Sunday, Sept. 1, 2013: Clarence boys finally win their tournament

   Leading off today: Imagine holding your own annual tournament for more than a quarter of a century without ever winning it.

   That's what the Clarence boys volleyball team was up against for the last 27 years until finally breaking through Saturday with a 25-23, 25-19 win over Hamburg in the final of the 16-team field. Clarence senior setter Skyler Reinhardt was selected the MVP.

   The Red Devils advanced to the final by winning their pool and then topping Lockport in the semifinals. It was the first time since 1995 they had so much as reached the final.

   Are you ready for some ... ice hockey? As part of the Rochester Americans' planned outdoor American Hockey League game next December, organizers have announced a schedule of nine high school hockey games to be played on the frozen tundra of the local baseball franchise's Frontier Field.

   “For many of these student-athletes, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we are thrilled to be able to make this become a reality," Rochester Red Wings general manager Dan Mason said of the two-day event.

   The matchups:

    • Saturday, Dec. 21: Canandaigua vs. Victor (11 a.m.), Hilton vs. Irondequoit (1 p.m.), McQuaid vs. Buffalo St. Joe's (3 p.m.), Webster Schroeder vs. Webster Thomas (5 p.m.) and Pittsford vs. Fairport (7 p.m.).

    • Sunday, Dec. 22: Churchville-Chili vs. Batavia (noon), Brockport vs. Batavia Notre Dame (2 p.m.), Brighton vs. Spencerport (4 p.m.) and Greece Thunder vs. Greece Lightning (6 p.m.).

   Wild finish in Texas: Junior Manny Harris had one of the greatest performance in school history in his debut for Copperas Cove (Texas) High, breaking records set seven years ago by Robert Griffin III ... and ended up on the losing side of the ledger after one of the wackiest finishes a fan could ever hope to see.

   Copperas Cove coach Jack Welch probably thought the squib kick was the safe choice against College Station A&M Consolidated after scoring to take a 41-38 lead with one second left.

   Instead, A&M Consolidated resorted to a couple of

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laterals and changes of direction to bring back the kick for a TD and the victory.

   The real craziness began with 3:39 to go when Copperas Cove tied the game at 24-24 on a short TD pass. By the time it was over, the score was 44-41.

   Harris completed 34 of 51 passes for 516 yards and four touchdowns, breaking the school records for attempts in a game set by Dustin Dewald (40) in 1986 and passing yards in a game (293) by RG3 in 2006.

   A twist to scrimmage Saturday: The Section 4 football scrimmage between Chenango Forks, Delhi, Oxford and Vestal had an unusual twist when a Canadian team came down from Winnipeg to participate.

   Churchill High School brought 26 players as part of a late-summer junket in the Northeast thanks to it's coach's connection to the Southern Tier. Tom Walls graduated from Maine-Endwell in 1989 and was an assistant to Tank Anderson at Vestal. Walls and Anderson put the plan together, and Churchill's players and boosters raised the money to make the visit.

   The Press & Sun-Bulletin's story contains plenty of cool details.

   More scrimmage news: Syracuse CBA quarterback J.R. Zazzara was on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and did not take the field against Liverpool, The Post-Standard reported.

   CBA is projected Section 3 and state contender in Class AA this fall, and Zazzara has committed to play at the University at Buffalo next fall. Josh Brown ran the offense in his absence.

   Extra points: Tom Doherty passed along a note that Albertus Magnus AD Joe McGuinness is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in Ireland while working on a basketball clinic. He has underwent surgery recently but expects to remain on the job at school.