Leading off today: The scoring summary was even longer than the team names this past weekend when Eden/North Collins edged WNY Maritime/Tapestry Charter 63-62 in Western New York football action.
With numbers like that, you had to figure records tumbled. Eden/North Collins quarterback Brady Waring made sure of that by throwing for nine touchdowns to break a state record established in another WNY game in 1969.
Waring finished 23 of 35 for 435 yards. The nine TDs surpassed the mark of eight by Gary Castine of St. Joseph's 56 years ago and since matched six times.
His top targets were brothers Isaiah and Silas Nellis. Isaiah Nellis made seven catches for 222 yards and five touchdowns (one short of the state record). Silas Nellis made 10 catches for 148 yards and the other four touchdowns.
"I haven't watched many games where there's three guys that are impossible to stop," Eden/North Collins coach Charlie Karstedt told The Buffalo News.
Honestly, we weren't trying to do this
We released the New York State Sportswriters Association's
first football rankings of the season at noon on Wednesday. The NYSSWA's Steve Grandin compiled the rankings Sunday night after consulting with our network of advisors across the state, and there weren't any startling choices for No. 1; Iona Prep (Class AA), Garden City (A), Port Jervis (B), Chenango Forks (C), and Delhi (D) have all shown themselves to be worthy of the recognition.
Where the fun began, however, was when Steve began Part 2 of his weekly routine (actually Part 3 if you count compiling the weekend scores into a single list) and compiled the ranked teams' list of opponents for the upcoming weekend.
Only then did we realize that there will be Week 3 matchups of No. 1 vs. No. 2 in two classes -- both involving Section 4 teams.
In Class C, Chenango Forks will face No. 2 Windsor. In Class D, Delhi takes on No. 2 Tioga.
We've had September contests between No. 1 and No. 2 before, but I'm not sure we've ever had two in the same week. And certainly not both from the same section.
Fall two-sporter forced to choose
The Carle Place boys soccer team is having to do without Ryan Leary this fall on the heels of his 17-goal season that helped the team to a NYSPHSAA Class B championship in 2024. That's be Leary's choice after his own school district didn't leave him much of a choice.
Last fall, Leary played both soccer and football, handling kicking duties for the Frogs. He planned to do both again this fall and also wanted to get on the field as a receiver. At the start of practice last month, however, Leary was told he couldn't continue double duty if he intended to take snaps as a receiver.
According to Newsday, that edict came down from district Superintendent Ted Cannone.
"I was heartbroken," said Leary, who is also a basketball player and track athlete for the school. "I was told yes, that this is something I could do. Section 8 doesn't forbid it, the state doesn't forbid it. Then to turn around and get told no, I was shocked."
Cannone's statement to the paper cited safety concerns.
"The district's thinking is grounded in safety and security for all student-athletes and in fostering equity for all team members," Cannone wrote. "We have spoken with numerous other districts and leaders in varsity athletics, the great majority of whom are aligned with our thinking that it is inadvisable for a student-athlete to play two high-contact sports in the same season."
Forced to choose, Leary dropped soccer so that he could play wide receiver.
"I felt like I would be letting the (football) team down," he said. "I've been telling the guys all summer that I would be playing with them, hopefully helping them win, so I felt like I couldn't turn around and take that back."
The football team has split its first two games, with Leary rolling up 11 catches for 2-7 yards and three touchdowns. The rebuilding soccer team is off to a 1-3-1 start.
Quick question
Regarding the Carle Place situation, how exactly does "fostering equity" factor into the superintendent's decision? I can't be the only one who came to a full stop upon reading that phrase in his statement to the paper.
Ohio powerhouse shuts down football team over hazing allegation
Ursuline High School in Youngstown, Ohio, has ended its football season following allegations of student misconduct and subsequent staff changes,
Cleveland.com reported.
The development came after a family sued the school, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, school administrators and coaches. Their 200-page complaint alleged multiple players assaulted their son during a nine-day football trip in June. The mother claims coaches brushed it off as "boys will be boys."
Ursuline administrators suspended one coach pending investigation and placed two more on leave for the remainder of the season. Additionally the school said some students had been disciplined while others had left "before discipline could be imposed."
The ongoing turmoil led to the school calling off the remainder of the season. A likely tipping point came late last week when officials at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School said they were scrapping scheduled JV and Varsity games Oct. 3-4, citing "recent allegations involving the Ursuline football program."
Ursuline was off to a 2-0 start this season following a 13-2 record in 2024 and a 41-11 mark in the four seasons before that.
Milestones
Shoreham-Wading River girls tennis coach
Debbie Lutjen earned her 300th win with a 7-0 sweep of Center Moriches on Tuesday.
Aviana Petrizzo tallied five teams in Maryvale's 10-6 girls soccer loss to Lake Shore, raising her total to 14 goals in six games this season and more than 100 for her career.
