NYSSWA: New York State Sportswriters Association

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Leading off today: Two-way lineman Nick Condello kicked a 23-yard field goal with eight seconds to play as Rush-Henrietta edged Gates Chili, 38-35, for the Section 5 Class AAA football championship last night.

The Royal Comets, ranked 11th among large schools by the New York State Sportswriters Association, scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to advance to a game next week against Canandaigua for the right to play in the state Class AA quarterfinals.

Running back Rickey Stevens had tied the score for No. 10 Gates Chili on a five-yard TD run with 1:28 left. Cory McAllister's 22-yard reception completed R-H's 70-yard drive into position for Condello's field goal.

It was the first sectional championship for Rush-Henrietta since 1986, when both R-H Roth and R-H Sperry won titles.

More football: Mike Prendergast kicked a pair of 46-yard field goals for No. 17 North Rockland in a 33-14 triumph over No. 22 Carmel. Jon Means and Johnathan Jean-Baptiste scored a pair of TDs apiece.

In Class B, No. 15 Bath's Andre McCloud rushed for three second-quarter TDs and added a 42-yard punt return for a score during a 41-0 romp over No. 20 Marcus Whitman. Bath will next play No. 17 Geneva, which defeated No. 11 Hornell, 34-12.
In Class C, No. 1 Dobbs Ferry cruised past No. 13 Rye Neck, 33-0. Trevor Saunders threw for 153 yards and ran for 72 more.

Redemption 24 hours later: Buffalo St. Joe's senior Tim Huebsch certainly had a down-and-up weekend.

As the football team's punter on Saturday, he fumbled the snap that Canisius recovered in the end zone for the

decisive points in a 41-34 ballgame. On Sunday, he suited up for the soccer team and set up the only goal as St. Joe's repeated as Monsignor Martin Association champion with a 1-0 win vs. Canisius.

"I felt like that loss was on me," Huebsch told The Buffalo News "I had a chip on my shoulder. I just felt like I needed to come out and help us get a win."

Wrestling format change possible: The New York State Public High School Athletic Association wrestling committee is studying the idea of regional tournaments that could serve as qualifers for future state championships.

The group has given preliminary support for a plan unveiled early this month and will discuss it further for possible implementation in 2009. The working group appointed by NYSPHSAA Executive Director Nina Van Erk included representatives of the New York State Wrestling Coaches Association and the NYSPHSAA’s wrestling committee.

Under the plan, sections would send multiple entries to three or four regional tournaments where qualifiers would compete for the right to advance to the state tournament. The format would potentially smooth out some inequities in representation; sections with larger numbers of competing schools could qualify more individuals for the finals.

Any plan would still require approval from the NYSPHSAA Executive Committee. Given the potential fan interest, revenue could cover the additional expense of the extra tier of tournaments after sectionals.

Extra points: Thanks to NYSSWA member Michael Connell for catching an error in yesterday's blog. Corning East will be playing in its sixth consecutive Section 4 football final, not seventh as was originally written.