Contributed Photo – Roy-Hart players and coach celebrate capturing the N-O volleyball title with the League championship banner. In front are Kylie McOmber, Lila Brigham and Peyton May. In the back row from left are Raegan Kern, Ryleigh Capen, Sarah Stanczyk, Grace Pearl, Ella Martillotta, Emily Livergood, Lauren Snyder, Brooklyn Schumavher, Aubree Parker, Alyse Drees and Coach Eliza Feocco.

Locking up outright possession of the league title, Roy-Hart downed host Newfane 25-15, 25-16, 25-13 this evening to close out the Niagara-Orleans volleyball season.

The N-O championship in the second in four years for Roy-Hart which finishes the league campaign with a 9-1 record.

Grace Pearl had 9 spiking kills, Lila Brigham and Raegan Kern  4 kills each, Lauren Snyder 11 service aces and Ella Martillotta 22 assists to lead the way for the Lady Rams.

Final N-O Standings: Roy-Hart 9-1, Wilson 8-2, Newfane 6-4, Akron 5-5, Medina 2-8, Albion 0-10.

Section V and Section VI boys and girls soccer playoff competition gets underway on Tuesday with half a dozen games involving local teams.

Seeded No. 5, the Holley girls will begin defense of their Section V Class C1 title by hosting No. 12 Sodus at 6 p.m.

Holley brings an 11-4-1 record into the sectionals while Sodus is 5-10.

Also in Class C1, No. 13 Lyndonville/Barker (4-12) will face No. 4 Red Creek (12-4) at Marion at 6 p.m.

Interestingly, the Holley/Sodus winner will face the Lyndonville/Barker/Red Creek winner in the quarterfinals on Friday.

In Class C2, the top seeded Kendall girls (15-1) will host No. 16 Perry (1-15) at 6 p.m.

The victor will advance to a Friday quarterfinal meeting against the winner of the No. 8 Bradford/Dundee vs. No. 9 Oakfield-Alabama/Elba contest.

In a Section V lass D boys opener, No. 10 Lyndonville (5-10-1) will visit No. 7 Houghton (10-5) at 3 p.m.

The victor will face the winner of the No. 2 Naples vs. No. 15 Friendship/Scio contest on Friday.

In a Section VI Class A girls opening round game, No. 9 Albion (7-7-1) will visit No. 8 Maryvale (9-6) at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to a Thursday quarterfinal at top seeded City Honors.

Seeded No. 10, the Roy-Hart boys will visit No. 7 Silver Creek/Forestville at 3:30 p.m. in a Section VI Class B2 opener.

The victor will face No. 2 Medina at Vets Park at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Post season high school sectional competition gets rolling this coming week with the start of the Section V and Section VI boys and girls soccer playoffs.

The week will also be highlighted by the renewal of the Albion and Medina football rivalry on Friday at Albion.

Section V Boys Soccer Playoffs
Class C1 – No. 13 Bloomfield at No. 4 Holley, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Class C2 – No. 1 Kendall will host the winner of the No. 8 Gananda vs. No. 9 Alfred-Almond game at 3 p.m. Saturday
Class D – No. 10 Lyndonville at No. 7 Houghton, 3 p.m. Tuesday

Section V Girls Soccer Playoffs
Class C1 – No. 12 Sodus at No. 5 Holley, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Class C1 – No. 12 Lyndonville/Barker vs. No. 4 Red Creek at Marion, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Class C2 – No. 16 Perry at No. 1 Kendall, 6 p.m. Tuesday

Section VI Boys Soccer Playoffs
Class A2 – No. 6 Albion at No. 3 I-Prep, 5 p.m. Friday at All High Stadium, Buffalo
Class B2 – No. 2 Medina will host the winner of the No. 10 Roy-Hart vs. No. 7 Silver Creek/Forestville game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday
Class B2 – No. 5 Akron at No. 4 Buffalo Academy of Science; No. 6 Newfane at No. 3 Cassadaga Valley/Falconer both on Thursday
Class C – No. 1 Wilson will host the winner of the No. 8 Chautauqua Lake vs. No. 9 Global Concepts game at 6 p.m. Thursday

Section VI Girls Soccer Playoffs
Class A – No. 9 Albion at No. 8 Maryvale, 6 p.m. Tuesday
Class B – No. 14 Fredonia at No. 3 Roy-Hart, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; No. 12 Salamanca at No. 5 Akron and No. 11 Newfane at No. 6 Olmsted both on Wednesday
Class C – No. 6 Chautauqua Lake at No. 3 Wilson, 6 p.m. Friday

N-O Volleyball
Monday – Roy-Hart at Newfane, 6:30 p.m.

G-R Volleyball
Monday – Lyndonville at Notre Dame, Holley at Pembroke, Attica at Kendall, 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Lyndonville at Elba, Holley at Attica, Kendall at Byron-Bergen, 6:30 p.m.

N-O Field Hockey
Tuesday – Medina at Barker, 5:30 p.m.; Roy-Hart at Kenmore, 7 p.m.
Wednesday – Akron at Newfane, 4:30 p.m.; Wilson at Medina, 7 p.m.
Thursday – Barker at Roy-Hart, 4:30 p.m.; Kenmore at Akron, 5 p.m.

Football
Friday – Medina at Albion, Franklinville/Ellicottville vs. Roy-Hart/Barker at Barker, 7 p.m.

N-O Standings
Field Hockey – Akron 10-0, Barker 8-2, Roy-Hart 7-3, Medina 4-6, Wilson 4-7, Newfane 2-9, Kenmore 1-9
Volleyball – Roy-Hart 8-1, Wilson 8-2, Newfane 6-3, Akron 5-5, Medina 2-8, Albion 0-10

Section VI Football Standings
C North Division – Medina 6-1, 6-1; Alden 5-1, 6-1; Newfane 5-1, 6-1; Cleveland Hill 4-2, 4-3; Akron 3-4, 3-4; Roy-Hart/Barker 2-5, 2-5; Maritime 1-5, 2-5; Tonawanda 0-7, 0-7
B3 Division – Lackawanna 6-0, 7-0; Maryvale 5-1, 5-2; Olean 5-2, 5-2; Depew 4-3, 4-3; Springville 3-3, 4-3; Dunkirk 2-5, 2-5; Lew-Port 1-5, 1-6; Albion 0-7, 0-7

Albion’s Mini and JV Division youth football  teams both scored wins Saturday in the semifinals of the Niagara Orleans Football Association (NOFA) playoffs.

Mini Division

Jayce Torres had 3 first half touchdown runs to help lead the Mini Eagles to a 31-6 victory over Barker/ Roy Hart.

Torres finished the day with 189 yards rushing. Cayden Farrell picked up 117 yards and 2 scores including a spectacular 41 yards score. He also passed for 81 yards. Elian Almonte had 59 yards rushing and 23 receiving. Greyson Roberts had 58 yards receiving. Also on the ground, Moses Taylor had 11 yards and Kyle Schomske 9.

Kairo Bennett 7 tackles to led the Mini Eagles defense. Schomske and Harrison Froman had 5 tackles each. Farrell, Jai’Kaih Drisdom and Taylor 4 each. Isaac Button 3, Almonte, Conor Murphy and Dominic Westlund 2 each. Westlund also had a interception.

JV Division

Albion JV Eagles jumped out to an early lead over Lyndonville after a Heyden Almonte 26 yard score and followed up with a Carter Farrell 47 yard pick 6.

Almonte finished the day with 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. Farrell finished with 41 yards and a score. Ethan Olles 16 yards and Camden Holt 9. Jace DiMatteo threw for 97 yards and 3 TDs. Holt had 2 TD receptions and Almonte 1.

Colton Moreland had a huge day for the defense with 14 tackles. Landon Farrell had 8 tackles, Carter Farrell 7, Giovanni LaMartina 4, Liam Pearl 4, Roman Allport 4, Hank Aina 3, Kolton Berry 3, Almonte 3, Holt 3, Liam Saporito 2, Olles 2, Brady Graham 1 and Matthew Colmerero 1. Olles also had a 59 yard pick 6.

Next week the NOFA championship games will be at Albion High School.

Beginner game 10 a.m., 8-0 Albion vs 8-0 Batavia. Mini game at Noon will have 9-0 Albion vs 9-0 LeRoy. JV game at 2 p.m. will have 9-0 Albion vs 9-0 Leroy and the Varsity game will be 8-0 Attica vs 5-3 Pembroke.

Photos by Tom Rivers

CARLTON – A pack of runners sprints at the start of the girls Niagara-Orleans All League race on Saturday at Lakeside State Park.

Some of the fastest runners took a wrong turn during the race, which added to their times.

The top seven runners earned first team all-league, with numbers 8 through 14 on the second team and 15 through 21 named honorable mention.

First Team All-League: Pictured from left include Eden Hillman of Newfane, 1^st in 21:41; Kylee Rebmann of Akron, 2^nd in 22:02; Isabella Pasquale of Newfane, 3^rd in 22:27; Kayla Hallman of Newfane, 4^th in 22:27; Cordelia Rivers of Albion, 5^th in 22:43; Hayden Barlow of Wilson, 6^th in 22:48; and Mikala Woock of Barker, 7^th in 22:52.

Second Team All-League: Pictured from left include Jordyn Centner of Newfane, 8^th in 23:00; Ella Ingwersen of Wilson, 9^th in 23:05; Shelby Dauphinee of Barker, 10^th in 23:16; Mackenzie Hill of Newfane, 11^th in 23:22.; Jenna Achtyl of Newfane, 12^th in 23:52; Julia Rohde of Royalton-Hartland, 13^th in 24:25; and Talia Rupp of Medina, 14^th in 24:27.

Third Team All-League: Pictured from left include Taylor Alvord of Royalton-Hartland, 15^th in 24:32; Sienna Gibson of Newfane, 16^th in 24:37; Abigail Bower of Akron, 17^th in 24:48; Marissa Bryant of Royalton-Hartland, 18^th in 24:55; Madelyn Freatman of Wilson, 19^th in 25:21; Meghan Lennon of Royalton-Hartland, 20^th in 25:24; and Samantha Silsby of Royalton-Hartland, 21^st in 25:30.

The top three finishers in the boys race compete during Saturday’s race, where part of the course is along the shoreline of Lake Ontario at Lakeside Beach State Park. Liam Betteridge of Newfane finished first, with Peyton Wagner of Barker in second, and Josiah Rodriguez of Royalton-Hartland in third.

First Team All-League: Pictured from left include Liam Betteridge of Newfane, 1st in 18:07; Peyton Wagner of Barker, 2^nd in 18:20; Josiah Rodriguez of Royalton-Hartland, 3^rd in 18:31; Quinn O’Malley of Akron, 4^th in 18:32; Gabe Nestoros of Barker, 5^th in 18:50; Ryder Jones of Medina, 6^th in 18:56; and Tristian Tilbe of Albion, 7^th in 19:05.

Second Team All-League: Pictured from left include Logan Meyers of Akron, 8^th in 19:15; Aron Gehl of Akron, 9^th in 19:38; Owen Harris of Barker, 10^th in 19:39; Sean Milczarski of Newfane, 11^th in 19:54; Logan Wagner of Barker, 12^th in 20:00; Zachary Schultz of Royalton-Hartland, 13^th in 20:07; and Matt VanKeuren of Royalton-Hartland, 14^th in 20:09.

 Third Team All-League: Pictured from left include Cole Hughes of Medina, 15^th in 20:10; Matt Bloom of Albion, 16^th in 20:32; Isaac Monaco of Barker, 17^th in 20:49; Grayson Prynn of Barker, 18^th in 20:51; Tyler Brown of Wilson, 19^th in 20:56; Daniel Goodwin of Barker, 20^th in 20:56; and Jonathan Dix of Medina, 21^st in 21:05.

The Kendall boys and girls soccer teams have both earned No. 1 seeds for the Section V Class C2 playoffs which begins next week.

The Kendall boys will host a quarterfinal game at 3 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the opening round contest between No. 8 Gananda and No. 9 Alfred-Almond.

The Kendall girls will host a pre-quarterfinal round game against No. 16 Perry at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The Holley boys, which are seeded No. 4 in Class C1, will host No. 13 Bloomfield at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Seeded No. 5 the Holley girls will host No. 12 Sodus at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The No. 10 seeded Lyndonville boys squad will visit No. 7 Houghton at 3 p.m. Tuesday in a Class D contest.

The Lyndonville/Barker girls squad, which is seeded No. 13 in Class C1, will face No. 4 Red Creek at Marion at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Section VI Playoff Pairings

Medina boys earn No. 2 seed in Class B2

Seeded No. 2, Medina will host a Class B2 quarterfinal round game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Tuesday’s  first round contest between No. 7 Silver Creek/Forestville and No. 10 Roy-Hart.

The No. 6 seed Albion boys will visit No. 3 I Prep in a Class A2 contest at 5 p.m. Friday at All High Stadium in Buffalo.

The other Class B2 matchups involving Niagara-Orleans League boys teams will have No. 5 Akron at No. 4 Buffalo Academy of Science and No. 6 Newfane at No. 3 Cassadaga Valley/Falconer on Thursday.

In Class C, the Wilson boys are seeded No. 1 and will host the winner of the No. 8 Chautauqua Lake vs. No. 9 Global Concepts game on Thursday.

The No. 9 seeded Albion girls will visit No. 8 Maryvale in a Class A contest at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

In Class B, No. 3 Roy-Hart will host No. 14 Fredonia at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, No. 5 Akron will host No. 12 Salamanca and No. 11 Newfane will visit No. 6 Olmsted.

In Class C, No. 3 Wilson will host No. 6 Chautauqua Lake at 6 p.m. Friday.

Improving to 10-3, Barker blanked visiting East Rochester 6-0 in a non league field hockey game today.

Jordyn Kinne and Madelina Pavlock both scored 2 goals as Naomi Bish and Brooke Dunkelberger each had 1.

Kinne, Kaylee Stoll and Milayna May all had assists.

Barker next hosts Medina in a Niagara-Orleans League game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Christian Moss goes high to make an interception for Medina during this afternoon’s key win at Maritime. Backing up the play are Preston Woodworth (6) and Carter Woodworth (32).

Locking up at least a share of a fifth straight division championship, Medina rolled to a 52-12 victory over host Maritime this afternoon as the Mustangs closed out the C North campaign with a 6-1 record.

Running back Christian Moss scored 5 touchdowns, quarterback Preston Woodworth 2 and placekicker Cole Callard had a field goal and 7 extra points to lead the attack for Medina which will close out the regular season at rival Albion on Friday in an interdivisional contest.

“As a staff we are very pleased with how this group plays together and we have many kids that step up to make plays in all 3 phases of the game,” said Mustangs Head Coach Eric Valley. “They have a lot of heart and continue to work hard.”

The Mustangs jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead as Moss first scored on a 7 yard run and then turned a swing pass from Preston Woodworth into an 80 yard scoring play.

A 16 yard pass from Preston Woodworth to Carter Woodworth along with a pair of 12 yard runs by Moss keyed the first drive.

Maritime did cut the lead to 14-6 at the outset of the second quarter on a long touchdown pass but the Seahawks would get no closer as Medina answered with 10 straight points to up the lead to 24-6 at the half.

That burst saw Moss score on a 2 yard TD run and Callard boot a 36 yard field goal.

A 28 yard pass completion from Preston Woodworth to Jerrell Nealy along with two 11 yard run by Moss highlighted the TD drive. Runs of 26 yards by Kolton Fletcher and 20 by Preston Woodworth then helped set up the field goal which came with just 20 seconds remaining.

A pass interception by Moss closed out the half.

The Mustangs then broke the game wide open in the third quarter with three touchdowns to up the advantage to 45-6.

Preston Woodworth had a pair of 1 yard touchdown runs sandwiched around a 53 yard TD burst by Moss.

A 37 yard run by Moss highlighted the first TD drive and a 38 yard pass completion from Preston Woodworth to Fletcher keyed the third drive.

Moss who had over 300 yards in total offense (229 rushing and 80 receiving), closed out the Mustangs scoring parade with a 1 yard TD run in the fourth quarter. He had a 31 yard run to spark the drive.

Jerrell Nealy looks for running room on a kick return.

C North tri champs is possible.
Newfane and Alden both scored wins this weekend to improve to 5-1 in the division and stay in the hunt for a share of the title.

Newfane nipped host Cleveland Hill 7-6 while Alden downed Akron 42-26.

Both teams still have one C North game remaining as Newfane will host Maritime on Thursday and Alden will entertain Cleveland Hill on Friday. Wins would give Newfane and Alden a share of the title.

C North Standings: Medina 6-1, 6-1; Newfane 5-1, 6-1; Alden 5-1, 6-1; Cleveland Hill 4-2, 4-3; Akron 3-4, 3-4; Roy-Hart/Barker 2-5, 2-5; Maritime 1-5, 2-5; Tonawanda 0-7, 0-7.

The Mustangs defensive unit makes a gang tackle on Maritime’s Mekhi Scott.

Liam Betteridge and Eden Hillman, both of Newfane, top finishers

Photos by Tom Rivers: Ryder Jones of Medina rounds a corner in the course along Lake Ontario at lakeside Beach State Park. Jones made the all-league first team by finishing sixth. Tristian Tilbe of Albion is right behind him and finished seventh, which also earned Tilbe a spot on the first team.

CARLTON – The Barker boys and Newfane girls capped undefeated seasons in the Niagara-Orleans League today by winning the league championship race at Lakeside Beach State Park. Both teams also won all of their league races earlier in the year.

The Barker boys were first with the low score of 36 points, followed by Roy-Hart in second with 69. Newfane and Medina tied at 76, but Newfane had the faster sixth man and won third, followed by Medina in fourth. Albion was fifth in 101. Wilson and Akron didn’t have full teams of at least five runners.

The Barker boys cross country team celebrates its league title at Lakeside Beach State Park today.

The team is led by head coach Paul DerSarkissian and assistant coach Sharon Lamb.

“I’m so proud of these boys,” DerSarkissian said. “They work so hard and hard work pays off.”

Barker is the smallest school in the N-O League but typically has the biggest cross country team. There were 18 runners on the biys team this year. Barker won the league title despite an injury that sidelined one of their top runners, Luke Fay.

“We’re a family,” DerSarkissian said. “It’s a culture that we create. It’s fun to be in and be a part of.”

The Newfane girls cross country team celebrates another league title today, making it 10 straight N-O championships.

The Newfane girls had the lowest point total of 22, followed by Roy-Hart in second with 66, Akron in third with 71, and Barker in fourth with 74. Albion, Medina and Wilson all had incomplete teams.

(Left) Liam Betteridge, a Newfane senior, won the boys race in a time of 18:07. (Right) Eden Hillman, a seventh-grader form Newfane, won the girls race in her first year on varsity.

Liam Betteridge of Newfane won the boys race. This is only his third year running cross country.

Betteridge has a gymnastics background. He won the 800 meter, 1 mile and 2 mile races last spring in N-O track championship.

“I enjoy working hard and pushing myself,” he said after the race. “The mental aspect of running is the most fun. It’s what brings me to the sport.”

Newfane has strong camaraderie on the team, and Betteridge said the runners “have an amazing way of pushing each other.”

Eden Hillman, the winner of the girls race in a time of 21:41, is in her first year on varsity. She is only in seventh grade.

Some of the top runners took a wrong turn early in the race. Hillman had to back track and went from being in about 20^th place to first.

“I just work hard and achieve my goals,” she said after the race.

Hillman stated running long distances in third grade with the 1-mile Newfane Panther Chase. She trains by running nature trails with her dogs.

Newfane coach Mike Heitzenrater said Hillman has been a strong runner for Newfane all season.

“She has the athleticism and attitude, and she has a solid work ethic,” he said.

These three run along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. They include, from left, Cordelia Rivers of Albion who finished fifth overall; Hayden Barlow of Wilson, sixth overall; and Mikala Woock of Barker seventh overall. They all made first team all-league.

Peyton Wagner of Barker, left, finished second overall. He got out to a fast start at the beginning of the race.

Josiah Rodriguez of Royalton-Hartland finished third, just ahead of Quinn O’Malley of Akron who was fourth overall.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Luke Duffina, who scored twice, puts a shot on goal during the Mustangs win over CCA at Vets Park this evening.

Building up a 5-0 halftime advantage, Medina went on to defeat Central Christian Academy 8-1 in a regular season ending non league boys soccer game this evening at Vets Park.

Cole Callard and Luke Duffina each scored 2 goals and Vinny Gray 1 in the first half.

Callard opened the scoring with a goal on a direct kick and then made a nifty centering pass to set up Gray’s goal giving the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead.

Tyler Kroening scored 2 goals and Callard 1 in the second half.

Callard and Gray also both had 2 assists and Kroening and Aleks Seefeldt 1 each.

The Mustangs finish the regular season with a 13-2-1 overall record.

Medina’s Viny Gray battles for control of the ball near the CCA goal.