Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Sierra Newton and her Purple Eagle teammates will host Iroquois Monday in the quarterfinals of the Section VI Class B volleyball playoffs.

In a rematch of a late regular season non league contest, No. 2 seed Albion will host No. 10 Iroquois at 6 p.m. Monday in the quarterfinals of the Section VI volleyball playoffs.

The undefeated (18-0) Purple Eagles scored a narrow four set 26-24, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19 win at Iroquois in that non league encounter.

Albion advanced to the quarterfinals by downing No. 15 Amherst 25-10, 25-11, 25-20 while Iroquois bested No. 7 Kenmore East 25-22, 25-19, 25-17.

The victor will face the winner of the No. 14 Olean vs. No. 6 Starpoint match in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Olean came from behind to upset No. 3 Pioneer 15-25, 25-23, 25-14, 25-15 in the opening round while Starpoint ousted No. 11 Dunkirk 25-10, 25-13, 25-11.

In Class C1 quarterfinal round matches Monday, No. 6 Medina visits No. 3 Akron and No. 8 Newfane travels to top seeded Eden.

Akron downed Medina twice during the Niagara-Orleans League season in straight sets.

Medina defeated Lackawanna 25-15, 25-13, 25-7 and Newfane downed Tonawanda 25-12, 25-18, 25-12 in the opening round.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman

FIRST TEAM – The top seven finishers at the girls’ N-O All-League meet include, in order from right to left, 1. Kim Goerss (Newfane), 2. Nina Burkard (Newfane), 3. Margo Henley (Akron), 4. Vanessa Burkard (Newfane), 5. Lydia Chunco (Newfane), 6. Emma Chubb (Akron), 7. Emma Mathes (Albion).

SECOND TEAM – 8. Gabriella Baker (Barker), 9. Meredith Patterson (Albion), 10. Hope Cummings (Akron), 11. Anna Rickard (Roy-Hart), 12. Allie DeBiase (Newfane), 13. Holly Heil (Medina), 14. Amanda Ciurzynski (Akron).

THIRD TEAM – 15. Kelsey Ciemny (Roy-Hart), 16. Caitlin Malanowski (Albion), 17 Caitlin Clack (Newfane), 18. Jessica Haseley (Barker), 19. Alexandria Erb (Akron), 20. Lauren Boudeman (Newfane), 21. Cheyanne Wagner (Wilson).

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – The field for the boys race leaves the start line at today’s annual Niagara-Orleans All-League meet at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The Barker boys and Newfane girls both locked up Niagara-Orleans League cross-country champions by scoring victories at the annual All-League meet held today at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The Barker garnered 52 points on the day to take top honors and complete a third straight perfect 14-0 N-O championship season and seventh in the last eight years.

Barker was led by the 4-7-8 place finish of Jack Hopkins, Jacob Arnold and Adam Wagner. The Raiders also had a good pack of four finishers in the 17-18-20-22 spots with Andrew Jenks, Michael Snell, Brent Bachman and Matthew Pestinger.

The leading quintet of runners including Avery Green (Roy-Hart), Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane), Tyler Arnett (Newfane), Jack Hopkins (Barker) and Evan Pappalardo (Albion) head out of the woods and along the lake shore as Medina’s Daniel Heil leads the following group.

The Newfane boys finished in the runner-up spot with 72 points followed by Roy-Hart 80, Albion 87, Akron 92, Wilson 108, CSAT 216 and Medina incomplete.

The second place finish pulled Newfane even with Roy-Hart in the final standings at 11-3 followed by Akron at 7-7, Albion 6-8, Wilson 5-9, CSAT 2-12, Medina 0-14.

Newfane’s Samuel Auernhamer was the individual winner with a time of 17:21.4 as his Panther teammate Tyler Arnett placed third.

Roy-Hart’s Avery Green placed second as the Albion duo of Evan Pappalardo and Brady Meakin, who finished fifth and sixth respectively, rounded out the All-League first team, which is comprised of the top seven finishers.

The field in the girls race heads around the first long curve on the course.

Placing their top seven runners in the top 20, the Newfane girls romped to a victory garnering 24 points on the day, 26 ahead of runner-up defending champion Akron’s 50.

Albion finished third with 77 points followed by Roy-Hart 118, Barker 121 and Wilson 134 as CSAT and Medina both had incomplete teams.

The 1-2-4-5 finish of Kim Goerss (20:11.8), Nina Burkard, Vanessa Burkard and Lydia Chunco led the way for Newfane. The Lady Panthers also had Allie DeBiaee in 12th, Caitlin Clark 17th and Lauren Boudeman 20th.

Newfane, which ended Akron’s three year sign, claimed the championship for the first time since the Lady Panthers won four titles in a row from 2008-2011.

The Lady Panthers finished the season with a perfect 14-0 record while Akron was 12-2, Albion 10-4, Roy-Hart 8-6, Barker 5-9, Medina 3-10, Wilson 3-11 and CSAT 0-13.

Akron was paced by the 3-6 finish of Margo Henley and Emma Chubb.

Albion was sparked by the trio of Emma Mathes in 7th place, Meredith Patterson 9th and Caitlin Malanowski 16th.

With Purple Eagles Coach Mark Hryvniak, right, encouraging his runners, Albion’s Emma Mathes and Meredith Patterson run along the scenic course followed by Medina’s Holly Heil.

N-O All-League Boys Race

Final Team Standings: Barker 52, Newfane 72, Roy-Hart 80, Albion 87, Akron 92, Wilson 108, CSAT 216, Medina incomplete.

All-League First Team – 1. Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane), 2. Avery Green (Roy-Hart), 3. Tyler Arnett (Newfane), 4. Jack Hopkins (Barker), 5. Evan Pappalardo (Albion), 6. Brady Meakin (Albion), 7. Jacob Arnold (Barker).

All-League Second Team – 8. Adam Wagner (Barker), 9. Mike Swinarski (Akron), 10. Casey Zuba (Akron), 11. Daniel Heil (Medina), 12. Evan Steier (Albion), 13. Nathaniel Johnson (Wilson), 14. Jordan Stoelting (Wilson).

All-League Third Team – 15. Ethan Gagne, (Roy-Hart), 16. Ben Bacon (Roy-Hart), 17. Andrew Jenks (Barker), 18. Michael Snell (Barker), 19. Kyle Full (Akron), 20. Brent Bachman (Barker), 21. Arion Lingle (Newfane).

Final League Standings: Barker 14-0, Newfane 11-3, Roy-Hart 11-3, Akron 7-7, Albion 6-8, Wilson 5-9, CSAT 2-12, Medina 0-14.

Albion Coach Mark Hryvniak sported a Halloween hat in keeping with today’s holiday.

N-O All-League Girls Race

Final Team Standings: Newfane 24, Akron 50, Albion 77, Roy-Hart 118, Barker 121, Wilson 134, CSAT incomplete, Medina incomplete

All-League First Team – 1. Kim Goerss (Newfane), 2. Nina Burkard (Newfane), 3. Margo Henley (Akron), 4. Vanessa Burkard (Newfane), 5. Lydia Chunco (Newfane), 6. Emma Chubb (Akron), 7. Emma Mathes (Albion).

All-League Second Team – 8. Gabriella Baker (Barker), 9. Meredith Patterson (Albion), 10. Hope Cummings (Akron), 11. Anna Rickard (Roy-Hart), 12. Allie DeBiase (Newfane), 13. Holly Heil (Medina), 14. Amanda Ciurzynski (Akron).

All-League Third Team – 15. Kelsey Ciemny (Roy-Hart), 16. Caitlin Malanowski (Albion), 17 Caitlin Clack (Newfane), 18. Jessica Haseley (Barker), 19. Alexandria Erb (Akron), 20. Lauren Boudeman (Newfane), 21. Cheyanne Wagner (Wilson).

Final League Standings: Newfane 14-0, Akron 12-2, Albion 10-4, Roy-Hart 8-6, Barker 5-9, Medina 3-10, Wilson 3-11, CSAT 0-13.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman

FIRST TEAM – The top seven finishers at today’s boys’ Niagara-Orleans All-League Cross-Country meet at Lakeside Beach State Park include, in order from right to left, 1. Samuel Auernhamer (Newfane), 2. Avery Green (Roy-Hart), 3. Tyler Arnett (Newfane), 4. Jack Hopkins (Barker), 5. Evan Pappalardo (Albion), 6. Brady Meakin (Albion) and 7. Jacob Arnold (Barker).

SECOND TEAM – 8. Adam Wagner (Barker), 9. Mike Swinarski (Akron), 10. Casey Zuba (Akron), 11. Daniel Heil (Medina), 12. Evan Steier (Albion), 13. Nathaniel Johnson (Wilson) and 14. Jordan Stoelting (Wilson).

THIRD TEAM – 15. Ethan Gagne, (Roy-Hart), 16. Ben Bacon (Roy-Hart), 17. Andrew Jenks (Barker), 18. Michael Snell (Barker), 19. Kyle Full (Akron), 20. Brent Bachman (Barker) and 21. Arion Lingle (Newfane).

Photo Contributed courtesy of Damon James – Medina’s Lawson Fenton in action for the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Junior A Hockey League.

The pursuit of education and career goals can often take one far from home. That is certainly the case for Medina’s Lawson Fenton whose very promising hockey career has seen him journey far to the west to Vancouver, British Columbia in a quest to attain his goal of earning a Division 1 college hockey scholarship.

Lawson, a talented goalie who last year helped the Rochester Junior Amerks win a regular season conference title by posting a 25-2 record between the pipes, is in Vancouver playing for the Coquitlam Express of the British Columbia Junior A Hockey League.

“I love it. It’s great to be in Vancouver,” said Lawson in a phone interview this week. “It’s just a great experience and the competition is amazing. It is insane.”

Long a fertile ground for National Hockey League talent scouts, the Canadian Junior A leagues are now also a prime talent search are for major U.S. college hockey programs.

“It’s top notch,” said Lawson’s dad, Chris Fenton, of the league and the Express organization. “The whole reason for Lawson going there is to get a lot of looks from colleges.”

“Absolutely”, added Lawson. “My goal is to get into a D1 college program and at every game we have a number of college representatives in the stands so there are plenty of opportunities to get looked at. In fact, our team captain just got a scholarship offer from Princeton.”

Lawson, who is living with a host family, has found daily life as a Junior A hockey player to be a busy one which includes three hour practices on the ice, workouts off the ice, meetings, film sessions and community service.

“He’s enjoying it but it’s a lot of work,” said his dad. “It’s constant and it’s pretty intense. I have a lot more respect now for what the pro hockey players go through after seeing the work the players put in at the Junior A level.”

Lawson, who has played in 9 games already earning 3 wins is the most enthusiastic about his team and his teammates.

“I’ve been on good teams before but not as dedicated and focused as this team,” he said. “This team is a big family. Everyone has the same competitiveness and drive.”

He may be playing in the Mainland Division of the B.C. Junior A League now but for Lawson his long trip to Vancouver and all of the hard work on and off the ice that he is putting in is focused on the goal of playing hockey for a Division 1 college team on the U.S. mainland.

A goal in each half proved to be just enough to earn No. 2 seed Niagara-Orleans League champion Wilson a narrow 2-1 victory over No. 4 Tonawanda this afternoon in the Section VI Class B girls soccer championship game at Amherst.

Trailing 1-0, Wilson tied the game midway through the first half on a goal by Kayla Neumann.

Lauren Couturier later netted what proved to be the game winning goal for Wilson midway through the second half.

Wilson now advances to the Far West Regionals on November 6 against the Section V champion either Livonia or Mynderse.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – The Niagara-Orleans boys and girls cross-country champions will be determined at the All-League meet Saturday at Lakeside Beach State Park. Action here is from a regular season tri-meet as Roy-Hart’s Avery Green leads Albion’s Evan Pappalardo and Medina’s Daniel Heil.

The Barker boys and Akron girls squads will both be looking to defend their titles at the annual Niagara-Orleans All-League cross-country meet Saturday at Lakeside Beach State Park.

The boys race is scheduled for 11 a.m. to be followed by the girls race.

The Barker boys squad, which has won the N-O title the last two years in a row and six of the last seven years, brings a 7-0 dual meet record into the All-League meet.

Roy-Hart is currently in second place at 6-1 and Newfane third at 5-2.

The top returning individual runners are Newfane’s Sam Auernhamer and Roy-Hart’s Avery Green, who finished second and third respectively at last year’s All-League meet.

The Akron girls squad, which has won the N-O crown the last three years in a row, went 6-1 during the dual meet position of the season losing only to undefeated (7-0) Newfane. Albion is currently in third place at 5-2.

Akron’s Margo Henley returns to defend her individual title. Newfane’s Kim Goerss, who placed second last fall, also returns.

Lady Eagles top South Seneca in Class C2 title contest

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall captains Taylor ReQua, Maya Rutland, Julia Smith, Jenna Jacob and Taylor Rutland and Coach Pam Beres hold up the championship trophy after the Lady Eagles title victory over South Seneca this evening at Caledonia-Mumford.

Rebounding from an early deficit, top seeded Kendall battled back to defeat No. 3 South Seneca 4-1 this evening to capture a second straight Section V Class C2 girls soccer championship.

Four different players – Taylor ReQua, Hailee Mitchell, Taylor Rutland and Maya Rutland – took turns scoring the goals for Kendall which improves to 19-0 and advances to the Section V Class C state qualifier game Tuesday against C1 champion Cal-Mum, a 3-1 victor over Gananda.

“To have four different players score goals is great. It’s just a fantastic win and a great team effort,” said Kendall Coach Pam Beres. “The girls just played great. We played our game for 80 minutes and the girls did exactly what they had to do.”

Kendall’s Taylor Rutland, right, goes high for the ball against Emily Lavarnway of South Seneca.

Kendall fell behind for just the second time this season when Emily Dey scored for South Seneca just 2:55 into the game. It was only the third goal the Lady Eagles have allowed in 19 games.

However, Kendall came battling back to first tie the game on a penalty kick goal by ReQua just 10 minutes later, and then to take the lead for good at 2-1 on a crossing shot goal by Mitchell with 14 minutes to go in the opening half. The goals were the 11th of the season for ReQua and the second for Mitchell who was brought up from the JV ranks late in the season.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game but when they got that early goal our girls kept their composure and didn’t flinch or get frazzled. They came out strong,” said Beres.

Elizabeth Rath of the Lady Eagles keeps the ball away from the Falcons Vicki Sturdivant.

Kendall went on to control play throughout the second half but it remained a tight 2-1 contest until the Lady Eagles finally broke it open with two goals in the final five and a half minutes.

Taylor Rutland upped the lead to 3-1 when she scored he 12th goal of the season off a free kick by ReQua with 5:25 remaining.

Maya Rutland then capped off the victory when she netted her 29th goal of the season with just 2:55 to go off an assist from Jenna LoSapio.

Kendall’s Coralee Freitag battles with South Seneca’s Ariel Felice as Jenna LoSapio comes in to help.

Kendall, which was appearing in the finals for the third year in a row, nipped Cal-Mum 2-1 in overtime in last year’s championship game.

The Lady Eagles advanced to the finals by blanking Campbell-Savona 6-0 in the quarterfinals and Warsaw 1-0 in the semis.

The site and time for Tuesday’s state qualifier have not yet been announced.

South Seneca finishes the season at 18-2.

Jenna LoSapio of the Lady Eagles drives to drive around the Falcons Jenna McDonald.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall goalie Jenna Jacob, shown here making a save in the semifinals, and her Lady Eagles teammates will face South Seneca Friday for the Section V Class C2 championship.

Defending champion Kendall will seek a second straight Section V soccer title when the top seeded Lady Eagles face No. 3 South Seneca in the Class C2 final at 5 p.m. Friday at Caledonia-Mumford.

Kendall, which has reached the sectional finals for the third year in a row, brings an 18-0 record into the title contest while South Seneca is 17-1.

Kendall advanced to the finals by twice defeating the same school in the same round for the second year in a row, first 6-0 over Campbell-Savona in the quarterfinals and then 1-0 over Warsaw in the semifinals.

“We’re really looking forward to Friday,” said Coach Pam Beres. “It will be a tough match so we’ll have to step up and play our best soccer if we want to bring home another sectional title.”

Maya Rutland scored her team leading 28th goal of the season in the win over Warsaw which was Kendall’s closest call of the season.

The Lady Eagles offense has also been led this season by Taylor Rutland with 11 goals and 9 assists, Taylor ReQua 10 goals and 21 assists and Coralee Freitag 9 goals and 9 assists.

Goalie Jenna Jacob and her defensive mates including Liz Rath, Julia Smith, Lyndsay Wright, Andres Villalobos and Amelia Patrick have shutout 16 of 18 opponents and allowed only 2 goals on the season.

South Seneca gained a berth in the title contest by scoring back-to-back 3-2 wins over No. 6 Keshequa in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Bolivar-Richburg in the semis.

The Lady Falcons offense has been led by the duo of Kelsey Shaulis (32 goals, 10 assists) and McKenzie Kenyon (23 goals, 10 assists) as Emily Day has added 11 goals and 14 assists and Jenna McDonald 10 goals and 6 assists.

Kendall nipped Cal-Mum 2-1 in overtime for the title last year, a win which also avenged a 10 loss to the Lady Raiders in the 2013 final.

The victor will then take on the winner of the Class C1 final between No. 1 Gananda (16-2) and No. 2 Cal-Mum (16-2-1) next week for the Section V Class C berth in the state playoffs.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Holley quarterback Nick Passarell, who had three touchdown passes this evening in the Hawks’ Class C title win at Mynderse, is shown here during earlier season action handing off to Zach Day, who added a rushing touchdown.

A big third quarter scoring burst keyed Holley to a 34-6 victory over host Mynderse this evening in the championship game of the Section V Class C Connors and Ferris Bowl.

Leading by a narrow 6-0 margin, Holley took charge in the third quarter on touchdown passes from quarterback Nick Passarell to Camron LaBrage covering 51 and 42 yards and a 1 yard TD run by Zach Day vaulting the Hawks out to a commanding 28-0 advantage. A big 46 yard pass completion from Passarell to Clarence Moyer set the stage for Day’s tally.

“The kids were extremely happy,” said Coach Wil Prince. “They worked real hard and they deserved it. They played just unbelievable right from the outset.”

Holley closed out the title win on a 36 yard touchdown run by Adam Stetzel in the fourth quarter. Stetzel also had a pair of two-point conversions, one on a run and one on a pass reception.

Holley took the lead for good the first drive of the game as Passarell hooked up with LaBarge for a 71 yard touchdown play.

Passarell threw for a total of 272 yards on the evening.

Nick Shenck had a big day defensively for Holley with 11 tackles, 4 assists and 2 sacks.

The Hawks defense also had Day with 9 tackles, 2 assists and 2 sacks while Moyer and Patrick Purtell were each in on 6 tackles and Passarell had an interception.

Holley advanced to the title contest by defeating Wayland-Cohocton 24-12 in the semifinals while Mynderse bested Marcus Whitman 43-6.