Thursday, June 5, 2014: J-D storms back to reach 'B' championship game

   Leading off today: Jamesville-DeWitt recovered from a huge scare Wednesday to rally past Victor 17-13 in the NYSPHSAA boys Class B lacrosse semifinals at Cicero-North Syracuse.

   After allowing a 9-1 Victor run in the first half, the Red Rams trailed 10-5 at halftime before storming back to earn their fourth New York State Public High School Athletic Association finals berth in five seasons.

   Griffin Johnson led J-D with three goals and five assists, putting up five of his points after the intermission. Grayson Burns scored five goals, and Ryan Durkin chipped in with four points.

   Jamesville-DeWitt scored five straight goals to end the third quarter tied at 11-11, with Ryan McKee's tally in the final second giving the Red Rams an added momentum boost heading into the final quarter.

   Durkin scored early in the fourth before Dan Barrow answered for the Blue Devils, but J-D then went ahead for good on scores by Johnson, Burns and Ben Wipper.

   "I'm proud of this team," Johnson told Eagle Newspapers. "I honestly haven't seen heart like this on any of the other teams I've been on. We really showed that we've got the grit to do it."

   J-D moves on to Saturday's championship tripleheader at Hofstra University, where the Red Rams will play Yorktown, a 9-6 winner over Lynbrook. The Huskers haven't been to a state final since defeating J-D in the 2003 championship game for their sixth NYSPHSAA title.

   Yorktown got three goals from Michael Dedvukaj and three assists from Nicky Bonitatibus as the Huskers broke a six-game losing streak to Long Island competitors in the NYSPHSAA semifinals. Luke Palmadesso won 14 of 19 faceoffs.

   F-M wins in overtime: Jack Wilson's sixth goal of the afternoon game Fayetteville-Manlius a 10-9 victory over Fairport in the Class A semifinals.

   Wilson's winning shot with :11 left in the extra period advanced the Hornets to Saturday's final against Massapequa. F-M last played in a final in 1993.

   Fairport extended a 4-3 halftime lead to 7-3 before F-M scored five straight, including two each from Wilson and junior midfielder Erik Badger to take its first lead with 10:55 remaining. Fairport scored the next two goals to lead with 2:44 left, but F-M's Paddy Quinlan won the ensuing faceoff and Wilson bounced home the tying goal with :50 to play.

   Both teams had opportunities in the four-minute OT before Wilson connected to win it.

   "We can enjoy this one tonight, but we're starting to gear up tomorrow," Wilson told The Post-Standard.

   There was none of the F-M/Fairport drama to be found in the other Class A semifinal. Massapequa broke to leads of 7-4 after a quarter and 15-6 at the half to dispatch Niskayuna, which hadn't allowed more than 11 goals in a game all season before falling to the Chiefs 23-9.

   Paul Dilena and Ian Kirby each put up four goals and two assists, Carter Hawthorne counted three goals among his seven points and Ryan Tierney and Craig Berge also scored hat tricks as Massapequa ran its winning streak to 16 games and reached its first state final. The Chiefs won

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23 of 36 faceoffs.

   "I think we have the most explosive offense out there and it's hard for a defense to prepare for us," Dilena told MSG Varsity.

   What a rally: Williamsville South, trailing 4-0 with two outs in the seventh inning and twice down to its last strike, won the Section 6 Class A softball championship over Starpoint as senior Brianna Clark slugged a three-run, walk-off home run for a 6-4 triumph.

   "We can't believe it," Clark told The Buffalo News. "I think I was more relaxed because the momentum was on our side. When I saw that pitch, I just didn't even think. I just swung. I didn't even know it went over until I rounded first."

   Williamsville South will play Geneva in the NYSPHSAA Class A quarterfinals Friday.

   Starpoint scored two unearned runs in the top of the sixth and tacked on another two runs in the seventh on a squeeze bunt and a run-scoring single by junior pitcher Allison Block, who fanned seven.

   In the bottom of the frame, Aimee Lavere drilled a double and Morgan Maley drove her in with a single. Emily Martin and Maddie Clark reached on errors that pushed across two more runs, and Stephanie Tirone then singled to set the table for Clark.

   "It's just so surreal. Once Aimee got that bomb, I knew we were going to come back," Clark said.

   Brockport ace honored: Junior pitcher Julia DiMartino was selected New York's softball player of the year on Thursday by Gatorade. The junior right-hander has led Brockport to a berth in the NYSPHSAA Class AA quarterfinals vs. Clarence.

   DiMartino is 17-1 record with a 0.06 ERA entering the state tournament, striking out 271 batters while allowing an anemic 23 hits and 16 walks. She has also hit .351 with 23 runs batted in.

   Extra points: Neighboring districts Afton and Harpursville will field several combined teams this fall, The Daily Star reported. According to an email from Harpursville AD David Groover on Tuesday, the schools will combine in football, boys soccer, cross country, bowling, cheerleading and track and field. Also, two schools and Bainbridge-Guilford will form a single varsity wrestling program.

   Harpursville was 7-2 in football last fall. Afton last fielded a team as a combined effort with Bainbridge-Guilford from 1988-2003.