Leading off today: Senior Kaheem Gist broke one Section 5 football record with 449 rushing yards and tied his own mark with seven touchdowns last night as Canandaigua beat Hilton in the Class AA semifinals, 56-39.
Gist carried 37 times and scored from 13, 9, 1, 2, 51, 44 and 53 yards. He had also scored seven TDs in a Sept. 29 romp over Canisius.
Gist broke the sectional playoff record of 362 yards on a 44-yard TD run that made it 49-31 with 2:47 left to play. Hilton responded quickly to make it 49-39, and Gist went back out with a minute to go. Two carries later, he raced 53 yards to blow past Adam Luke's overall sectional record of 401 yards in 1999.
"We just wanted to bang out a first down and kneel on it and Kaheem went to the house," coach Dave Nieman told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Gist has 1,644 yards and 24 TDs through eight games for unbeaten Canandaigua, ranked 16th in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association.
Section 2 postpones games: I'm always sympathetic to safety concerns, but does anybody else get the sense Section 2 officials probably overreacted Friday when they postponed football games based upon forecasts?
Ravena coach Gary VanDerzee, the sectional chairman, cited the mandatory 30-minute delay the moment thunder is heard or ligntning is seen.
"What are going to do with 1,000 fans in the stands when there is a delay?" VanDerzee asked. "We have to bring the teams inside, but there will be young fans in the stands. You don't want them running around in those conditions."
No, you don't. You want them getting back in their cars and going home if shelter isn't available on-site. It's more or less the same policy used by professional golf tournaments, where parking is usually at remote lots requiring much longer walks or long waits in the rain for shuttle buses.
People are going to get wet, and there is always the possibility of something tragic happening. But that's where you have to put the responsibility of deciding whether to attend the game in the first place into the hands of the paying customers.
By doing it Section 2's way, outcomes were affected. Fields that got wet last night will be somewhat more playable today, making footing better (an advantage for speed teams). If there was rain last night but conditions are dry today, pass-oriented teams get a break.
To summarize, I'm not singling out Section 2 — there were numerous postponements in the Southern Tier as well — and I'm not asking for lives to be put at risk. Shut down for the night at the first sign of lightning if you want, and come back tomorrow.
But for God's sake, don't change your entire
