Contributed Photos – Medina’s Joe Cecchini, left, and Jarin Rhim try out their new college football jerseys.

Two key members of Medina’s 2020 and 2021 C North Division and Section VI Class C champion football teams, Joe Cecchini and Jarin Rhim, have signed to continue their education and football careers at the collegiate level.

Cecchini will be playing at SUNY Maritime and Rhim at SUNY Brockport.

Cecchini made 58 tackles and had 12 sacks on defense this past fall. He finishes his career with a school record 19 sacks. On offense he caught 20 passes for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Rhim caught 36 passes for 494 yards and 7 touchdowns and rushed for 113 yards and 2 TDs this past fall. On defense, he had 20 tackles, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble.

Cecchini is planning to study Mechanical Engineering and then plans to join the Navy with a goal of becoming a Navy Seal.

Rhim is undecided about his major at this time.

Cecchini and Rhim have also been three year regulars for the Mustangs varsity basketball squad which also captured both Niagara-Orleans League and Section VI Class B2 titles last year.

Albion and Medina both suffered road losses this evening in Section VI boys basketball playoff action.

No. 12 seed Albion lost 51-26 at No. 5 Depew in a Class B1 contest.

Tyler Gibson scored 12 and Ozzie Matos 6 for the Purple Eagles which trailed 27-15 at the half and 41-21 after three quarters.

No. 9 seeded Medina dropped a 70-36 decision at No. 8 Southwestern in a Class B2 game.

Aidan Kennedy scored 25 and Matthew Pannes 21 to spark the Trojans which led 15-4 after one quarter, 38-13 at the half and 60-21 at the three-quarter mark.

David Berry and Anthony Bowman each scored 14 for the Mustangs as Jarin Rhim added 6 and Joe Cecchini 2.

Southwestern next visits top seeded Roy-Hart in the quarterfinals at noon on Saturday.

In another Class B2 game, No. 5 Alden defeated No. 12 Akron 59-49.

Class C

Wilson 63, Cassadaga Valley 32

No. 7 seed Wilson bested visiting No. 15 Cassadaga Valley 63-32 in a Class C contest.

Jake Austin scored 16, Matt Fox 13 and Justin Messing 10 for Wilson which next visits No. 2 Holland at 7 p.m.  Friday in the quarterfinals.

Up 29-16 at the half, Wilson put a lock on the win with a big 23-4 third period scoring surge.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Ashlee Stephens puts up a shot against Alfred-Almond defender Ryann Donlon during the host Lady Tigers sectional win over the Eagles this evening.

All 12 players broke into the scoring column as No. 6 seed Lyndonville romped to a 79-16 win over visiting No. 11 Alfred-Almond this evening in the opening round of the Section V Class C3 girls basketball tournament.

Ella Lewis scored a game high 20 points and Lorelei Dillenbeck, Karlee Rounds and Addison Dillenbeck each had 11 to spearhead the Lyndonville attack. Morgan Austin chipped in with 8, Shelby Boring 5, Haley Shaffer 3 and Ashlee Stephens, Gracie Johnson, Annabelle Follman, Isabella Groves and Peyton McDonald 2 each for the Lady Tigers.

A huge 20-0 scoring run during the first quarter set the tone for the Lady Tigers.

Lewis and Rounds both scored 8, Lorelei Dillenback 5 and Addison Dillenbeck 3 in the decisive opening period which finished with Lyndonville up 24-7.

Keeping the momentum, the Lady Tigers then outpointed the Eagles 21-0 in the second quarter to extend the lead to 45-7 at the half. Lewis tallied 7 and Addison Dillenbecka and Boring 5 each in the period.

Lyndonville led by 49, 62-13, after three quarters.

Improving to 13-8, Lyndonville will next visit No. 3 HAC at 2 p.m. Saturday. HAC is 18-2.

Alfred-Almond finishes the season at 0-16.

In another Class C2 contest, No. 6 Gananda defeated No. 11 Holley 57-22.

Lyndonville’s Haley Shaffer grabs a rebound from Alfred-Almond’s Isabel Badeau.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Jahmeek Riley looks to pass as Nick Sawynsky defends for Lake Shore during this evening’s sectional opener won by the host Purple Eagles.

No. 12 Albion turned back a fourth quarter comeback bid by visiting No. 13 Lake Shore to claim a narrow 53-50 win this evening in the opening round of the Section VI Class B1 boys basketball playoffs.

Up 11-8 after one quarter, Albion used a big 21-6 second period scoring edge to extend the advantage to 18, 32-14, at the half. Jahmeek Riley scored 7, Javon Jones 6 and Caleb Fox 4 to lead that Purple Eagles uprising.

However, Lake Shore came battling back to cut the deficit to 11, 38-27, after three quarters.

Keeping the momentum, Lake Shore then opened the fourth period with an 11-5 run to pull to within 5, 43-38, with just over three minutes to go.

Albion though withstood the rally as two clutch free throws each by Tyler Gibson, Shakarion Drisdom and Riley along with big layups off steals by Gibson and Drisdom over the final two and half minutes helped lock up the win.

Lake Shore could get no closer than the final three point margin on a three at the buzzer.

Riley finished with 16 and Fox 12 to lead the way for Albion. Drisdom added 8, Jones 6, Ozzie Matos 5, Gibson 4 and Jay Ashby 2.

The Purple Eagles have little time to savor the win as they next visit No. 5 Depew at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

In a Class B2 opener No. 12 Akron downed visiting No. 13 Maritime 59-41.

Class C
Cassadaga Valley 78, Barker 76 OT
No. 15 Cassadaga Valley outlasted host No. 10 Barker 78-76 in overtime in a Section VI Class C opener which saw a total of 20 threes.

Barker forced the overtime by rallying from a 13 point deficit in the fourth quarter to knot the contest at 68-68 at the end of regulation time. Brad Cantrell scored 13 to lead that Raiders rally.

Cantrell finished with 23, Luey Castro 21 and Nathan Meza Ray 20.

Cassadaga Valley will make the long trip north again Wednesday by visiting No. 7 Wilson.

Albion’s Caleb Fox puts up a shot against Lake Shore defender Noah Mruk.

Pulling away down the stretch, No. 10 seed Roy-Hart downed host No. 7 Cleveland Hill 43-28 in a Section VI Class B2 girls basketball opener this evening.

Roy-Hart used a big 17-6 fourth quarter scoring surge to lock up the win. Kaitlin Mettler scored 7, Ava Owens 6 on two threes and Claire Halstead 4 for the Lady Rams during that stretch.

Mettler finished with 20 and Owens 12.

Roy-Hart next faces No. 2 Buffalo Arts at 5:30 Friday at City Honors.

In another Class B2 contest, No. 4 Olmstead defeated visiting No. 13 Medina 38-29. Rylee VanNostrand scored 11 for Medina.

Also in Class B2, No. 5 Newfane downed visiting No. 12 Allegany-Limestone 57-47 and No. 8 Akron bested visiting No. 9 Health Sciences 61-21.

Jensen McGhee scored 20 and Angelina DiTullo 12 for Newfane which led 26-23 at the half and 42-37 after three quarters.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s Broek Ostrom drives around Pavilion’s Zack Tillotson (1) and Quintin Barrett (12) during the host Hawks sectional loss to the Gophers this evening.

Getting off to a fast start from long range, No. 11 Pavilion upended No. 6 Holley 62-38 in a Section V Class C2 boys basketball opener this evening at Holley.

In another Class C2 opener, a long drive south proved worthwhile for No. 10 Kendall as the Eagles bested host No. 7 Cuba-Rushford 56-48.

In a Class V3 opener, No. 11 Lyndonville bowed 50-28 at No. 6 HAC.

Pavilion hit five threes in the opening quarter to jump out to an 18-8 lead. The Gophers went on to lead by margins of 39-18 at the half and 55-29 after three quarters. Zack Tillotson scored 17. Case Cummins 15 and Karson Royce 12 to lead Pavilion.

Broek Ostrom took game high honors for Holley with 24 as James Tette added 8.

Trailing 12-8 after one quarter, Kendall used a big 18-2 second period scoring burst to get right back in the game. Louie Conte scored 10 to lead that rally as the Eagles grabbed a 26-15 lrad at the half.

Kendall went on to lead 37-21 after three quarters.

Conte finished with 17, Zach Barrett and Jacek Kwiatkowski 10 and Braxton Zarpentine 9. Zarpentine also had 9 rebounds, Conte 8 and Barrett 7 along with 5 streals.

Kendall next visits No. 2 seed Oakfield-Alabama on Friday.

HAC jumped out to a 15-0 lead at the outset and held a 26-14 advantage over Lyndonville at the half.

Noah Poler led Lyndonville with 18.

James Tette puts up a shot for Holley between two Pavilion defenders.

Riding good win streaks to close out the regular season, the Albion and Holley boys basketball teams will both host games to highlight Tuesday’s opening night of sectional playoff action.

No. 12 seed Albion, which has won six of its last seven games, will host No. 13 Lake Shore in a Section VI Class B1 game at 7 p.m. The victor will then visit No. 5 Depew on Wednesday.

No. 6 seed Holley, which has won four in a row, will host No. 11 Pavilion in a Section V Class C2 contest at 7 p.m. The winner will visit No. 3 Pembroke on Friday.

In another Section V Class C 2 contest, No. 10 Kendall will visit No. 7 Cuba-Rushford at 7 p.m. The victor will then visit No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama on Friday.

Lyndonville, which is seeded No. 11 in Class C3, will visit No. 6 HAC at 7 p.m. The winner will visit No. 3 Dundee-Bradford on Friday.

In Section VI Class B2, No. 12 Akron will host No. 13 WNY Maritime at 7 p.m. The winner will visit No. 5 Alden on Wednesday.

Barker, which is seeded No. 10 in Class C, will host No. 15 Cassadaga Valley at 7 p.m. with the winner visiting No. 7 Wilson on Wednesday.

Defending B2 champion Medina will begin its title defense on Wednesday as the No. 9 seeded Mustangs visit No. 8 Southwestern at 7 p.m. The winner will visit top seeded Niagara-Orleans League champion Roy-Hart on Saturday.

Four opening round Section VI Class B2 girls playoff games are also on tap for Tuesday with No. 13 Medina at No. 4 Olmsted, No. 10 Roy-Hart at No. 7 Cleveland Hill, No. 8 Akron hosting No. 9 Health Sciences and No. 5 Newfane entertaining No. 12 Allegany-Limestone all at 7 p.m.

Contributed Photo – Brian Fry

Medina High graduate Brian Fry wasted little time in breaking into the starting lineup as a freshman member of the Toledo University baseball team.

Fry, a five year starter at shortstop for Medina, started at second base for Toledo Friday in the Rockets’ season opening 3-2 win over Belmont at Nashville, Tennessee.

Fry stole home on a double steal play to score the Rockets first run of the season and defensively got the final out of the game on a pop out. On the day he had 4 putouts and 2 assists.

“Brian is a talented player, and was a highly-regarded recruit out of New York,” Rockets Coach Rob Reinstetle said. “He played shortstop in high school and is an above-average defender. He has an advanced feel for hitting and shows some pop as well.”

Bruning starts on the mound for Niagara
Roy-Hart graduate and Niagara University senior Jake Bruning got the starting pitching assignment in the Purple Eagles season opening game at Western Carolina on Friday. He allowed 4 runs and 4 hits and struck out 3 in five innings of work.

Albion High graduate and Niagara sophomore second baseman Liam Ward had a double in three at bats in the contest.

Western Carolina broke away from a 2-2 deadlock with 16 runs in the sixth inning to pull away for a 22-3 win.

Albion, Medina and Roy-Hart will all open Section VI girls basketball tournament action on the road this coming week.

In Class B1, No. 5 seed Albion will visit No. 4 East Aurora at 7 p.m. Friday.

In Class B2, No. 13 Medina will visit No. 4 Olmstead at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The victor will face the winner of Tuesday’s No. 12 Allegany-Limestone at No. 5 Newfane game on Friday.

No. 10 Roy-Hart will visit No. 7 Cleveland Hill in a Class B2 opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will visit No. 2 Performing Arts on Friday.

Also in Class B2, No. 8 Akron will host No. 9 Heath Sciences on Tuesday with the winner visiting top seeded Eden on Friday.

In Class C, top seeded Niagara-Orleans League champion Wilson will play in the semifinals at Jamestown Community College on March 3 against the winner of the No. 5 Salamanca vs. No. 4 Falconer quarterfinal.