Friday, Feb. 8, 2019: Hofstra in line to host boys lacrosse finals in 2020

   Leading off today: Yet another set of venue changes for state tournament action is on the horizon following votes Friday during a meeting of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's boys lacrosse committee.

   The committee and the NYSPHSAA office staff concurred on accepting a bid from Hofstra University to host the championship games in the four classes for three years beginning in 2020. In addition, the West semifinals will move to SUNY Cortland the East semis to the University at Albany.

   As usual, the arrangements are tentative pending a vote of the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee. That body's approval is generally a formality.

   The current three-year contracts wrap up this spring, with St. John Fisher College outside Rochester playing host to championship days. The 2019 semifinals are split between Fisher and Cicero-North Syracuse in the West and Albany and Adelphi University in the East.

   In recent months, several other championship site changed have been OK'd the most notable being boys basketball shifting from Binghamton to Glens Falls and softball moving from Moreau Park in South Glens Falls to Moriches Athletic Complex in Brookhaven (Section 11), both for three years beginning in 2020.

   The field hockey final fours were conducted at Williamsville North last fall for the first time and boys volleyball moved from Suffolk County Community College to the Albany Capital Center. The competitive cheerleading tournament moves to Rochester Institute of Technology next month and this spring will see the girls golf tournament contested at Deerfield Country Club, west of Rochester, for the first time.

   Big night, again: Belfast senior Adam Enders extended his own school single-game record by two points, scoring 56 Thursday in a 73-62 boys basketball win over Genesee Valley.

   Enders, bound for Alfred University in the fall, was playing his first game since becoming the all-time Allegany County scoring leader. He went 7-for-14 on 3-pointers and 15-for-16 from the free-throw line. He scored all 20 of the Bulldogs' fourth-quarter points.

   Superb shooting: Lancaster defeated Alden 1,159-1,136 to break the ECIC record for points scored in a rifle match.

   The previous record was Lancaster's mark of 1,155 last week.

   Jess Clark, Emma Randall and Alex Hangen all shot a 290 while Janel Koeth shot a 289 Thursday.

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   Still rolling: The Bishop Kearney girls basketball team has confirmed its status as the large-school team to beat in Section 5 and a serious contender for a NYSPHSAA Class AA championship.

   Playing its third game in three days, the Kings defeated Amherst 84-70 for their fifth straight win.

   Kearney is ranked fourth in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association and Amherst is 12th in Class A. Kearney beat No. 7 Penfield on Tuesday and traditional Section 5 power Our Lady of Mercy on Wednesday.

   The grind continues Saturday against Jamesville-DeWitt, the defending Federation champion in Class A.

   "We play a really tough schedule and that schedule is to

prepare us for March," coach Kevin Sheppard said. "It's OK to lose a game right now. It's not OK to lose a game next month."

   Sophomore center Saniaa Wilson finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds against Amherst.

   "She's going to roll out of bed and give you a double-double," Sheppard said about Wilson. "She's going to hold down the paint, she's going to own the boards and she's going to make a huge dent on them in the middle. She's very consistent."

   Milestone victory: Randolph earned a 49-35 girls basketball win over Salamanca, handing coach Kevin Hind career win No. 300.

   Hind took the help at Randolph at the start of the 1998-99 season.

   Surprise staff addition: Iona Prep has made an unanticipated staff move, bringing Vic Quirolo back as defensive coordinator for the football team.

   The CHSAA Hall of Famer has spent the last two seasons on the staff at Harrison, where he landed after a surprising decision to dismiss him as Iona Prep's head basketball coach after 20 seasons. He will coach with Joe Spagnolo, who was hired in 2016 after Quirolo resigned from the head football position in December 2015.

   "I thought about it and there were pros and cons. At the end of the day, I work at a school where we have a really good football program," Quirolo said. "Joe is doing a great job. He has the program going in the right direction. I thought, why not?"

   During his 13-year tenure running the football program, Quirlo led the Gaels to a CHSFL 'AAA' title in 2008 that ended St. Anthony's long reign atop the league.

   Quirolo said the new partnership was brokered by one of his former coaches, Felix Petrillo, a member of Iona Prep's board of directors. Petrillo will also join the football staff.