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The North Tonawanda Sun /Saturday, February 14, 2015
Tonawanda girls win league bowling title By Dave Ricci
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
A little depth can go a long way. Just ask the Tonawanda Lady Warriors bowling team. The Lady Warriors handed Depew a 7-0 loss on Feb.6 to cap off an 11-1 regular season and earn a share of the ECIC North Small School division title with Cheektowaga. For coach Gina Maduri, seeing her team focused on continuing the winning tradition was just as satisfying as the league title itself. “I just try to tell them not to get down on themselves,” Maduri said. “I learned from experience that when you get down on yourself it kind of translates to the rest of the team.” That team took a hit from last year’s graduation, which meant a returning group that leaned on the younger side , so they had to grow up in a hurry ... and they did. “Honestly it came as, not a
shocker, but we came into this year unsure of what was going to happen because we lost some of our best people,” said sophomore Dayna Daugherty, whose 192 average led the league. “I’m really proud of our girls and how we did and, honestly, don’t think we could have done any better.” Daugherty joined forces with fellow sophomore Marina McClure (180), seventh grader Melissa Large (172) and senior Kelly Styslowsky (174) to form Tonawanda’s A team. With no one true superstar to carry the load, the Lady Warriors found positive results with a mixture of everyone pulling an equal share of the load. The Lady Warriors B team of Kassidy Richter, Rebecca Schuster, Emilee Mongold, Rebecca McClure and Victoria Kurdziel also stepped up big this season. “We not only have a strong A team;, we have a strong B team,” Daugherty said. “That really helps. Our B team, that’s our corner stone at this point.” Daugherty said the fact that every girl, including Kelsey Pohzehl, was able to contribute, made it feel like a more complete team effort.
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The Lady Warriors handed Depew a 7-0 loss on Feb.6 to cap off an 11-1 regular season and earn a share of the ECIC North Small School division title with Cheektowaga.
For coach Gina Maduri, seeing her team focused on continuing the winning tradition was just as satisfying as the league title.
Tallarico, N-W shut out Williamsville North 1-0 By Nick Sabato SPORTS REPORTER
When Niagara-Wheatfield met Williamsville North back on Dec. 21, it resulted in a 1-0 Falcons victory. So when the Falcons met the stingiest defensive hockey team in Division I, they knew it’d be another tight struggle. That’s exactly what happened, as Niagara-Wheatfield
once again gutted out another 1-0 game to defeat the Spartans on Tuesday night (Feb. 10) at Niagara University’s Dwyer Arena. “We knew it was going to be tight,” Niagara-Wheatfield head coach Rick Wrazin said. “The last game was 1-0. They don’t get scored on a lot. They are a good defensive team. They always bring their best. We know that when we play them that they are always going to give us a game.Any time we play them it can go either way. I told the boys before the game that they were here to play so we better dig down and find it because it was going to be a battle.”
Just like the first game, the Falcons got on the board early as Matt Canada found Alex Bauer for a first period goal that turned out to be the game-winner. The remainder of the game was truly a defensive battle as both goaltenders were magnificent between the pipes. Nick Stafford stopped 40 of 41 shots for Williamsville North, while Domenic Tallarico stopped all 26 WillNorth shots, including 13 in a penalty-riddled second period, to pick up his third shutout of the season. Tallarico didn’t do it alone, however, as he got significant help from his defensive corps
on a penalty kill unit that included James Stenzel, Kasey Haseley, Joseph Torcasio and Canada. “He’s a great goaltender,” Wrazin said. “We are fortunate to have him and Casey Wall. They are both very strong goalies and that’s helped us throughout the year. On our penalty kill, we did a nice job of keeping things to the outside to let him see the puck. With those guys, if we let them see the puck we expect that they are going to stop it. He did a nice job of stopping pucks, but our kill really stepped up and we did a good job of clearing the zone and getting a little pressure in their end.”
Program gets back to the form of old “Wrestling” from page B1 always produced some of Western New York’s best. And while the individual glory has been there in the form of guys winning
sectionals, class and going to states, low numbers across the board have made it nearly impossible for Tonawanda to challenge for a league title as
of late. This season, though, the mix of newcomers and battled tested veterans helped Warriors not only have the numbers but also the talent
to capture a league title. “It hasn’t been done in a while,” said McGregor. “Feels good just to hang up another banner.”
Cathcart makes others better, coach says “1,000” from page B1 the MVP of the Ken-Ton Holiday Classic that O’Hara won this season for the first time since 2007. On a tear all season, he has proven himself to be more than just one of the most dynamic players in Western New York. Donel Cathcart is a player his teammates can count on. “He’s taking it real serious,” said O’Hara coach Tony Pulvirenti. “He’s trying to motivate the rest of the guys and help them on his way out.” Calling Cathcart one of the best players to ever walk the halls of Cardinal O’Hara,
Pulvirenti said what makes Cathcart special isn’t the way he takes over the game in a one-man show fashion. But rather what he does to help make everyone around him better. The lone senior on the Hawks roster, Cathcart already knew coming into the season that the eyes of his young teammates would be on him every single day. And that it was his duty to set the right example and show them what it means to be a varsity student-athlete. Cathcart realized his words and actions carried even more weight than he expected
when he experienced the humbling moments of teammates telling him they aspired to be like him. “My teammates are like my little brothers,” he said. “I look after them, they look after me. They try their hardest when they’re on the court.” STAEment Wearing warmups this season with “Make a STATEment” on them is the Hawks way of motivating themselves to make the state tournament for the first time since 1995. While some critics will look at the Hawks
record and doubt them as being a serious contender, Cathcart said this team has done a enough good things to hang their hats on come the postseason. “They haven’t noticed the things that we’ve done,” he said. “We won the KenTon tournament, which we haven’t won in I don’t know how many years. We almost beat Timon and we haven’t beaten those guys in a couple years. There’s a lot of things that we’ve done that we haven’t done in a lot of years ... so I think we can win states.”
Duo is excited to play football together in college “Signing” from page B1 NTHS library, Molik and Mellott- both wearing Edinboro caps-were flanked by their parents as they signed on the dotted line, while family and classmates looked on. “The biggest thing for me was staying closer to home. I have a lot of ties here; a lot of family,” Molik said, as he sat between his parents Kevin and Kelly. “I want to stay close to home. Great football program there, great people. They treated me like they wanted me. They wanted me there. I wanted to be there. Just the perfect storm. I’m excited.” It was a doubly special day for the Moliks as the signing fell on father Kevin’s birthday. Kevin quipped that Alex saving him money on tuition was the best gift he could ask for. Molik, a 6-foot-4, 308-pound outside linebacker, and Mellott, who shined at linebacker as the Lumberjacks leading tackler, are part of a very talented incoming class. “I believe this is the most talented group of recruits we have had in a number of years,” Edinboro head coach Scott Browning was quoted as saying on the school’s website. “They have a good tradition there. A good background,” said Taylor Mellott. They have “rich history there and I really like the campus.” Mellott, who lost virtually his entire junior season to a devastating knee injury, agreed with Molik that Edinboro was the perfect fit for multiple reasons. He was accompanied by his parents Chris and Jen, and said that being able to sign with his best friend makes the next step of life’s journey even more exciting. “He’s been my best friend since we were five yearsold,” Mellott said. “Just thinking of going to school together is
a dream come true. I’m just blessed that I get to share the experience with one of my friends.” Molik agreed, saying, “I can’t imagine anything better.” Both three-year varsity players, their sophomore season had a rough start, but thye pair were key pieces of the puzzle as the program took steps forward. They were part of three straight T-NT Classic wins. They helped NT capture the 2013 Class A Funke Consolation Bowl championship and earn a trip to the Section VI playoffs last fall. “I’m extremely proud with the accomplishment of having our ball players go to college,” said Tony Truilizio, who has coached NT the past three seasons. “It’s probably the most important thing to me, more so than the won and loss record, to see these young men grow in front of us and become that student-athlete that you are hoping for. Since day one that we’ve been here, they’ve done everything that we’ve asked them to. And this is the payoff.” But as hard as they worked during their time as Lumberjacks, they both know they will now have to work even harder. “I know it’s going to be a different speed than in high school,” said Molik. “Being a great player in high school doesn’t translate right away to college. I’ve got to work at it. I’ve got to work as hard as I can and I know I’m going to have the people who will push me as hard as I can. I will achieve to be great again in college. Same with the grades. I’m a scholar-athlete. Scholar comes first for a reason. I’ve got to get my grades in check, then football. I’ve just got to balance between the two and be great at both.”
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The North Tonawanda Sun /Saturday, February 14, 2015
Woodard signs LOI to play for Wagner By Dave Ricci
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Chris Woodard can’t nail down for sure what his greatest memory as a Lumberjack is. There have been far too many wonderful moments to pick just one. But what Woodard is certain of, is when he moves forward in life on to college and beyond, he’ll always do his best to make his hometown of North Tonawanda proud. Woodard thought of that recently when he realized every student-athlete’s dream of officially signing a letter of intent. For him, it was to play football for Wagner College on Staten Island. “As soon as I stepped on campus I just knew,” he said. “I love the coaching staff, and the location is just awesome, too. I looked at a couple of other schools, too. Overall, in the big city, there’s no place else I’d rather be.” Heading to a college that’s just outside New York City also has Woodard a threeyear varsity starter in football and basketball looking forward to the next stage of his life. An while leaving the comfort of family, friends and everything he’s known his whole life can be a bit scary for some, the youngster said he’s embracing and looking forward to the unknown as yet another new challenge. “It’s a big step in
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Setting the Jacks’ all-time yardage passing record this season, Woodard led North Tonawanda to its first sectional playoff appearance since 2011 and was named the Community Papers of Western New York Player of the Year. everybody’s life,” Woodard said of moving for the first time, “but I think I’m ready. I’m ready to experience new things, new people and new places. I’m just really looking forward to getting out there and competing for the football team.” Setting the Jacks’ alltime yardage passing record this season, Woodard led North Tonawanda to its first
sectional playoff appearance since 2011 and was named the Community Papers of Western New York Player of the Year. Academically Woodard was one of the best reasons why the Lumberjacks earned All-State Scholar Team awards for their overall academic average. “Chris is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be,” said Tony Truilizio, who
coached Woodard during his three seasons of varsity football. “Class, character, hard working; he has it all.” Woodard also has the distinction of leading the Lumberjacks to three straight wins over rival Tonawanda in the T-NT Classic, but as for his greatest memory at NT, the youngster took a deep breath and rolled through his mental Rolodex trying to find
one watershed moment that beats the rest. “Basketball-wise, I would say definitely (Ryan) Gilbert’s (buzzer beater) shot (to beat Kenmore West),” he Woodard. “That whole game was a great memory. I’ll never forget that. “Football-wise,” he added, “there’s so many. I loved playing here and I’ll never forget where I came from.”
Woodard said not only does he want to make his family, school and city proud, but also hopes that if he can find success in college ball, he wants to inspire other NT student-athletes to follow their collegiate dreams, too. “I hope to be kind of a role model for kids to look up to,” he said. “Just put the work in and great things can come out of it.”
Girls high school hockey continues Walking on water to catch big winter fish to grow at state tournament By Mike Haim
By Forrest Fisher
SPORTS COLUMNIST
OUTDOOR COLUMNIST
Less than a week after Katy Perry performed her “female empowerment” songs at the Super Bowl, Western New York experienced its own form of “girl power” on the feature rink at HarborCenter. Buffalo’s newest hockey venue hosted the fifth annual state high school girls ice hockey championship tournament last weekend. A local flair was even more evident as the Kenmore Devil Dogs, comprised of students from both Kenmore East and Kenmore West, won their semi-final game against Alexandria Bay from Section III to qualify for the championship game against Massena from Section X. Kenmore may have lost the final by a 3-0 score, but every other aspect of the weekend was a victory for not only the team, but also for a Section VI program in only its fifth year. The section, one of only four in the state to offer girls hockey, is the only one located west of the Syracuse area. It is also the newest, making Kenmore’s appearance in the final game incredibly significant. It was especially sweet for the section’s organizers, which started to explore a framework for interscholastic girls hockey about 10 years ago. Among the group who had a vision for the sport in the area was Rick Hopkins, who coaches the Williamsville district team and is sectional chairman. For Hopkins, seeing a state championship tournament being held locally much less with a local team in the final game was quite gratifying. ”It was a long arduous project, but we were able to convince seven school
Winter sporting enthusiasts in WNY have endured (enjoyed?) multiple consecutive weeks of a chilly arctic air blast this year and that has made recreation that depends on cold and snow the best in many years. Ice fishing activities in WNY lakes and ponds have been successful for hardy anglers and numerous good catches of fish have been reported throughout our region. One popular ice fishing destination for veteran Erie County ice anglers has always been the Bay of Quinte, in nearby Ontario, where big perch and walleyes are the target. Fishing in 19 feet of water near Big Bay near “Wager’s” on Big Island, Lake Erie Charter Captain Bob Rustowicz has been fooling some hefty walleyes. With several fish over eight pounds, Rustowicz has been fooling the monsters on gold-color Sidewinder spoons tipped with a minnow and simply working a vertical jigging motion. Several trophy fish in the 12 to 14 pound range are taken from the Bay of Quinte every year. Rustowicz says that when Lake Erie firms up more solid off Sturgeon Point, he plans to fish our New York waters for walleye and perch. Closer to home at Chautauqua Lake, anglers fishing the lower end of the lake off Grass Island, right in front of the Lakewood Rod and Gun Club, have been catching yellow perch and crappie on jigs tipped with salted minnows in six to eight feet of water depth. At center lake areas off Mission Meadows, Rich Davenport has been fishing with friends
JEFFREY T. BARNES
The Kenmore Devil Dogs celebrate a goal. The team is comprised of student-athletes from both Kenmore East and Kenmore West. districts that girls varsity ice hockey would be a good thing,” Hopkins said. “Five years after having the first puck drop, we’ve grown in numbers of girls playing and the talent level has grown along with it. “We were thrilled when the other leagues in the state asked us to host the state tournament. And it was a big thrill for the other qualifiers, who came out of the North Country from small communities, and their eyes were wide open kind of like someone from Buffalo going to New York City for the first time.” In fact, the Massena team ended up staying at the same hotel as the Dallas Stars, who were in town for a game against the Buffalo Sabres. The high school squad got to meet some members of the Stars, including Erik Cole, who grew up in Oswego
and worked one summer in Massena. It all made for a memorable two-day tourney, and proved that the idea of having girls playing varsity ice hockey at the high school level really does make sense. Hopkins admitted the organizing group needed to overcome doubts about the level of play from some district administrators. “You don’t question someone’s ability to play a trumpet if they want to go out for the band,” Hopkins said. “But once the league started, any doubters or naysayers could see the level of play and the amount of interest and excitement that girls hockey generates.” In addition to Kenmore and Williamsville, the section has four “combined district” competitors: Orchard ParkFrontier, Lancaster-Iroquois,
Amherst-Sweet Home, and West Seneca-Hamburg. All play in a federation league which also has a Monsignor Martin team composed of players from various Catholic schools. Kenmore forward Ana Orzechowski, a key player in the Devil Dogs’ four straight sectional championships, will even go on to play Division I collegiate hockey at RPI. Many other players from the area already play at Division III colleges, so there is already a developmental success story in the making. “Girls should have every opportunity that the boys have,” said Kenmore coach Jeff Orlowski. “We’ve come a long way in five years. We’re glad to be the pioneers.”
in 50-54 feet of water to catch perch in the 9-10 inch range and walleye to seven pounds. On the Mayville end of the lake near Mayville Town Park, perch, crappie and walleye are falling to tipped jigged as well, except anglers are working the weed bed edges there in 11-13 feet of water. In the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor, anglers working over six to eight feet of water with 12 – 15 inches of ice thickness have continued to catch smaller perch and sunfish, with some smelt and occasional northern pike as well. Mousie grubs fished on tiny titanium head jigs with extra sharp hooks are reported best offerings for the panfish, with tip-ups presenting mid-depth chubs the best for the northern pike. To cope with the cold weather, the one thing that anglers need this year is a sure way to keep their exposed hands warm when fishing. Most anglers use the portable and disposable hand warmer packs that we buy in local stores for a dollar or two. These last for 6-12 hours, but then they are finished putting out heat and must be disposed of. This year, a new device made by Swyper’s Company offers another hand-warmer option with rechargeable heat that offers 113 degree of heat for seven hours. The device is small, about ½ inch thick by 1-1/2 inch wide by about 3 inches long, and is protected by an aluminum shell casing with dual face heating on both sides, it’s water resistant too. It comes with a clip to attach to your zipper jacket or other loop in your outdoor clothing and is the perfect new device for hiking, skiing, fishing and all forms of winter outdoor activities. Tight lines to all.