Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Emily Blanchard works to advance the ball up field against Holley defender Abigail Williams during the Purple Eagles tournament semifinal win this evening over the host Lady Hawks.

A quick two goal scoring burst just before halftime earned Albion a 2-0 victory over the host Lady Hawks this evening in the semifinals of the Holley girls soccer tournament.

Emily Blanchard scored what proved to be the game winning goal for Albion with 3:36 to go in the first half off an assist from Sarah Gregori.

Brylie Hapeman then added a big insurance goal for the Purple Eagles with only 25 seconds to go in the half as Blanchard picked up the assist.

Holley’s Haylee Passarell battles for control of the ball with Albion’s Brylie Hapeman

Isabella Prest earned the shutout in goal.

Maddy Papaj made 14 saves in goal for Holley.

Albion, which is now 1-1, next faces Batavia in the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Holley will meet Greece Olympia in the consolation contest at 4:30 p.m.

Holley’s Haylee Passarell battles for control of the ball with Albion’s Brylie Hapeman.

Boys Soccer
Holley Tournament Semifinals
Holley 2, Roy-Hart 0
The host Hawks blanked Roy-Hart 2-0 this evening in the semifinals of the Holley boys soccer tournament, a contest that was postponed from Wednesday night due to a thunderstorm.

Holley scored what proved to be the game winning goal with two minutes to go in the first half as Dylan McKay tallied off an assist from Derek McArthur.

The Hawks added an insurance goal by Antonio Puente midway through the second half after play had been delayed by about a half hour due to a power failure.

Holley will now face Alden in the championship game at 6:30 p.m. Friday while Roy-Hart will take on Batavia in the consolation contest at 4:30 p.m.

Volleyball
Roy-Hart 25-25-25, Pembroke 10-21-8

Roy-Hart rolled to a straight set 25-10, 25-21, 25-8 victory over Pembroke this evening in the non league season opener for the Lady Rams.

Olivia Vorholzer had 15 service points, 8 aces and 5 spiking kills; Bea Bacon 9 points and 7 kills and Skyler Christopher 7 kills to lead the way for Roy-Hart.

The Lady Rams next hosts Lyndonville in another non league contest on Tuesday.

Newfane 25-25-25, Lyndonville 7-11-18
Alisha Hinkson had 3 kills and 3 digs for Lyndonville in the Lady Tigers season opening home court non league loss to Newfane.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Sarah Granchelli (7) advances the ball against Newfane defenders Caitlin Chunco (9) and Madison Bunn (20) during the Mustangs league opening win at Vets Park this afternoon.

Scoring twice in the second half, Medina blanked Newfane 2-0 this afternoon at Vets Park to open the Niagara-Orleans League field hockey season.

In the other N-O openers, defending champion Akron defeated Wilson 4-1 and Roy-Hart blanked Kenmore 6-0.

Guin Schalck scored what proved to be the game winner for Medina on a penalty stroke.

Tea Cardone then added an insurance goal for the Mustangs as Schalck had the assist.

Alissa Blount earned the shutout in goal for the Mustangs.

Akron 4, Wilson 1
Heather Cumming scored the three goal hat-trick to lead the way for Akron which also got a goal from Lilly Burghorn.

Roy-Hart 6, Kenmore 0
Angelina Ciarfella had the three goal hat-trick to set the pace for Roy-Hart.

The Lady Rams also got goals from Lexi Lovewell, Shannon Dent and Hope Kassman.

Getting back onto the winning track, Medina edged past Roy-Hart 228-232 this morning in a Niagara-Orleans League golf match at Shelridge.

Ian Wagner took medalist honors with a 37 for Medina which bounced back from Wednesday’s narrow 225-230 loss to defending champion Wilson to improve to 3-1 on the young season.

Mike Cardone added a 46 and Carson Gates and Trevor Luthart rounds of 47 for the Mustangs.

Hogan Lang shot a 40 to lead the way for Roy-Hart which is now 2-1.

The Rams also had Madigan Lang with a 46 and Murphy Lang and DJ Davis with 48’s.

Barker 246, Akron 274
Barker stayed unbeaten at 3-0 by downing host Akron 246-274 at DanDee Farms.

Barker’s Josh Richbart and Akron’s Brennan Murty shared medalist honors with rounds of 44.

Jake Harris added a 46 for Barker.

The loss drops Akron to 0-4.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Quarterback Eddie Wasnock and his Barker/Roy-Hart teammates will host Medina/Lyndonville at 7 p.m. Friday at Middleport in the season opener.

Medina/Lyndonville will face rival Barker/Roy-Hart in a B East Division game at 7 p.m. Friday at Middleport to highlight the opening weekend of the high school football season.

The other local openers will have Albion visiting Lew-Port at 7 p.m. Friday and Holley hosting Nichols of Buffalo at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in non league contests.

Sophomore Izaiah Rhim will handle the quarterbacking duties for Medina/Lyndonville which returns experience at the running back spots in seniors Jake Cotter and Eric Neace and at the wide receiver spots in juniors Jalin Cooper and Mason Moore. Junior Brendan Luthart and sophomore Johnny Salone add depth to the receiver corps as does senior Dustin Joy at running back.

Up front the Mustangs are looking to senior Tyler Howard at center, senior Dawson Joy and junior Ian Joseph at the guards and senior Emmanual Sones, junior Chris Clark and freshman Mario Fidanza working at the tackle spots.

“Roy-Hart has got a very big, strong squad which likes to grind it out,” said Medina Coach Eric Valley. “So defensively we’ve really got to step it up and try to slow their offense down.”

Senior Ed Wasnock looks to open at quarterback for Barker/Roy-Hart which has Malik Smith, Aaron Curry and Eric Fitch at the running back spots, Brandon Lee Woods and Tim Maines at tight end and Jake Bruning at wide receiver.

The front line looks to include Gavyn Samanka at center, Ben Schwab, Trevor Meal and Nick Kubas working at the guards and Matt Steves and Savatore Gioeli at the tackles.

“We’ve got a big time challenge in trying to stop all of those weapons Medina has,” said Coach Bill Bruning. “We’ll have our hands full.”

The Mustangs have won the previous three meetings with Barker/Roy-Hart.

Albion at Lew-Port
Sophomore Bryce Pritchard will open at quarterback for Albion which returns experience at the running back spots in seniors Tom Mattison and Blake Aina and junior Meach Gardner, at tight end in senior Kory Reynolds and at wide receiver in senior Lamar Chambers.

Up front the Purple Eagles will be looking to senior Jared Hollinger, junior Justin Stritenger, sophomores Nate Moore, Ben Restivo and and Kirk Ellison and freshman Brennen Hughes.

Seniors Tony Rotoli and Tanner Ferris along with junior Jaquess Harrison and sophomores Matt Kovaleski and Ugene Harrison look to help bolster the Albion defensive unit.

“We have to play errorless football,” said Coach Gary Parisi. “Lew-Port has a very good football team so we can’t make a lot of errors.”

Albion holds a 7-1 lead over Lew-Port in the all-time series with the Lancers.

Nichols at Holley
New foe Nichols will provide the opening day opposition for Holley which looks to have junior Jeremy Mallett at quarterback.

The Hawks return experience at the running back spots in seniors Zach Day and Collin Papaj and at the receiver spots in juniors Camron Labarge and Ryan Andrews.

Anchoring the line will be juniors Glenn Thrower, Nate Towne and senior Nick Smith.

“We all just have to do our jobs and handle our responsibilities,” said Coach Wil Prince. “Defensively we’ve got to stick to our keys and get at them. Offensively we’ve got to get a push up front and control the line of scrimmage.”

Albion scored a straight set 25-20, 25-9, 25-20 victory over host Attica this evening in a non league season opening volleyball match.

Chanyce Powell had 10 spiking kills and 3 blocks for Albion as Caitlynn Snook added 7 kills and 4 digs, Haley Smith 5 kills and 2 aces, Emilie Barleben 3 kills and 14 assists and Sierra Newton 2 kills and 3 assists.

Byron-Bergen 25-21-25-25, Medina 22-25-14-20
Molley Gross had 8 spiking kills and 10 digs for Medina in the Mustangs four set loss at Byron-Bergen this evening in a non league match.

Emily Kams added 13 digs, 6 assists and 3 kills, Je’ne Brown 5 kills and 3 blocks, Carley Schultz 5 kills, Grace Masse 12 assists and 11 digs and Alyssa Beyer 10 digs for the Mustangs.

Lauren Burke had 9 spiking kills, 19 assists and 12 digs for Byron-Bergen as Madison Farnsworh added 27 digs and 10 kills and Catherine Brumsted 17 assists and 6 kills.

Making it 30 straight league wins, two-time defending champion Wilson posted a key early season Niagara-Orleans golf victory this afternoon by nipping Medina 225-230 at Shelridge.

Wilson’s Jonah Miller and Medina’s Ian Wagner shared medalist honors with rounds of 40.

Connor Seeley added a 43 and Patrick Seeley a 45 for Wilson which improves to 3-0.

Mike Cardone and Andrew Fuller both carded 47’s and Carson Gates a 48 for Medina which is now 2-1.

Medina next faces Roy-Hart (2-0) at Shelridge Thursday.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina/Lyndonville’s Krisitian Snyder attempts a sliding shot during today’s game against Tonawanda at Lyndonville as Warriors goalie Adam Moore comes out to make the stop.

A late two goal rally earned Medina/Lyndonville a 2-1 win over Tonawanda this afternoon in a non league season opening soccer game at Lyndonville.

The Mustangs, after having one shot rattle off the post and three others just miss on wide open net opportunities earlier in the second half, finally pulled even when Vassilios Bitsas scored off an assist from Ethan Leonard with 6:42 remaining.

Keeping the momentum, the Mustangs then scored the game winner with 2:30 remaining when Krisitan Snyder tallied on a breakaway off an assist from Bitsas.

“I’m just really proud of the guys for not giving up,” said Coach Steve Luksch. “We hit the post to open the second half and Tonawanda came right back down and scored but we didn’t quit. They just kept playing and showed a lot of heart.”

Tonawanda had grabbed the 1-0 lead just 1:02 into the second half on a breakaway goal by Aaron Holler.

Medina/Lyndonville’s Trenton Jones, right, advances the ball up field against Tonawnda’s Nick Bitter

“Tonawanda made it to the sectional semis last year and they return most of that group,” said Luksch. “They are a good team so this was a good opening win for us.”

Medina/Lyndonville next visits Park on Tuesday in another non league contest.

Holley Tournament
A thunderstorm forced the postponement of this evening’s Holley boys soccer tournament semifinal game between Roy-Hart and the host Hawks.

The game has been rescheduled for Thursday evening following the 6:30 p.m. Holley vs. Albion girls tournament semifinal.

Alden did defeat Batavia 6-1 this evening in the first semifinal which was halted by the thunderstorm with 13 minutes to go.

Scoring a goal in each half, Albion opened the Niagara-Orleans League boys soccer season on a high note by blanking host Akron 2-0 this afternoon.

Hayden Pecoraro gave Albion a quick lead by scoring five minutes into the first half off an assist from Kendyll Hadick.

The Purple Eagles later netted a big insurance goal when Pecoraro tallied on a penalty kick eight minutes into the second half.

Devin Gaylord earned the shutout in goal for the Purple Eagles whose defense was anchored by Donato Rosario, Nick Reed, Joe Madjeski and Nate Smith.

“Overall it was a solid team effort,” said Albion Coach Keith Akers. “We played well and the kids were excited to start the league season off on a positive note.”

Newfane 4, Wilson 1
Newfane opened defense of its N-O title by downing rival Wilson 4-1.

Trevor Moreland scored 2 goals for the Panthers as Nick Koziol and Caleb Russell each netted 1.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Roy-Hart graduate Lou Rosselli, second from left, who today as named head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma, meets here with Roy-Hart’s other two state champions, Drew Hull, left, and Cameron Swick and former long-time Rams Coach Dick Lang during ceremonies honoring the state champs this past spring.

Roy-Hart graduate Lou Rosselli today was named the head wrestling coach at the University of Oklahoma.

Rosselli, a two-time state champion during his scholastic days at Roy-Hart, has been serving as an assistant coach at Ohio State for the past 10 years.

“I look forward to leading this Oklahoma program and building on its significant tradition,” said Rosselli in a University of Oklahoma press release.

Rosselli earned All-American honors at Edinboro University and was a member of the United States wrestling team at the 1996 Olympics. He has served as a coach on both the USA Wrestling team and the U.S. Olympic team.

“I’m just estatic for Louie,” said Dick Lang who coached Rosselli at Roy-Hart. “Oklahoma is one of the five premier wrestling coaching spots in the nation.”