Friday, Oct. 10, 2014: LeRoy's Moran will have to wait for No. 200

   It turns out LeRoy football coach Brian Moran will not be going for career win No. 200 tonight when the Oatkan Knights host Bishop Kearney in a matchup of state-ranked football teams.

   A team statistician and members of the coaching staff reviewing year-by-year information on Moran, who has already announced his intention to resign at the end of the season, found that Moran was credited with an extra win for the 2003 season, so his real record entering his 26th season was 193-63-2.

   "It just means that I'm old,'' Moran joked with a Democrat and Chronicle reporter.

   You can view the list of New York's winningest coaches here.

   Boys volleyball: Dane Leclair had 38 assists, 6 kills and 10 digs for McQuaid in a five-set win over Victor as two of the state's top teams faced off.

   McQuaid won 25-22, 25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 31-29 to improve to 10-0. Spencer Wickens added 17 digs and two aces for the Knights.

  Victor is 11-1.

   Headed to UConn: Canisius kicker Michael Tarbutt was offered a scholarship Friday to play football at UConn next fall and promptly accepted, the high school announced.

   Canisius, top-ranked in the state in Class AA, travels to Ohio this weekend to play Columbus Bishop Watterson and will be home in Week 6 vs. Youngstown (Ohio) Cardinal Mooney.

   A moving gesture: Credit West Point for a wonderful tribute to Tom Cutinella, the Shoreham-Wading River football player who collapsed and died during a Long Island game last week.

   Newsday reported that the U.S. Military Academy offered the two-way player a full athletic scholarship posthumously this week. The paperwork was accompanied by a jersey with Cutinella's No. 54.

   The presentation was made to the family by S-WR and West Point grad Buddy Gengler during calling hours Monday in Wading River.

   "It was incredibly moving," Gengler said. "I know he planned to attend a military academy. It was very emotional for the family."

   The scholarship offer was written by Army football coach Jeff Monken, who addressed the letter to the teen and wrote, "I seek quality young men who uphold the values of Duty, Honor, and Country to lead West Point to the pinnacle of collegiate football. I believe you are a difference maker!"

   Scheduling frustrations: Scarsdale (5-0) and Mamaroneck (4-1) are one game apart in the Section 1 football standings, about six miles apart geographically and a million miles away from playing each other unless the playoff schedule works out right.

   As The Journal News reminded us, the section uses power rankings-based scheduling for its 19 Class AA teams split into two divisions because it's not possible to

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play full round-robins and still accommodate the playoffs.

   Though power rankings produces the occasional hiccup, the system does generally advance the "right" teams to the postseason, but neighborhood rivalries do sometimes fall by the wayside, as has been the case of Mamaroneck vs. Scarsdale the past three seasons.

   "You don't get the crosstown fans like you would. You don't pack the place," said Mamaroneck coach Anthony Vitti. "When we play Port Chester (not on the schedule for the first time in a decade), we get a nice crowd. Without that kind of game, it's tough, and it takes something away not having that crosstown rival scheduled."

   The current format fixed an even bigger problem -- the growing number of schools that opted for independent scheduling after years of lopsided losses in geographic-based leagues. Power rankings smooth out the scheduling to that weaker teams are assured at least a few competitive contests each season.