to hit the newsstands on Thursday, Sept. 3.

Orlando DiBacco (left) is introduced as the new Bishop Maginn High School boys varsity basketball coach Tuesday in the high school library. Rich Hurley, who resigned to spend time with his family and pursue his education in mid-June, looks on. (Photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

DiBacco, the brother of Lansingburgh High head coach Guy DiBacco, guided junior varisty teams at La Salle and Bishop Maginn to five Big 10 Conference championships over the past 10 years.

"I know expectations and standards here are set pretty high," DiBacco said. "The bar is up there, but I know that with myself and the coaching staff here, come Tuesday and Friday nights, our team will be well prepared and ready to compete."

Click here for the full story that ran in Wednesday's edition of The Record.

Legendary Watervliet High head coach George Mardigan (left), Hudson Valley Community College head coach Andre Cook and DiBacco chat following Tuesday's press conference. DiBacco is just the latest in a long line of former Mardigan players to follow his footsteps into coaching.

"(DiBacco) is ready," Hurley said. "He has more than paid his dues and I couldn’t be happier for him. He deserves this opportunity and he knows he has an expectation level too."