Leading off today: Though widely lauded as the father of Irondequoit lacrosse, Ernie Lisi's influence went far beyond that. It's not unrealistic to suggest that his work was the figurative high tide that raised the boats all across Section 5 and contributed to the eight state championships thus far by Rochester-area and Finger Lakes schools in boys lacrosse.
Lisi, a former All-American linebacker in football and a midfielder for the storied Hobart College lacrosse team under coach Babe Kraus, died Friday at the age of 95.
The Geneva native coached the Irondequoit lacrosse team from 1961-77, an era during which Section 5 schools started embracing the sport and looked toward Lisi's program as the model to emulate. He compiled a 211-19 record before handing the reins to John Pratt, who carried on the tradition of success through 2005.
The National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association recognized Lisi as its National Secondary Schools' Man of the Year in 1984, and he earned induction into the NILCA Hall of Fame in 2020.
Aquinas picks up partner in football
Eight-time NYSPHSAA state football champion Aquinas won't be going it alone this fall. Rochester Academy Charter School, which previously combined with Bishop Kearney in the sport, has switched affiliations and is expected to give the Little Irish program an infusion of approximately 20 players.
"They've been absolutely wonderful since they have come over and started working with us," coach Chris Battaglia told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Battaglia inherited a smallish roster and a program in disarray when he returned to Aquinas last fall for his third stint as the head coach there. Adding a handful of bodies to the varsity will presumably allow the staff to keep some freshmen and sophomores at the JV level, where they can get more reps.
NFHS adopts New York's possession clock in girls lacrosse
After reviewing feedback from New York's two-year experiment, the National Federation of State High School Associations has added the
90-second possession clock in girls lacrosse for the 2027 season.
"The rules committee has been monitoring the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's 90-second possession clock experiment over the past two years and with overwhelming state association support for state adoption, the committee felt this was the next step in the evolution of the game to support the development of the student-athletes," said Barb Martinichio, chair of the NFHS girls lacrosse rules committee.
NFHS tidies up the boys lacrosse crease
No defensive player other than a properly equipped goalkeeper can enter his team's crease with the perceived intent of blocking a shot or acting as a goalkeeper beginning with the
2027 boys lacrosse season, the NFHS announced.
Violations will be treated as non-releasable personal fouls for illegal equipment.
"Through rules changes and discussion, the committee spent a significant amount of time addressing risk minimization and the personal equipment that supports athlete safety," said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS director of sports and liaison to the boys lacrosse rules committee.
In another of the 12 changes approved, goalkeepers will no longer be given a maximum of five seconds to re-enter the crease on any restart. That eliminates the need for an official to judge whether a goalkeeper has left the crease to attempt to delay the game or for a legitimate purpose.
Also notable:
• Language was added stating that a delay of game penalty can be called if a faceoff player must be repeatedly adjusted by the official.
• The committee offered state associations the option to consider a game complete if one team is leading and weather or other considerations after the end of the third quarter makes it impossible to finish on the scheduled date.
Seismic change ahead for Section 5 flag football courtesy of a confluence of events
Being a Section 5 lifer, one of my frustrations in recent years has been the dearth of real competition in the largest classification of sectional tournaments in numerous sports. Much of that has been brought about by the expansion to six classes in a lot of team sports since the start of the 2023-24 school year.
In most cases, the recalibration of state classification cutoff numbers has left several sections with just a handful of schools playing in the largest classification, and Section 5 has been one of those affected because the Greater Rochester area simply does not have very many large schools -- and some of the ones we do have are seeing declining enrollments.
The result has been Class AAA sectional tournaments in some sports consisting of just two semifinals and a championship game, with maybe a play-in game between the fourth and fifth seeds thrown in for good measure.
Even smaller sports with half the number of classes can feel the effects of classification cutoffs that need to reflect enrollment data from the downstate sections that have more large schools.
One such example has been flag football, a relative newcomer to the menu of available spring sports for girls. With the state cutoff for the largest class set at 1,018 and above this past spring, Section 5 had only four teams in Class A.
That's about to change in a big way thanks to the combination of the proposed biennial revisions to the classification cutoffs and a sectional classification committee decision to bump four private schools up from Class C to Class A in 2027.
Here's the breakdown:
Section 5 had so many Class C team this spring that it split sectionals into two sub-classes: Bishop Kearney, Aquinas, and C.G. Finney all reached finals, and Our Lady of Mercy made it to a semifinal. That was enough for Section 5 to bump them up to Class A for 2027, with a provision: If the NYSPHSAA Central Committee does not approve the new statewide cutoff numbers later this month, then Finney will drop back to Class C and the three other private schools will land in Class B.
The proposed changes to the statewide cutoffs are radical, but that reflects the rapid influx of schools starting varsity programs the past two years. It's all but certain the new numbers will sail through the Central Committee vote:
| 2026 season |
Class |
2027 season |
| 1,018 & above |
Class A |
945 & above |
| 601 - 1,017 |
Class B |
500 - 944 |
| 600 & below |
Class C |
499 & below |
This past season, Victor, Webster Schroeder, Pittsford (a combined team), and Webster Thomas all fit comfortably below the line separating Classes A and B. Next spring, they'll all join Class A as a result of the new numbers.
Throw in the private schools, and suddenly Section 5 Class A swells from four teams to 12 and we can finally have a meaningful large-school division championship tournament.
Coaching changes
Tom Straehle, 62, who established the program in 2006 and earned his 300th dual-meet victory last December, has stepped down as the wrestling coach at Iona Prep.
The decision was set in motion 18 months ago with the death of his wife, Sharon, he told LoHud.com.
Straehle will be replaced by Jacob Ferreira, 26, a former state finalist who has been working as an assistant at Horace Greeley, his alma mater.
• Brandon DeRosa, who just completed his ninth season at perennial Section 5 baseball contender Pittsford Sutherland after seven seasons as an assistant, has resigned. DeRosa's squads captured five sectional championships and made two trips to NYSPHSAA semifinals after he replaced Jim Capellupo in 2017.
