Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Jarin Rhim, who scored the game winning free throws,  puts up a shot against CCA defenders Tyler Charland (14) and Myles Samuel (23) during the Mustangs narrow home court win over the Crusaders this evening.

Rallying in the final minute, Medina edged past visiting Central Christian Academy 47-45 this evening in a non league basketball game.

Trailing 45-42, Medina pulled even on a three by Joe Cecchini with just a minute to go which ended a four and a half minute Mustangs field goal shooting drought.

Jarin Rhim then put the Mustangs back on top to stay at 47-45 with a pair of clutch free throws with 18 seconds to go.

Joe Cecchini, who hit a late three to tie the game, puts up a shot for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs then preserved the slender lead and claimed the win as David Berry, Rhim and Cecchini all took turns pulling down clutch free throws in the final six seconds followed by a game clinching steal by Rhim just as the buzzer sounded.

Rhim finished with 13 points, Berry 11, Cecchini 9, Robert Arnold 8 and Cayden Lilleby 6.

Aaron Hicks scored 16, Jeff Norcutt 13 and Gabe Rodriquez 11 for CCA.

Despite being plagued by a rash of a dozen turnovers and 9 of 30 field goal shooting in the first half, Medina trailed by narrow margins of just 11-7 after the first quarter and 25-21 at the end of the second.

The Mustangs rallied into a one point lead three times in the third period and tailed by just one, 37-36, at the end of the quarter. Rhim scored 7 and Berry and Arnold both hit threes in the period to keep the Mustangs close.

Medina rallied into a 41-37 lead early in the decisive final period after two free throws by Cecchini and a three by Berry.

However, it would be four and a half minutes before the Mustangs could connect on another field goal and in the meantime the Crusaders used an 8-1 run, including a three and a layup by Norcutt, to rally into a 45-42 lead.

The Mustangs though battled back in the hectic final minute to claim the win on a three by Cecchini and a jumper by Rhim followed by strong defensive work on the boards.

Now at 1-1, Medina will next host Cardinal O’Hara at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in another non league contest.

David Berry puts up a shot for the Mustangs over Crusaders defender Jeff Norcutt.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Holley’s Broek Ostrom goes up for a shot during this evening’s home opener as Gaige Armbrewster (10) and Aiden Warner (24) defend for Oakfield-Alabama.

Doubling the lead after each of the first three quarters, Oakfield-Alabama posted a 73-36 win over host Holley this evening in the Genesee Region League boys basketball season opener for both teams.

In another G-R opener, Pembroke bested visiting Kendall 70-44.

Kameron Cusmano scored a game high 22 and Kaden Cusmano 11 to lead a parade of 10 point getters for Oakfield-Alabama.

Broek Ostrom scored 18 and James Tette 10 for Holley.

Up by eight at the end of the first quarter, the Hornets doubled their lead to 16, 29-13, at the half as Kameron Cusmano scored 11 in the second period.

Keeping the momentum, the Hornets then broke the contest wide open with a huge 32 point third quarter to take a 34 point, 61-27, advantage into the final period. Kameron Cusmano scored 9 in the period, including two threes, as Gaige Armbrewster and Jordan Schlagenhauf both netted 6 and Kaden Cusmano 5.

Pembroke 70, Kendall 44

Trailing 26-24 at the half, Pembroke rallied to take control with a big 22-7 third quarter scoring surge. Alex Lamb scored all 12 of his points in the stanza to lead the Dragons rally.

Cayden Pfalzer and Tyson Totten both scored 15 to lead Pembroke.

Zach Barrett scored 16 and Jacek Kwiatkowski 12 for Kendall.

Girls Basketball
Notre Dame 40, Albion 23

Jumping out to a 20-8 half-time advantage, Notre Dame went on to defeat host Albion 40-23 in a non league girls contest.

Maylee Green scored 12, Emma Sisson 10 and Lindsey Weidman 8 to pace Notre Dame.

Abby Scanlan scored 9 and Aurora Serafin 6 for Albion.

Holley’s James Tette puts up a shot as Kyle Porter (1) and Aiden Warner (24) defend for Oakfield-Alabama.

A total of 17 teams will be competing in Lyndonville’s annual Fred Large Memorial Wrestling Tournament on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.

The tournament honors the memory of Lyndonville’s long-time coach who organized the Tigers wrestling program in the mid 1960’s.

In addition to the host Tigers, the tournament field will include Holley-Kendall, Albion, Medina, Roy-Hart/Barker, Akron, Wilson, Byron-Bergen/Elba, Brighton, CSAT, East Rochester, Gow, Galead, North Rose-Wolcott, Pavilion/York, Warsaw and Wayne.

In keeping with the holiday season spirit of giving and sharing the tourney will also be doing a toy drive/fundraiser for Golisano’s Children’s Hospital. This will be directed towards the Children’s Oncology Floor and CURE, which is an organization that aids families of children going through cancer treatment.

That organization is a very special one for Joey Suhr who co-coaches the Tigers Tigers to host Fred Large Tourney with Jim Zeliff.

“My wife and I have been done this for the past 5 years and have provided children and families with gift bags for Christmas,” said Suhr. “This year we have decided to tie that in with our tournament to help grow the number of families we can help. It is a cause close to us as we spent months at Golisano’s while my daughter received treatment for brain cancer and were helped first hand by this wonderful hospital and the CURE organization. Parents, wrestlers, and teams are more than welcome to participate through donations of toys/gift cards/or donations that will go towards baskets for the families. Obviously this is voluntary and any help would be appreciated.”

Attendance at the tournament will be limited to two spectators per athlete and spectators must wear masks at all times.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Ashlee Stephens puts up a shot against Barker defenders Cloey Sanders (3) and Mia Herman (1) during the Lady Tigers home court win this evening.

Steadily pulling away, Lyndonville posted a 56-34 win over visiting Barker this evening in a non league girls basketball game.

Ella Lewis scored 16 and Karlee Rounds 14 to spearhead the Lyndonville offense. Lorelei Dillenbeck and Ashlee Stephens both tallied 9 and Haley Shaffer, Shelby Boring, Gracie Johnson and Annabelle Follman 2 each.

Hannah Fiacco led Barker with 9 as Kiera Dalton added 6, Mia Herman and Alyssa Thompson 5, Cloey Sanders 4, Trinity Parfinski 3 and Anna Bowerman 2.

Lyndonville jumped out to a 12-2 lead at the outset as Stephens scored 6 and Lewis 4. The Lady Tigers held an 18-12 advantage at the end of the opening period.

Lyndonville doubled its lead to 13, 37-24, at the half as Rounds scored 9 and Lewis and Dillenbeck 5 each in the second quarter. Lewis’ points included a three at the buzzer.

The Lady Tigers held a 23 point, 48-25, lead at the three-quarter mark. Lewis netted 7 and Rounds 4 in the third period.

Now at 2-0, Lyndonville next visits Wheatland-Chili at 7 p.m. Friday in the Genesee Region League opener.

Kendall 61, RAC 19

Libby Snyder had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks and Kailie Regan 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Kendall to a 61-19 win over visiting Rochester Academy Charter this evening in a non league contest.

Kendall, which is now 3-0, led 27-11 at the half.

The Lady Eagles will next host Pembroke (3-0) in the G-R opener at 7 p.m. Friday.

Barker’s Alyssa Thompson drives on Lyndonville defender Brynn Howell.

Albion bested visiting Byron-Bergen 42-22 in a non league wrestling match this evening.

Jr. Morales (138) and Ellwood Hafner (142) both registered pins for the Purple Eagles as Andrew Uderitz (126) and Bobby Dysard (132) registered decision wins.

Albion will next participate in Lyndonville’s Fred Large Memorial Tournament on Saturday.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Aiden Petrie and his Roy-Hart teammates will open the season Friday.

Looking to improve upon last season’s 3-9 Niagara-Orleans record, Roy-Hart will begin tuning up for the league campaign by visiting Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Friday.

Roy-Hart will also visit St. Mary’s, Lancaster on Dec. 14 before the home opener on December 16 against Cleveland Hill. The Rams N-O opener will be at home on Dec. 21 against Wilson.

Senior Aiden Petrie, who earned second team N-O All-League honors, heads Roy-Hart’s veteran group which also includes seniors John Conley, Dom Beyer, Brandon DiNeri, Vincent Buscarino, Bryan Baes and Brandin Masters.

The Rams roster also includes juniors Jamel Johnson Jr., Nate Beyer, Tyler Stewart and Andrew Waters.

“I really like the guys we have. It’s a good group of returnees and players coming up,” said Joe Pawlak. “The defensive end will be key for us. We want to play strong defense and run the ball on offense off of that.”

The Rams graduation and transfer losses included Jon Gillings, Tom Ragonese, Rhett Goodwin and Gavyn Boyle. Goodwin was a second team All-League honoree while Gillings and Boyle were both Honorable Mention selections.

Albion and Medina both scored non league swim victories on the road today.

Albion scored a sweep at Wheatland-Chili winning the boys’ meet 109-13 and the girls’ competition 88-37.

The Albion boys squad was led by a trio of individual event double winners as Jacob Foote took the 200 Freestyle and 500 Free, Finn McCue the 50 Free and 100 Free and Dallas Ecker the 100 Butterfly and 100 Backstroke.

Mia Olles doubled in the 200 Free and 100 Free and Julia Fuller in the 200 Individual Medley and 100 Backstroke to lead the way for the Albion girls.

The Medina boys squad defeated Byron-Bergen 102-60 as Isaac Pace was a double winner in the IM and 100 Free while Xander Payne took the 50 Free, Caiden Class the 500 Free and Ben Griffin the 100 Breaststeoke.

Byron-Bergen downed Medina in the girls’ meet 130-36.

Maddy Satkowski won the 200 Free for Medina.

The Niagara-Orleans League season will begin next Tuesday as Albion hosts Barker and Medina travels to Akron.

Girls Basketball
Pembroke defeated visiting Roy-Hart 60-30 and Byron-Bergen downed visiting Albion 50-13 in non league girls basketball games this evening.

Karli Houseknecht scored 19 and Olivia Breedon 10 for Pembroke which had also downed Akron 50-35 on Monday evening. Izzy Bredon and Houseknecht each scored 13 in that contest.

Makenna Elsenheimer scored 8 and Ava Owens 7 for Roy-Hart.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – A trio of Medina’s C North All-League honorees are, from left, Jarin Rhim, Noah Skinner and Greg Thompson.

Champion Medina has placed seven players on the first team of the C North Division All-League football squad.

Senior quarterback Xander Payne, who has been named C North Player of the Year, heads Medina’s delegation which also includes senior wide receivers Jarin Rhim and Greg Thompson, senior running back Iverson Poole, junior running back Noah Skinner, senior defensive end Joe Cecchini and junior defensive lineman Chris Johnson.

Medina Coach Eric Valley was also honored as C North Coach of the Year.

Payne passed for 1,635 yards and a school record 22 touchdowns and also ran for 417 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Rhim caught 36 passes for 494 yards and 7 touchdowns and rushed for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense, he had 2 interceptions, a fumble recovery and 20 tackles.

Thompson caught 24 passes for 494 yards and 6 touchdowns and rushed for 559 yards and 5 TDs. Defensively, he had 5 interceptions, a fumble recovery and 26 tackles.

Poole rushed for 576 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 177 yards and 4 TDs. On defense he had 4 interceptions and 39 tackles.

Medina quarterback Xander Payne has been named C North Player of the Year.

Skinner rushed for 740 yards and 11 touchdowns. Defensively he had 73 tackles, 6 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries.

Cecchini made 58 tackles and had 12 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. On offense he caught 20 passes for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Johnson, who was also a mainstay on the Mustangs offensive line, made 55 tackles and had 4 sacks, 1 interception and 3 forced fumbles.

Medina also had six second team honorees including senior offensive lineman Colvin Stalker, sophomore offensive lineman Roosevelt Mitchell, junior defensiove lineman Ollie Wilson, senior linebacker Zach Oliver, junior linebacker Josh Wilson and senior defensive back Hayden Woodroe.

Woodroe made 59 tackles and had 3 interceptions and a sack; Josh Wilson 37 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery; Oliver 24 tackles; Ollie Wilson 25 tackles, 2 sacks and a fumble recovery; Mitchell 10 tackles and a forced fumble and Stalker 9 tackles. Mitchell, Stalker, Ollie Wilson and Josh Wilson were also all starters on the offensive line.

The Mustangs also had a trio of Honorable Mention selections including juniors Dominic Larabee, Cayden Lilleby and sophomore Xavier King.

Akron senior quarterback Travis Fry was named C North Offensive Player of the Year and Wilson senior linebacker Xavier Fitzgibbon Defensive Player of the Year.

Fry assed for 675 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 484 yards and 6 touchdowns. Fitzgibbon made 65 tackles and had 2 sacks.

Akron is also represented on the first team by junior running back Brody Hibbard, senior linebacker Jack Fowler and junior defensive back Brett Bergman.

Wilson also placed senior offensive lineman Evan Mahar, senior linebacker Chris Dispenza and senior defensive back Luke Atlas.

Newfane’s first team honorees include sophomore kicker Ben Dickenson, senior defensive end Charles LaRose, senior linebackers Jared Traverse and Brett Bucolo.

Rounding out the first team are junior running back Larry Burgin, senior tight end Justin Rojek and senior linebacker Ken Pitts from Cleveland Hill along with senior quarterback Zach Wood and senior wide receiver Mike Thomas from Tonawanda.

Final C North Standings: Medina 5-0, Akron 4-1, Wilson 3-2, Cleveland Hill 2-3, Newfane 1-4, Tonawanda 0-5.

Medina’s first team honorees also include, from left, Chris Johnson, Joe Cecchini and Iverson Poole.

Opening the season on a high note, Holley trimmed host Mt. Morris 57-50 this evening in a non league boys basketball game.

Broek Ostrom scored a game high 28 points to lead the way for Holley as James Tette added 8, Vinny Golisano and Mason Neale 6 each, Erick Lang 5 and Joseph Silpoch 4.

Bryson Constantine led Mt. Morris with 27 on nine threes.

Mt. Morris took a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter but Holley rallied back into narrow leads of 28-27 at the half and 41-39 after three quarters.

Ostrom, who tallied 8 in the opening period, netted 11 in the third and 7 in the fourth for the Hawks which also got a huge three from Goliasano in the final stanza.

“That was huge for us as a confidence builder,” said Holley Coach Wil Prince whose Hawks now face a challenging Genesee Region League home opener on Thursday (7 p.m.) against Oakfield-Alabama.

Underclassmen spearheaded the offense as Kendall downed host Barker 56-46 this evening in the season opening non league boys basketball game for both teams.

Sophomore Jacek Kwiatkowski scored 15 and juniors Devin Edick and Zach Barrett each netted 12 for Kendall as seniors Braxton Zarpentine and Jeffrey Pratt both tallied 7 and sophomore Louie Conte 3. Edick also had 6 assists and 5 rebounds and Barrett 6 rebounds and 6 steals.

Junior Brad Cantrell took game high scoring honors for Barker with 21 as juniors Mason Allee-Castro had 11 and Aidan Voss 8. Cantrell netted 7 in both the second and third periods.

Kendall jumped out to a 22-10 first quarter lead as Zarpentine scored 7 and Kwiatkowski, Edick and Barrett 5 each.

The Eagles maintained leads of 31-24 at the half and 44-39 after three quarters.

Barker did rally into a brief lead late in the third period but Kendall answered with threes by Edick and Barrett to regain the lead for good.

Kwiatkowski then scored 4, Edick and Pratt 3 and Barrett 2 in the final stanza to help the Eagles lock up the win.

Kendall next visits Pembroke on Thursday for a Genesee Region League game while Barker will host Lyndonville next Monday in a non league contest.