Contributed Photos – Roger Houseman, left, had the winning drop kick and Warren “Burr” Breed scored the touchdown in the Medina MAC’s 1952 Labor Day 9-7 victory at Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania.

From 1946 to 1961 the Medina MAC’s enjoyed plenty of success on the semi-pro gridirons across Western New York.

In 1952 the MAC’s tried their luck out of state venturing into Pennsylvania on Labor Day and they came home with a thrilling 9-7 victory over Johnsonburg.

Roger Houseman provided the margin of victory with a second quarter three point drop kick field goal.

The MAC’s touchdown came on a short run by Warren “Burr” Breed. However, the extra point kick attempt went wide. The TD was set up by an 80 yard run by Ed Mittlestedt, a long run which featured  a key block by Breed.

The MAC’s defense later preserved the narrow win by stopping Johnsonburg at the Medina one foot line with just 38 seconds to go in the game.

The MAC’s made a return trip to Johnsonburg on Labor Day in 1953 but this time did not fare so well dropping a 19-0 decision to the Sto-Rox Cadets from Pittsburgh.

Section VI officials are spotlighting members of the section’s Athletic Council and the most recent member spotlighted in this series is Wilson Athletic Director Jeff Roth who is the Niagara-Orleans League girls sports representative on the Council.

Contributed Photo – Jeff Roth and his father Jon.

Wilson High Athletic Director Jeff Roth officially entered the family business in 1998. The path that he started down really seemed preordained and already chosen for him.

As a youngster, there were plenty of trips to assorted Grand Island games with his Dad, Viking mainstay, Jon. There may even have been child labor laws compromised, as Jeff was the towel and water kid for his Dad’s teams. Back then, no one asked questions or called the authorities. He was immersed in the family business and we all know how difficult it is to get out once you are in.

The 1993 Grand Island graduate, was a three-sport athlete competing in soccer, basketball and tennis for the Vikings. He excelled in tennis and earned a spot at Division 1, Xavier University in Cincinnati, and a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference. He competed five years for the Musketeers, earning a medical redshirt after tearing his ACL.

The 1998 graduate is still 23rd in career wins at singles with 47 and combined with doubles play, Roth is 26th in total career victories. In 1997-98, he led the team in singles and doubles wins after being second in wins in 1994-95.

Niagara Falls became his extended family in 1998 when the Niagara Frontier League school hired him to teach Health and coach tennis. Working with the girl’s team for nine seasons and the boys for eight, he led the Wolverines to two NFL titles with the boys and added a girl’s championship as well.

The 2005 girl’s squad earned the first and only tennis title in school history. Roth’s boys teams of 2005-06 won back-to-back titles and the school’s first since 1977.

He also earned his Master’s at Canisius College in 2003 while teaching and coaching at Niagara Falls.

After nine years in the Cataract City, Jeff went to the Ken-Ton Schools as Assistant Athletic Director where he served three years.

Due to budget reductions in Ken-Ton, Roth then interviewed at Wilson and became the Athletic Director/Assistant Principal.

This fall marks the start of his 11th year with the Lakemen/Lakewomen. He has since added Director of Communications to his workload.

Wilson Superintendent, Tim Carter feels fortunate that Roth is in Wilson, “I am constantly amazed by the participation and attendance rates at events by both kids and parents. Then I quickly realized that the participation and enthusiasm for the program is a reflection of the person running the Athletics program”.

Carter continues, “Jeff is constantly looking for ways to improve the program and to make our children’s experience better. He works closely with our coaches to hold our students accountable for their academics, attendance and behavior. He truly understands that our kids are student-athletes.:”

This is evident in the number of our students who are scholar athletes each year and the many years Wilson has been named a School of Distinction by NYSPHSAA.

One of Roth’s best and most successful coaches is Brian Baker, “Jeff is one of the most supportive and caring people I have ever worked for. As an Athletic Director, Jeff has worked countless hours to build our Wilson sports program into one of the strongest in WNY. Our district and coaching staff is very lucky to have such a compassionate leader”.

Roth believes in and is committed to lifelong learning. He has made time to involve himself in professional organizations.

He serves on the Chapter VI New York State Athletic Administrators Association’s (NYSAAA) Executive Committee and was on the Planning Committee for the NYSAAA annual conference. He also chairs the Scholar-Athlete committee for Section VI, which is a huge undertaking.

Jeff and his wife, Andrea have two children, Addison (4) and Jayce (2). Family is vitally important to Jeff.

Another important role for Jeff is as the uncle for four very active boys and the sons of beloved late sister, Julie. Jeff and Julie seemed like twins to most because they were so close, yet three years actually separated Jon and Jean’s kids, with Jeff being the eldest.

Julie followed the brother she loved to Xavier, herself a Division 1 tennis player. She too played three sports for the Grand Island Vikings. It is no surprise to anyone that Julie is ranked 32nd in career single wins at Xavier (49) with 23 more victories in doubles.

The family business is education and making lives better for students. At least 10 family members are currently teaching, or are retired educators. It is a calling for most and a matter of pride for all. A generational compass steers them all to education.

In Godfather III, Michael Corleone famously said, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in”.

The family business has a draw, a pull. From riding in the front seat of a GI bus with Dad, to being a mascot for Viking athletes that he still considers legends, Jeff accepted his fate.

He fell in line with the other nine teachers in the family. He is doing what was intended of him decades ago. Wilson, their students and our entire Section are so much better for it.

Friday night the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) issued a set of guidelines for the upcoming fall sports season.

The guidelines has separate sections covering each individual sport including soccer, field hockey, golf, cross-country, volleyball and football.

The guidelines outline procedures for coaches, athletes, school officials and spectators to follow for practices and game situations.

For soccer the guidelines included having players wear face masks and a mandatory break midway through each half.

For football the guidelines again indicate that practices would be only of the non contact variety and that no date has been set for games to be played

The full NYSPHSAA guidelines report can be read by opening the following link.http://nysphsaa.org/Portals/0/COVID%2019/Return%20To%20Interscholastic%20Athletics%20FINAL%20090420.pdf

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Carlos Doval delivers a pitch and Hadrian Batista makes a catch at second base for Medina during Thursday’s win over Carlton at Butts Park.

Medina put the finishing touch on outright possession of the regular season title by downing visiting Carlton 16-5 Thursday evening in the Orleans County Short Season Baseball League 12U Division regular season finale.

Medina finishes the regular season at 9-1 and will be the No. 1 seed for the playoffs on September 12.

In the other regular season ending games, Elba downed Rotary 6-2 and St. Mary’s/Barre nipped Sandstone 3-2.

Ironically, the semifinal round of the playoffs will be a rematch of the regular season finales with No. 1 Medina vs. No. 4 Carlton at 1 p.m. and No. 2 Rotary vs. No. 3 Elba at 10 a.m.. The final will be at 4 p.m. all at the Midget League Field.

Carlton did jump out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning on a leadoff triple by Noah Kowalski, a run producing double by Gavin Boyce and RBI singles by Caidyn Wilson and Colin Macllin.

However, Medina quickly rebounded to take the lead for good at 5-3 by scoring twice in the home half of the first and three times in the second.

The first inning tallies came home on a double by Joe Reese, a single by Aleks Seefeldt and a fielders choice play while the second inning runs crossed the plate on a double by Lathan McEwen-Miller, a triple by Tyler Raduns and a single by Nick Wetherbee.

Medina then broke the game wide open with five run scoring bursts in both the third and fourth innings. A two-run triple by Ryan Pegelow and an RBI single by Thomas Miesch highlighted the third inning uprising while Hadrian Batista had a grand slam home run and Seefeldt an RBI single in the fourth.

Splitting the time on the mound, Pegelow registered 8 strikeouts and Carlos Doval 7.

Drew Boyce had a two-run homer for Carlton in the fifth inning.

Elba scored all six of its runs in the first inning on a rash of walks and an error to key the win over Rotary.

Kaiden Froman had a triple for Rotary.

St. Mary’s/Barre nipped Sandstone on an RBI double by Mason Snook in the second inning to snap a 2-2 tie.

St. Mary’s/Barre’s other runs came in the first inning on a two-run home run by Nate Gibson.

Sandstone tied the game on a triple by Drew Pritchard and a single by Jonah Elsenheimer.

Charlie Ward registered 8 strikeouts in four innings of relief work on the mound for St. Mary’s/Barre while Omer Fugate went the distance for Sandstone notching 10 strikeouts.

Final Standings: Medina 9-1, Rotary 7-3, Elba 5-5, Carlton 3-7, St. Mary’s/Barre 3-7, Sandstone 3-7.

September 12 Playoffs – Semifinals: Elba vs. Rotary, 10 a.m.; Carlton vs. Medina, 1 p.m.; Finals, 4 p.m. All games at the Midget League Field.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Omer Fugate, left, pitched a complete game for Sandstone Thursday evening against St. Mary’s/Barre. Charlie Ward pitched four innings of relief for St. Mary’s/Barre.

Capping off the season on a high note, the Albion 15U team rolled past Attica 12-3 Wednesday evening in a GLOW League baseball game at Williams Park in Batavia.

Breaking away from a close 2-1 contest, Albion took charge by erupting for five runs in the third inning on a two-run triple by Dallas Ecker, an RBI double by Caden Uderitz and run producing singles by Mason Bennett and Chris Sacco.

Sacco and Javon Jones both finished with two hits as Finn McCue also had a hit.

Caleb Fox picked up the win on the mound striking out nine in four innings of work. Ecker hurled the final two frames striking out four.

Albion finishes the league season with a 7-4-1 record.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Rotary’s Noah Harrison has his eye on the ball during Tuesday evening’s win at Sandstone.

Medina and Rotary both earned shutout victories Tuesday evening to remain 1-2 in the Orleans County Short Season Baseball League 12U Division standings.

Medina improved to 8-1 with a 5-0 win over St. Mary’s /Barre at Barre and Rotary improved to 7-2 with an 8-0 victory at Sandstone.

Three pitchers combined to earn the shutout for Medina as Hadrian Batista registered 4 strikeouts in two innings, Aleks Seefeldt 5 strikeouts in three innings and Carlos Doval 3 strikeouts in one inning.

At the plate, Thomas Miesch accounted for all of Medina’s runs with a three-run double in the first inning and a two-run triple in the third frame.

A trio of pitchers likewise combined to post the shutout win for Rotary as Lucas Powley registered  9 strikeouts, Jackson Gilbert 6 and Bryar Dysard 3.

Rotary scored three quick runs in the first inning as Kaiden Froman drove in one and Wyatt Cook two.

Powley later hit a home run to highlight a three-run third inning and Dysard added a solo homer in the fourth.

Froman finished with two hits and Leah Pawlak added a double.

The regular season will wrap-up on Thursday as Medina hosts Carlton, Rotary faces Elba at the Midget League Field, and St. Mary’s/Barre visits Sandstone, all at 5:30 p.m.

Tim Parker and Randy Parker teamed up to capture the Shelridge Open Tournament championship on Sunday.

The Parkers fired a two day total score of 129 to earn a three shot victory over the duos of Alex Misiti – Bruce Foley and Chuck Barone – Dave Bellucci who both finished with a 132 total.

Misiti and Foley also finished first in the Tee Flight ahead of the team of John Kleich – Eric Roca.

Barone and Bellucci also took top honors in the Decker Flight as the team of Tom Bova – Lynn Evans placed second.

The Misiti Flight was won by the team of Butch Stupnick – David Stupnick. The duo of Aaron Verheyn – Dave Wagner finished second.

The team of Dominic Scapelliti – Joe Scapelliti won the Neuman Flight as the duo of Frank Vekich – John Vekich placed second.

Winners in the Closest to the Pin competition were Dave Wayne on No. 3, James Tee on No. 8, Rod Hamilton on No. 12 and Bruce Foley on No. 14.

Exploding for seven quick runs in the first inning, Albion’s 15U team went on to defeat Batavia 11-1 Monday evening in a GLOW League baseball game at Batavia’s Williams Park.

A two-run double by Vinnie Molisani highlighted the big first inning uprising for Albion which also included hits by Cade Wolcott, Dallas Ecker and Adrian Kingdollar.

Caleb Fox followed up with a big two-run triple in the second inning.

Javon Jones went the distance on the mound for Albion.

Improving to 6-4-1, Albion will finish off the regular season against Attica at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Williams Park.

LATHAM – The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) COVID-19 Task Force met today for the fifth time and examined New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) guidance which provided recommendations for the fall interscholastic athletic season.

The COVID-19 Task Force is developing a comprehensive document with guidance for member schools to utilize as they prepare for the return of interscholastic athletics this fall.  The anticipated release date of the return to interscholastic athletics document is Friday, September 4th.

The NYSPHSAA officers voted today to delay the start of the winter sports season from November 16th to November 30th to give schools and sections more time to complete the fall athletic season.

The officers also voted to approve revising the number of required practices for fall sport student-athletes (12 practices for football and 10 for all other fall sports).

The NYSPHSAA officers decision also includes waiving the seven consecutive day rule starting on October 12th, continuing to consider the high-risk sports of football and volleyball as fall sports, and restricting games for low and moderate risk sports to compete within their league and/or section until October 19th.

“I am encouraged by the work of our association and state officials to provide the opportunity for schools to offer interscholastic athletics for students this fall,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director.  “Unfortunately all sports will look different and participation will not be the same as it was a year ago, but students will have the chance to represent their school, be around their friends and coaches, and experience a sense of normalcy this fall.  It is critical that student-athletes be leaders in their schools and communities and strictly abide by COVID-19 safety protocols.”

“As the fall sports season starts on September 21st, we felt it was most appropriate to delay the start of the winter sports season by two weeks to afford sections and schools additional time to play the fall sports seasons before the winter seasons began,” said Paul Harrica, NYSPHSAA President and Chair of the COVID-19 Task Force, “The Task Force and officers spent a great deal of time discussing these topics to determine what is best for schools and student-athletes.”

With regional differences, schools and areas will continue to be impacted differently by the COVID-19 crisis. At the discretion of the NYSPHSAA officers, if the fall sports seasons are interrupted or impacted by the COVID-19 crisis (i.e. state official guidance, school closings, etc.), then a condensed seasons plan could still be implemented. That decision will be made by the NYSPHSAA officers with the information available at that time.

On July 13th guidance from NYSDOH prohibited any interscholastic athletics until further notice.

On August 24th, Governor Andrew Cuomo provided authorization for fall sports to begin on September 21st.

Governor Cuomo will permit low and moderate risk sports to have competitions this fall, while high risk fall sports will be prohibited from having any games or contests until authorization is granted from New York State officials on or before December 31st.

As per the NYSPHSAA officers decision today, low and moderate risk sports will be restricted to playing games in their own league and/or section until October 19th.