Leading off today: Lackawanna senior
Mohammad Bakkar is officially the most prolific single-season scorer in NYSPHSAA boys soccer.
Bakkar scored his record-setting 67th goal of the year last Thursday during a Section 6 playoff victory over Dunkirk and tacked on No. 68 on Monday as the Steelers downed East Aurora 3-1.
The previous New York State Public High School Athletic Association record was 66 by Chris Hamilton of Schalmont in 2015..
Bakkar, who has 18 assists this season, stands at 139 goals for his five-year varsity career, tying him with Lewiston-Porter's Andy Leardini for No. 2 all-time in Section 6. The Western New York record is 148 by North Collins' Adam Teijeira.
Big round number for Chateaugay standout
Irelynn LaPlante scored her 100th career goal and then added another Monday during Chateaugay's 6-1 win vs. Harrisville in the Section 10 girls Class D soccer quarterfinals.
She added an assist to the victory.
Long Island sweeps NYSPHSAA girls tennis titles
Levittown Division junior
Lilliana Chou scored a dominating 6-0, 6-0 victory over Clare Seo of Roslyn to win the NYSPHSAA girls singles championship on Wednesday at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing.
"I've been working toward this since I first stepped on the court at counties in eighth grade," Chou told Newsday. "I tried to stay positive through the whole match and not get too fancy. My spin and my slices were really working for me."
The loss ended a dream run for Seo, who was unseeded and knocked off the No. 1 and 4 seeds on Tuesday.
In doubles, Syosset's Juliette Prince and Selena Wang rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory against the top-seeded Ross School pairing of Lola Dangin and Luma Teixeira.
Prince and Wang, the No. 3 seeds, reached the final by upsetting No. 2 Mia Long and Daniella Rosenblit of Horace Greeley 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
Following up
The PSAL game that seemingly ended in a tie on Friday due to darkness didn't actually end in a tie.
After counting late-arriving mail-in ballots, McKee/Staten Island Tech was awarded a 22-20 victory over Beach Channel.
Just kidding.
Actually, the teams got together Monday to pick up where they left off, and MSIT broke the 20-20 tie with a safety to improve to 6-0 for the season.
Keep an eye on this
People smarter than me about the goings-on of Nassau County football say it's entirely possible that New Hyde Park can qualify for the Conference 2 playoff quarterfinals with a 2-6 record ... with both victories coming via forfeit.
Speaking of football forfeits, there were 17 of them across New York this past weekend.
This is why the annual AD meetings are serious business
The NYSPHSAA office staff conducts mandatory meetings for athletic directors across the state each fall. Executive Director Robert Zayas and Assistant Director Todd Nelson put the emphasis on reviewing NYSPHSAA and State Education Department rules and regulations, potentially saving a school team's season from blowing up over a violation.
I attend their meeting with Section 5 ADs each year to hear what's being emphasized. This year's Power Point presentation, followed by an interactive quiz, delved into the amateurism rules a bit more than I recalled from previous years, and that has turned out to be a lucky break for two Long Island athletes.
Newsday reported that Bay Shore junior Matt Ehlers and Whitman senior Jazmynn Julien came very close to losing their eligibility in the aftermath of the Alzheimer's All-Star Basketball Classic on Saturday in Hempstead.
Both were selected MVPs and presented a trophy and a check for $200, the latter of which is a no-no according to NYSPHSAA rules. Awards or prizes having a monetary value of $500 or less are potentially OK, but money, gift cards and the like are not permitted.
Ehlers said he learned immediately after the game that his eligibility was at risk and returned the check to event organizer Gordon Thomas.
"I had no idea it would be a violation of my amateur status." he said. "I'm glad someone told me."
Julien was quickly notified of the impending problem and turned her check over to Dave Barth, the AD for the South Huntington School District, to be sent back to Thomas.
• Thomas, who founded the event in 2010 as a way to honor the memory of his father, was apologetic and grateful that ultimately no athletes were harmed.
Still, what transpired was a timely reminder that athletes with remaining eligibility should be communicating with their athletic directors whenever they are invited to participate in events outside of high school.
Way too many outsiders have no clue about scholastic or NCAA rules. And, for what it's worth, last weekend's episode begs the question of whether previous Alzheimer's All-Star Basketball Classic participants were presented -- and kept -- impermissible gifts.
