Leading off today: There's something to be said for section-wide scheduling, with playoff classifications taking priority over league affiliations while determining who plays who during the regular season.
It often puts everyone on equal footing when it comes to strength of schedule and sometimes allows for head-to-head results to decide playoff seedings rather than relying exclusively on point systems.
It also guarantees schools a slate of games, which is no small consideration in some local dynamics. The downside, however, is that it drastically reduces the opportunity for intersectional and even inter-association games in sports with short schedules like football.
After a number of years of section-wide scheduling in football, Section 5 is returning to league-based scheduling this fall. It restores some rivalries lost by teams living in different playoff classes and gives some schools the ability to pick up additional non-leaguers.
To that end, the release of the Section 6 schedule last week (Section 5 still hasn't posted its schedule) revealed some attractive non-leaguers to look forward to this fall. They include Lancaster (Sec. 6) vs. McQuaid (5) and Hutch Tech (6) vs. University Prep.
The news is even better for Western New York fans, however. That's because Bennett, from the Buffalo City School District, and St. Francis, from the Monsignor Martin Association, have agreed to a Sept. 4 matchup at the University at Buffalo.
St. Francis went 10-2 last fall, losing only to Massachusetts power Catholic Memorial in September and then Iona Prep in the CHSAA title game. Bennett (actually a combined program with Olmstead, Middle Early College, and East) went 10-2, losing to Massillon (Ohio) Washington during the regular season and Syracuse CBA in the NYSPHSAA Class AA semifinals.
Records and milestones
• Junior infielder
Gwyn Panek banged out three hits Saturday in Waterloo's 17-3 softball victory over South Seneca/Romulus. One of the hits was her 32nd career triple, which breaks the listed NYSPHSAA record set by Lisa Meck of Elmira Notre Dame from 1998-2003.
• Roy C. Ketcham baseball coach Pat Mealy picked up win No. 500 on Thursday with an 8-6 victory against Clarkstown South.
Strategic move for Bishop Timon-St. Jude
Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School will lease St. Thomas Aquinas Church and its rectory, which closed in 2024, using the latter to house out-of-town student-athletes, the school's chairman of the board of trustees told
The Buffalo News.
The deal will commence once the Franciscan Heritage Foundation of WNY completes its purchase of the properties. The high school will use the church as its chapel. The school has already frequently used the church many times for liturgies, the paper reported.
The three-story rectory, which has eight bedrooms and six bathrooms, is expected to be able to be able to accommodate 25 to 30 students beginning in fall 2027 after some remodeling.
The paper reported Timon coaches have frequently mentioned interest from out of town students wanting to attend but unable to secure living arrangements.
State Education Dept. rejects coach's appeal
Short of going to court, Bruce Guyette appears out of options in his bid to clear his name via expungement of investigation results from his personnel file.
Guyette, who was removed from his Minisink Valley coaching duties midway through last season after 647 victories and 13 Section 9 championships, was the subject of a Dignity for All Students Act complaint filed by a student athlete, which led to an investigation that uncovered additional complaints from more than a dozen other athletes.
The retired teacher was not restored to his coaching position this spring, and State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa dismissed his appeal in a finding published on March 30.
A fun read on Syracuse.com
I wrote a story a few years ago about a Chicago-area boys lacrosse team that made annual treks through New York to play a few games against top competition as a way to get better.
Earlier this month, Lindsay Kramer at Syracuse.com wrote about Henry Clay High School from Kentucky coming north with a similar objective, and he captured plenty of cool details following the team's 14-4 loss to LaFayette/Onondaga.
"I have pride in my town of LaFayette and the native culture. But I also have pride in Syracuse," said coach Ben Ternosky, 36, a LaFayette native. "I know people hate it because of the snow, and I get it. But I miss it so much. A lot of this is for the kids and the experience, but part of it is for me, being kind of selfish and just coming back and just nostalgia.
"The good vibes, the connections. It's just a win-win for everyone."
Henry Clay, a Lexington school in the top quarter of Kentucky's 41 lacrosse teams, also dropped a 17-5 decision to Cicero-North Syracuse.
Ternosky said he begins each season by talking about the history of the five tribes of the Haudenosaunee and the origins of lacrosse.
"I try to tell them, lacrosse is different up here," he explained. "These kids are playing at age 4. And I told them it's physical because they play box all the time. And so my kids got hit a lot, but they weren't complaining. They're just like, 'Wow, coach, you weren't kidding."
Said Henry Clay defender Logan DiNardo: "We were really fascinated because to us, it's a sport. But to them it's life. These guys, lacrosse is everything to them. And we kind of got a new perspective on the game."
