Contributed Photo

The Shelridge Women’s Golf Association held its annual Rally For The Cure Tournament this past week. The competitors in the tournament are shown here. There were winners for each 9 holes.  The front 9 winners were Missy Newman, Tami Vekich, Sue Seefeldt and Mari Ehrenreich with a scramble score of 35.  The back 9 winners were Maggie Hagenbach, Kim Griffin, Jackie Harmon and Judy Erck who prevailed over Vicki Dorin, Bridget DiCureia, Kim McPherson and Melinda Whiting, both teams having shot 34 and a match of cards determined the winner.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart second baseman Al Xapsos gets ready to tag out Albion’s JJ Downs on a steal attempt during this evening’s Midget ‘A’ playoff championship game at Barre Town Park which was won by Roy-Hart.

Jumping out to a quick first inning lead, Roy-Hart went on to defeat Albion 10-6 this evening at the Barre Town Park to capture the Lockport Midget ‘A’ League playoff championship series in two straight games.

Brad Wilson had the big night at the plate with a home run, double and 6 RBIs for Roy-Hart which also bested Albion 4-3 in the first game of the title series last Thursday.

Roy-Hart took the lead for good by scoring three times with two out in the top of the first inning on a two-run double by Wilson and an RBI single by Austin Walker.

The lead jumped to 4-0 in the second inning on a two-out RBI single by Aaron Metz.

Albion shortstop Dominic DiCureia tries to turn a double play after getting Roy-Hart’s Steven Douglas out at second base.

Roy-Hart then opened up a commanding 10-0 advantage by erupting for 6 runs in the fourth inning capped off by a grand slam home run by Wilson over the left field fence. A fielders choice play off the bat of Al Xapsos and a single by Austin Heschke plated the first 2 runs of the inning.

Albion though did come battling back starting with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth on a bases loaded walk and a fielders choice play. A hit batter, a single by Trey Hart and an error loaded the bases to set up the opportunity.

Keeping the momentum, Albion tacked on 4 more runs in the fifth on a two-run single by Dominic DiCureia, a fielders choice play off the bat of Hart and an RBI single by Austin Loyd to cut the deficit to 10-6. A walk, a hit batter and an error loaded the bases to set up the threat.

Roy-Hart third baseman Eric Fitch puts the tag on Albion’s Austin Loyd.

However, Albion could get no closer as Wilson, who came on in relief to get the final 2 outs in the fifth, put Albion down in order in both the sixth and seventh innings, including 4 strikeouts, to close out the win and the championship for Roy-Hart.

Metz pitched the first four and one-third innings scattering 3 hits and striking out 5.

JJ Downs, who came on in relief in the fourth frame for Albion, blanked Roy-Hart over the finals three and two-thirds innings on 1 hit with 4 strikeouts.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Coach Kevin Laskey watches as his charges work out in the weight room during this morning’s first practice session for the new Lyndonville boys volleyball team.

Boys volleyball officially returned to the Lyndonville High sports program for the first time since the mid 1970’s as the fledgling squad held its first practice session this morning.

The team is a merged squad with student/athletes from Medina participating as part of the shared services agreement between the two districts.

“We’re starting from square one so It’s a challenge,” said Coach Kevin Laskey who takes over the new squad after coaching the Lyndonville girls varsity team the last few years. “The first thing we’re trying to do is to build interest in the sport and start working on the basic skills.”

And since the sport is a new one in the area as neither the Genesee Region or Niagara-Orleans Leagues have boys volleyball, Laskey is still welcoming additional student/athletes who are interested in trying the sport. “It’s never too late to join,” he said noting that the squad is practicing mornings from 9 until noon at Lyndonville and that a bus is available to transport Medina students which leaves Medina at 8:30 a.m.

This mornings’ first practice session involved weight room conditioning work as well as time on the court.

The team is scheduled to open the season at home on September 9 against Pavilion.

A match is also slated to be played at Medina on September 21 against Wayne Central.

Photos by Mike Wertman – Albion players work with the ropes during a condition drill at this mornings’ first practice session.

Area high school fall sports teams were greeted by warm, sunny weather today for the first day of preseason practice.

“It’s good to get things rolling again,” said Albion varsity football Coach Gary Parisi. “The kids are working hard and they’ve got a great attitude and spirit so it’s nice to get going.”

The local football squads are prepping for the Labor Day weekend season openers which will have Newfane at Albion, Lew-Port at Medina, Barker/Roy-Hart at Tonawanda and Holley at Attica on September 4.

Several Medina linemen go through an agility drill.

Area soccer, volleyball and field hockey teams also began practice today.

N-O golf competition will kickoff the fall season on August 25 with Roy-Hart at Medina and CSAT at Albion.

N-O field hockey competition is slated to begin September 1 with Roy-Hart at Newfane, Wilson at Medina and Kenmore at defending champion Barker.

Genesee Region League girls volleyball action gets underway on September 2 with Holley at Oakfield/Elba, Wheatland-Chili at Kendall and Newfane at Lyndonville in a non league match. N-O girls volleyball competition begins September 9 with Medina at defending champion Albion and Roy-Hart at CSAT.

The inaugural season for the Lyndonville boys volleyball team, which is a merged squad with Medina, begins September 9 with a home match against Pavilion.

Holley varsity soccer players work on a ball control drill.

Area girls soccer competition will begin on August 29 with Kendall at Greece Odyssey and Medina at Depew. The other openers will have Medina at Roy-Hart on August 31, Barker at Albion on September 1, Northstar at Lyndonville on September 2 and Holley hosting Roy-Hart on September 3 in the opening round of the Lady Hawks Tournament.

Boys soccer competition gets underway on September 1 with Kendall at LeRoy. Then on September 2 it will be Albion at Newfane, CSAT at Medina and Holley hosting Roy-Hart in the opening round of the Hawks Tournament.

Medina varsity soccer players work out at Vets Park.

Contributed Photo

In Medina Flag Football League action Saturday the Jackals bested Trueballers 55-26, the Crush downed the Dragons 54-26 and the Legion of Doom nipped the Warriors 28-27. Here Chad Callard (32) of the Jackals makes a big gain for a first down against the Trueballers.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Mehkyron Drisdom picks up big yardage on a pass reception during the Albion Varsity Eagles season opening win over visiting Akron Saturday.

The Albion Varsity Eagles downed visiting Akron 40-6 and the Medina Broncos blanked host Oakfield/Elba 21-0 to highlight Saturday’s Niagara Orleans Football Association season opening action.

In other action, the Medina Colts lost 12-6 and the Medina Stallions were shutout 25-0 by Oakfield/Elba. The Albion Mini Eagles likewise lost 12-7 to Akron as did the JV Eagles 26-20.

Medina next visits Newfane and Albion visits Roy-Hart next Saturday. Roy-Hart lost to Newfane 31-0 in the Mini Division, 36-6 in the JV and 33-0 in the Varsity.

Albion Varsity Eagles 40, Akron 6
Quarterback Thomas Furmanski rushed for two touchdowns on carries of 29 and 22 yards and also threw a 5 yard TD pass to Xavier Cornick to lead the Albion Varsity Eagles attack.

Anthony Freeman also rushed for two touchdowns on carries of 15 and 6 yards, and James Denoncourt forced a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a TD.
Furmanski and Freeman also ran for extra points and Furmanski passed to Mehkyron Drisdom for a two-point conversion.

Freeman rushed for a total of 56 yards and Furmanski 51 while Drisdom had 33 yards receiving.

On defense, Drisdom made 6 tackles, Rylend Callicutt and Josh Howell 4 while Bryce Kelly had 2 sacks and Kyle Hughson 2 fumble recoveries.

Albion Varsity Eagles quarterback Thomas Furmanski breaks loose for a long touchdown run.

Medina Broncos 21, Oakfield/Elba 0
Iverson Poole had first half touchdown runs of 10 and 2 yards for the Broncos which later put a lock on the win on a 14 yard TD run by Aiden Pitts in the fourth quarter.

Poole, who had 99 yards rushing on the day, also had 2 extra points and Hayden Woodroe 1.

Broncos quarterback Xander Payne threw for 70 yards including big completions of 42 yards to Lavonn Guy and 23 to Jaren Rhim to set up scores. Guy also had 49 yards rushing, Pitts 39 and Woodroe 17.

Defensively, for the Broncos, Oliver Wilson had 6 tackles, Josh Wilson and Zack Oliver 4 and Woodroe 3. Poole also had 2 sacks and Woodroe 1 while Rashawn Bloom had a fumble recovery.

Akron 26, Albion JV Eagles 20
Amari Jones ran 62 yards for one touchdown and passed 10 yards to Javon Jones for another score for the Albion JV Eagles. Javon Jones also returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.

Defensively, Amari Jones had 12 tackles and Jabari Johnson and Chris Porter 5 each.

Akron 12, Albion Mini Eagles 7
Destin Brown scored the Albion Mini Eagles touchdown on a 1 yard run. He had a total of 67 yards rushing and Makyell Walker 53.

On defense, Demare Mathews made 6 tackles, Brown 5, Xavier Byrd and Walker 4 and Blake Preston had an interception.

Oakfield /Elba12, Colts 6
Kaiden Hangartner scored the touchdown for the Colts on a 30 yard run.

Brady Christiaansen also picked up rushing yardage for the Broncos while on defense Hangartner and Caiden Class both had 6 tackles.

Oakfield/Elba 25, Stallions 0
Colby Petrie had 14 tackles for the Stallions while Emmanual Taylor made 8 stops and Mario Fidanza 7. Taylor also had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Contributed Photo

Compiling an 8-4 record the Albion girls U17 soccer team recently captured the Rochester District Youth Soccer Association U17 Division 3 championship. Team members include, in front Desiree Barber,  Brooke Kiefer, Alyce Miller, Vivian Rivers, Katie Mann, Brylee Hapeman, and Nicole Eldred. In back are Coach Paul Zeppetella, Ellen Narburgh, Natalie DiCureia, Allison Page, Catherine Thom, Emily Blanchard, Mikayla Yaskulski, Lyba Salih and Aubrey Lewis. Missing from the photo are Shelby Restivo and Assistant Coach Bruce Blanchard.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina Stallions quarterback Zach Blount throws a pass during a recent practice session in preparation for Saturday’s season opener.

Teams from 11 area communities will begin Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) competition on Saturday in four age group divisions (Beginner, Mini, JV and Varsity).

Saturday’s season opening matchups, which will have games at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at each site, will include Akron at Albion, Medina at Oakfield/Elba, Holley at Attica, Roy-Hart at Newfane and Batavia at Pembroke as Tri-Town draws the bye.

Medina’s home opener will be August 29 against Akron, Roy-Hart’s August 22 against Albion and Holley’s September 12 against Medina.

The regular season continues throughout October 10 with the playoff semifinals for the Mini, JV and Varsity Divisions scheduled for October 17 and the championships for October 24.

Roy-Hart edged past Albion 4-3 at Gasport this evening in the opening game of the Lockport Midget ‘A’ League’s best two out of three championship series.

Snapping a 3-3 deadlock, Roy-Hart scored what proved to be the game winning run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double by Aaron Metz. An error and a single by Al Xapsos set up the threat.

Albion did get the bases loaded in the top of the seventh on a walk, a single by Jared Fearby and an intentional walk but could not capitalize on the opportunity.

Metz, who came on in the seventh, got the final two outs to preserve the win for Roy-Hart on a groundout and a strikeout. Joe Nolan pitched the first six innings registering 5 strikeouts.

Roy-Hart also got off to a quick start scoring twice in the first inning on a fielders choice play off the bat of Austin Heschke and a double by Brad Wilson. A double by Xapsos and a single by Metz set up that opportunity.

However, Albion tied the game in the third on an RBI single by Pete Madafferi and a sacrifice by Trey Hart. A walk followed by singles by Fearby and Dominic DiCureia sparked the rally.

Roy-Hart scored in the bottom of the third on a fielders choice play off the bat of Austin Walker to go up 3-2.

Albion though answered right back in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Fearby to retie the contest for what proved to be the last time at 3-3. An error, a walk and a single by Andy Ashworth set up the threat.

Xapsos, Metz and Wilson each finished with 2 hits for Roy-Hart and Fearby 3 for Albion.

Madafferi went the distance on the mound for Albion striking out 5.

The second game will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Barre Town Park.

Contributed Photo – Charlie Kudel and Dick Bensley captured top honors at the annual Shelridge Senior Club Championship this past weekend.

Shelridge held its annual Senior Club Championship this past weekend as Charlie Kudel and Dick Bensley emerged as the overall winners.

Kudel had the low overall gross score of 154 after rounds of 77 and 77.

Bensley posted the low overall net score of 129 on rounds of 67 and 62.

The flight age group leaders were as follows:

50-59: 1st Gross – Steve Barnes; 1st Net – Tim Zacher

60-69: 1st Gross – Jerry Allen and Tim Moriarty; 1st Net – Bob Hodgson

70-79: 1st Gross – Bruce Foley; 1st Net – Pinky Wilson

80 and Over: 1st Gross – Richard Siedlecki; 1st Net – Gordie Hermann