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MHS defender is Trench Hall of Fame honoree
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina High senior defensive end Joe Cecchini is one of 14 Western New York high school linemen who have been named to the Trench Trophy Hall of Fame Class of 2021. The 14 players are finalists for the Lineman of the Year Award. The Award will be presented at the Trench Trophy banquet on December 11. Cecchini is shown here moving in to make one of the dozen sacks he has recorded so far this season. Cecchini and Hayden Woodroe (1), who is moving in to assist on the play, both have registered over 50 tackles on the season to date.
Rams quartet heads N-O All-League team
Contributed Photos – Roy-Hart first team honorees, from left, Trent Choate, Peter Martillotta and Elijah Giroux.
Four players from champion Roy-Hart head the first team of the annual Niagara-Orleans All League boys soccer squad.
The Rams are represented by senior forward Trent Choate, junior forward Peter Martillotta, senior midfielder Elijah Giroux and junior defender Aiden Guild.
Choate and Martillotta are both repeat honorees.
Martillotta, who has been named N-O Player of the Year, had 21 goals and 10 assists on the season. Giroux had 10 goals and 9 assists, Choate 8 goals and 6 assists and Guild 2 goals and 6 assists.
Medina/Lyndonville has placed the senior duo of defender Jack Whipple and goalie Zach Fike.
Fike, a repeat honoree, made 154 saves and registered 8 shutouts to finish his career with a school record 27 shutouts. Whipple, a two time first team honoree and a four year starter, scored 4 goals.
Akron is represented by the underclassmen trio of sophomore forward Cole Fleming (16 goals, 5 assists), junior midfielder Collin Rehwalt (3 goals, 13 assists) and junior defender Caleb Suchow (3 goals, 1 assist).
Wilson likewise has a trio of honorees including senior midfielder Owen Cloy (4 goals, 8 assists) who is a repeat selection, freshman midfielder Keegan Herrmann (9 goals, 9 assists) and senior defender Patrick Hemming (11 goals, 2 assists).
Roy-Hart’s Aiden Guild, left, along with Medina/Lyndonville’s Zach Fike and Jack Whipple, right.
Medina/Lyndonville has three second team honorees including junior forward Jackson Moreland, senior midfielder Zaric Boyce and junior defender Josh Hilobuk.
Wilson also has three second team selections including senior forward Joey Moote, senior midfielder Noah Kurial and junior defender Charles Clemente.
Newfane likewise has a trio of second team honorees including senior midfielder Ty Williams, senior defender Connor Gunby and senior goalie Brady Harrington.
Rounding out the second team are Roy-Hart senior defender Christian Lates, Albion junior midfielder Andrew Uderitz and Akron senior forward Sean O’Shaughnessy.
Akron’s first team honorees Cole Flemming, Collin Rehwalt and Caleb Suchow.
The Honorable Mention selections, listed by school, are as follows:
Akron – Sean Brennan (Sr.), Bryce Cayea (Sr.), Justin Syroczynski (Sr.) and Trey Trzenski (Sr.)
Albion – Carson Bader (Sr.), Ulises Ledesma (Jr.), Corleone Plain (Jr.) and Joshua Martin (Sr.)
Medina/Lyndonville – Cole Callard (Fr.), Evan Harris (Sr.), Cole Seefeldt (Sr.) and Sam Kingsbury (Sr.)
Newfane – Adam Huntington (Sr.), Max Czekaj (Sr.) and Jacob Miller (Sr.)
Roy-Hart – Landen Guild (So.), Zach Livergood (Sr.) and Brandin Masters (Sr.)
Wilson – Jake Austin (So.), Jack Schultz (Sr.) and Blake Simpson (So.)
Wilson’s first team honorees Owen Cloy, Patrick Hemming and Keegan Herrmann.
Annual Niagara-Orleans All League field hockey first team has the accent on youth
Contributed Photos – Akron’s first team honorees, from left, Lacey Berghorn, Madison Brege and Jenelle Kieffer.
Underclassmen dominate the first team of the annual Niagara-Orleans All-League field hockey team which is composed of five juniors, four seniors, one sophomore and one freshman.
Champion Akron leads the way with three first team honorees including senior Jenelle Kieffer and juniors Lacey Berghorn and Madison Brege who has been named N-O Player of the Year. All three are repeat selections.
Medina’s first team honorees Dakota Alexander, left, and Iyla Lilleby.
Berghorn scored a league high 40 goals, Kieffer 15 and Brege 7.
Barker is represented by the junior duo of Mia Herman and Ashlin Cole, who is a repeat honoree. Herman had 9 goals and 5 assists.
Medina has placed senior Dakota Alexander and sophomore Iyla Lilleby who had 23 goals and 8 assists.
Rounding out the first team are Roy-Hart senior Claire Halstead, Newfane freshman Kyra Austin, Wilson senior Kirsten Day and Kenmore junior Genevieve Mucitelli.
Akron likewise leads the second team honorees with a trio of selections including Laicy Karczewski, Emerson Polkowski and Alexandra Roland who are all seniors.
Genevieve Mucitelli, Kenmore and Kirsten Day, Wilson.
Barker has placed juniors Aaliyah Wheat and Alexis Weeks.
Medina is represented by junior Lydia Fox and eighth grader Penelope Schalck.
Completing the second team are Roy-Hart junior Cheyenne Stilwell, Wilson sophomore Natalie Rossi and Kenmore junior Alannah Smith.
The Honorable Mention selections, listed by school, are as follows:
Akron – Olivia McClaine, Isabella Jones and Sophia Jones
Barker – Lily Monthony
Kenmore – Izzy Bourgeault
Medina – Arianna Bloom, Emma Wagner and Adeline Castricone
Roy-Hart – Justine Laverty and Lorna Becker
Barker’s Ashlin Cole and Mia Herman and Roy-Hart’s Claire Halstead.
Fike to play baseball at NCCC
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Zach Fike
Medina High senior Zach Fike has signed a letter of intent to continue his education and his baseball career at Niagara County Community College.
Fike earned first team Niagara-Orleans League and All-Western New York honors this past spring as he helped hurl and hit the Mustangs to both league and sectional titles.
A three year varsity starter, he earned 8 wins on the mound striking out 79 in 51 innings of work.
At the plate he hit .467 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 31 runs batted in.
Mustangs will face Bombers in state playoffs
It will be Medina vs. East Rochester/Gananda in the quarterfinal round of the state Class C football playoffs at noon next Saturday at Williamsville South High School.
The East Rochester/Gananda Bombers captured the Section V Class C title by outlasting the Bath Haverling Rams 18-12 in double overtime this evening.
Medina earned a second straight Section VI Class C championship by downing Fredonia 58-6 this afternoon.
The Mustangs and Bombers will bring identical 11-0 records into the Far West Regional.
The winner will advance to the state semifinals at Cicero North Syracuse on November 27.
Mustangs romp to snowy Section VI Class C title victory – next stop the state playoffs
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – With heavy snow falling Medina running back Noah Skinner bulldozes his way for good yardage during the Mustangs 58-6 Section VI Class C championship game win over Fredonia at Highmark Stadium this afternoon.
Playing in a wintry wonderland, defending champion Medina romped to a 58-6 victory over Fredonia in the Section VI Class C championship game at very snowy Highmark Stadium this afternoon earning the Mustangs their first ever trip to the state playoffs.
It feels fantastic,” exclaimed Medina Coach Eric Valley. “Our line and our defense did a great job and I’m just real proud of the kids.”
“It’s amazing,” said Chris Johnson, who along with Roosevelt Mitchell, Josh Wilson, Ollie Wilson and Colvin Stalker, anchored the offensive line for the Mustangs which dominated the line of scrimmage all afternoon.
Improving to a school record 11-0, the Mustangs broke this one wide open with a huge explosion of 32 straight points in the second quarter.
A big 71 yard run by quarterback Xander Payne down to the Fredonia 20 yard line on the final play of the first quarter ignited the offense.
Medina’s Joe Cecchini tackles Fredonia quarterback Nick Whitfield for a loss.
Three plays later Payne scored on a 5 yard touchdown run with 10:40 to go in the second quarter. Noah Skinner tacked on the two point conversion and the Mustangs were off an rolling amidst a heavy snowfall.
“It was interesting playing in the snow.” said Skinner. “It was a different and kind of a cool experience to be in.”
The Mustangs got the ball right back as Skinner recovered a Fredonia fumble near midfield.
With the line opening big holes the Mustangs quickly drove in for a second score as Payne scored on a 28 yard run and Greg Thompson added the two-point conversion to make it 16-0.
“I owe it all to the line,” said Payne. “I just found the hole and took it.”
Keeping the momentum, the Mustangs quickly tacked on two more touchdowns late in the quarter on runs of 31 yards by Thompson and 46 yards by Payne and a pair of two-point conversions by Skinner to race away to a commanding 32-0 lead.
“We were a little concerned at the beginning with the snowy field as our line does a lot of pulling but our linemen got feet underneath them and made their blocks and just did a great job,” said Valley.
“It was snowing pretty good but your adrenaline gets going and it was the same out there for both teams,” said Payne. We were able to execute and play our game.”
Fredonia finally broke onto the scoreboard when quarterback Nick Whitfield scored on a 62 yard run with just 37 seconds to go in the half but the Hillbillies could not find the endzone again.
“Against a team that has the explosiveness that they do our defense did just a great job,” said Valley. “They only had that one big play so I’m just very proud of what our kids did defensively.”
Medina got that Fredonia touchdown back midway through the third quarter when Skinner broke clean for a 39 yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion upping the lead to 40-6.
Highlighting the Mustangs shutout defensive effort in the second half was a sack by Joe Cecchini and a pass interception by Cayden Lilleby late in the third quarter.
The Mustangs then closed out the victory with a flurry of three fourth quarter touchdowns by Thompson on runs of 44, 82 and 45 yards.
“Communication is everything,” said Johnson of the solid blocking by his offensive line unit. “We communicate very well. We’ve very competitive and we’re physical.”
The lopsided win keeps Medina undefeated at 4-0 in championship games at the stadium with other other wins coming during the 1980, 1982 and 1988 seasons.
The victory sends Medina to the state quarterfinals at noon next Saturday at Williamsville South against the Section V championship (either East Rocheser/Gananda or Bath Haverling).
Click here to view a video of highlights from today’s game. Check our Facebook and Twitter platforms later today for more pictures from the game.
Medina’s Greg Thompson sprints away for one of his four touchdowns.
Mustang quarterback Xander Payne breaks loose for one of his three touchdowns as his teammate Jarin Rhim (4) signals a TD.
It’s time for the Mustangs to celebrate
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina team captains Joe Cecchini, Colvin Stalker, Jarin Rhim, Hayden Woodroe and Xander Payne along with Coach Eric Valley hold the championship trophy high after the Mustangs defeated Fredonia 58-6 at snowy Highmark Stadium this afternoon in the Section VI Class C championship game. Game story will follow (click here to view a video of the Mustangs coming back into Medina in their victory parade).
Recalling Medina’s first three stadium trips
Contributed Photos – 1980 Medina 20, Silver Creek 14 – The Mustangs made a sparkling first visit to then Rich Stadium by rallying from a two touchdown deficit to edge Silver Creek 20-14. Eddie Bloom, shown here, who rushed for 152 yards, scored on touchdown runs of 5 and 61 yards to pull Medina even at 14-14. Quarterback Kevin Furness then scored what proved to be the game winning touchdown on a 5 yard run late in the third quarter. Late fourth quarter pass interceptions by Tom Botsford and David Fluellen then locked up the victory.
1982 – Medina 26, Cassadaga Valley 7 – David Fluellen rushed for a then playoff record 233 yards and scored 4 touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to victory. Fluellen, who is shown here getting a block from Charlie Hartway, scored on runs of 59 and 6 yards and on a 6 yard pass reception from quarterback Tom Botsford to give Medina a 20-0 half-time lead. He later locked up the win with a 74 yard TD run in the third quarter.
1988 – Medina 14, Albion 7 – Jim Snyder, shown here, rushed for 170 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the way for Medina over rival Albion at the biggest venue the long standing rivalry will ever play before. Albion took an early 7-0 lead on a 1 yard touchdown run by Chris Rogers and an extra point kick by Kurt Jaeger. Medina did cut the deficit to 7-6 on a 3 yard touchdown run by Snyder late in the second quarter. The Mustangs then claimed the win on a 39 yard TD run by Snyder with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Axe Throwing League wraps up regular season
The Meadworks Fall Axe Throwing League has completed its regular season and the championship will be held this coming Wednesday at 6 p.m. with the top 8 teams qualifying.
The final regular season standings are as follows with the teams listed by their total of wins, losses and ties.
Mother Chuckers 77-5-2, Pain in the Ax 67-14-3. Great Axpectations 67-17-0, Axing for Trouble 59-21-4, Axing for a Friend 59-23-2, Lizzie Bordens 55-26-3, Two Cord 50-32-2, Bustin Axes 49-31-4, Happy Hippies 49-35-0, Triple Axes 43-38-3, Kiss Our Axes 39-45-0, Here 4 Pizza 32-46-6, Lillies Girls 30-54-0, Bad Axes 29-53-2, We Aim to Misbehave 27-54-3, Mad Axes 27-55-2, Looking Sharp 26-55-3, Swoosh 21-60-3, Holler’n Herons 19-63-2, Just the Tip 17-67-0, Melanin-Tingz 10-73-1
Lady Tigers have G-R volleyball All-Star trio
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s three Genesee Region League volleyball All-Stars include, from left, Haley Shaffer, Lorelei Dillenbeck and Addison Dillenbeck.
Division 2 champion Lyndonville has placed three players on the Genesee Region League All-Star volleyball team.
The Lady Tigers are represented by juniors Haley Shaffer and Lorelei Dillenbeck and freshman Addison Dillenbeck.
Lyndonville senior Gracie Johnson also earned Honorable Mention.
Kendall is represented on the All-Star team by juniors Taigan Guerrero and Lauren Pilon and Holley by senior Adriana Botello.
Holley seniors Grace McKeon and Rachel Kinsey and Kendall junior Madison Shonitsky all received Honorable Mention.
The All-Star team also includes seniors Tori Walker, Chase Harding, Emily Gadd and sophomore Ellie Cusmano from Attica; seniors Sam Sawyer and Adeline Kautz and sophomore Alyssa Kramer from Alexander; senior Lindsey Weidman and junior Maggie Monachino from Notre Dame; seniors Lexi Vurraro and Grace Huhn from Byron-Bergen and junior Taylor Drummond from Wheatland-Chili.
The Honorable Mention selections also include Olivia Mercado and Maddie Robinson from Attica, Avelin Tomidy and Sonji Warner from Notre Dame, Courtney Schum and Norah Crawford from Alexander, Allie Schwerthoffer and Carly Cerasani from Pembroke, Colbi Heineman from Oakfield-Alabama, Jorie Strzelecki from Byron-Bergen, Thaliah Sainpaulin from Wheatland-Chili and Laci Sewar from Elba.
