Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014: Clarkstown swimmers snap Ursuline's streak

   Leading off today: Ursuline's decade-in-the-making 101-meet winning streak in girls swimming came to an end Tuesday at the hands of Clarkstown, 96-82. Clarkstown's Briana Keaveney and Meaghan McGovern won the 50- and 200-yard freestyle swims, while Julia Donovan scored the highest in diving.

   Long wait over: The Batavia/Alexander boys soccer team ended a 27-year dry spell between Section 5 boys soccer tournament wins by defeating Geneva 2-1 in overtime in the opening round of the Class A2 playoffs. Jeremy Boyle scored the game-winner 10 minutes into the first overtime off of an assist from Quinten Weis.

   Milestone: Orchard Park coach Matt Lexner earned his 300th boys volleyball win with a five-setter over St. Joe's. The Quakers won 19-25, 18-25, 30-28, 25-17, 25-22.

   "We started slow but luckily we really got going," Lexner told The Buffalo News. "We just were able to start passing the ball better. It's simple cause and effect: Pass better and you get better chances at the net."

   Ex-QB, coach dies: Glenn "Dean" Loucks, an All-American quarterback who led White Plains to three consecutive undefeated seasons beginning in 1950 and later coached the team, died Friday at the age of 79.

   Loucks, son of the legendary White Plains football coach, went on to play at Yale University, where he earned All-Ivy League and All-East honors, and came back to White Plains to coach from 1960-68. He later coached at Fordham University and Iona College.

   Season over: The Greenport/Southold/Mattituck football team's 19-0 loss to Port Jefferson last week will be its last game of the 2014 season, school officials decided.

   A lack of healthy players forced the decision to forfeit to John Glenn this weekend and then Wyandanch in the regular-season finale. Greenport AD Jim Caliendo said the Porters, who started the season with 22 players and won two of their six games, were left with only 13 healthy players. They were missing eight players, including seven starters, in the loss to Port Jefferson.

   Community reacts: The Whitehall community reacted with disbelief and anger Tuesday over the firing of football coach Justin Culligan, The Post-Star reported.

   A rally by more than 100 players, students, parents and fans was held at a park in support of Culligan, who was dismissed as coach of the state's eighth-ranked Class D team in the aftermath of Saturday's fight-marred game vs. Rensselaer. The contest was stopped by officials midway through the third quarter.

   Superintendent Elizabeth Legault was not available for comment, the paper reported, but issued a statement saying, in part, “We appreciate and thank all who would like to support and discuss this internal issue; however at this time please allow our players and coaches to focus on post season (sic) play!"

   AD Keith Redmond would not comment other than to confirm that he has been appointed "overseer of the program," and that the rest of the coaching staff remains intact.

   "My kids love this guy; I'd say 95 percent of the kids love this coach," Dave Thomas, a father of two varsity football players, told the paper. "He's turned the program around. It seems that everybody is for this guy except for the board."

   Meeting preview: The New York State Public High School Athletic Association's Executive Committee will meet Thursday in Troy, and the agenda is fairly packed.

   Among the major issues to be addressed:

    • After what seems like an eternity, much-debated changes to the transfer rule are expected to finally come up

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to a vote in three parts:

   (1) The "Educational Waiver," which has made it easier to transfer based on the contention that the student's proposed new school offers courses that the previous school doesn't, could be discontinued.

    (2) The residency rule could be bolstered by the addition of this clause: "For athletic eligibility a residency is changed when one is abandoned by the immediate family and another residency established through action and intent. Residency requires one's physical presence as an inhabitant and the intent to remain indefinitely."

    That last sentence is a biggie if the motion carries and might be the new change to transfer rules that ultimately gets tested in court.

    (3) The Transfer Committee, having seen one too many cases of parents claiming to have separated as a step toward a sham transfer, seeks to amend one of its approved exceptions by bolstering the requirement for documentation filed with a county clerk or issued by a judge.

    • Expect some concerns to be raised about classifications for the inaugural competitive cheerleading championships in 2016. The cheerleading committee proposes a co-ed class (teams with at least one male participant), Division I (750-plus BEDS number) and Division II (749-under BEDS number).

    Division's I and II would each be subdivided into two classes -- squads of 5 to 16 girls and 17-32 girls, which would be unique among NYSPHSAA sports. There have been rumblings that schools with Class D enrollments will be at a disadvantage vs. schools that would qualify as a mid-size Class A in many other sports.

   Three lesser but nevertheless meaty items:

    • A vote on whether Glens Falls will continue to host the volleyball final fours for boys and girls beyond this year. The volleyball committee voted for Glens Falls by a narrow 8-7 margin over Onondaga Community College, whose bid looks to cost the NYSPHSAA substantially less money.

    • A vote to affirm the ice hockey committee's decision to add a Division II wildcard each season (rotating around the state beginning with Section 3) to avoid a repeat of last winter's fiasco in which 5-15-1 Queensbury drew a bye into the semifinals.

    • A vote to align the NYSPHSAA jewelry rule with the National Federation track & field rule book.

    Additionally, the Budget/Audit Committee has recommended holding the line on school dues and championships ticket prices for 2015-16.