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Roy-Hart soccer teams seek B2 sectional titles
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Kaitlyn Mettler and Elijah Giroux and their Ram teammates will be competing in Section VI Class B2 championship games on Saturday.
Keeping the momentum from capturing Niagara-Orleans League titles for the second year in a row both the Roy-Hart boys and girls soccer teams are now taking aim at capturing Section VI Class B2 championships on Saturday.
The No. 3 seed Roy-Hart boys squad will face No. 5 Lackawanna in the title contest at 2:30 p.m. at Williamsville South.
The Roy-Hart girls, which are also seeded No. 3, will take on top seeded Fredonia in the finals at 4:30 p.m. at Williamsville North.
The Roy-Hart boys advanced to the title contest by nipping No. 6 Alden 1-0 in overtime in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Cassadaga Valley/Falconer 2-1 in the semifinals.
Lackawanna trimmed No. 4 Southwestern 3-2 in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Allegany/Limestone 4-1 in the semis.
Offensively the Rams are led by Peter Martillotta with 21 goals and 10 assists and Elijah Giroux with 10 goals and 9 assists. The Steelers are paced by Adam Mohsin (15 goals) and Ba Abdoullaye (13 goals).
Roy-Hart brings a 13-5 record into the title contest while Lackawanna is 13-4-2.
The Roy-Hart girls downed No. 11 Newfane 4-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 7 Southwestern 1-0 in the semifinals.
Fredonia blanked No. 8 Eden 3-0 in the quarterfinals and No. 12 Akron 3-1 in the semis.
The Lady Rams offense is led by Kara Choate with 38 goals and 9 assists and Kaitlyn Mettler with 7 goals and 13 assists. The Lady Hillbillies are led by Annie Gondek with 15 goals and 8 assists and Emily Timmerman with 10 goals and 5 assists.
Roy-Hart is 13-1-1 and Fredonia 16-0-2.
Kendall to face top seed for C2 soccer title
Contributed Photos – After defeating the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds to reach the finals, No. 6 seed Kendall will now take on top seeded Keshequa for the Section V Class C2 boys soccer championship at 4 p.m. Saturday at Avon. Here Zach Barrett leads a Kendall advance up field during the Eagles 1-0 semifinal overtime win over No. 2 Bradford/Dundee. The Eagles also downed No. 3 HAC 3-1 in the quarterfinals. Keshequa is 16-2 on the season and Kendall is 10-7-2.
Kendall goalie Jorden Ostrander here makes a first half save during the semifinal victory. The Eagles defense will face a challenge in Keshequa which has scored 83 goals on the season and has blanked its first two playoff foes winning 4-0 over No. 8 Bryon-Bergen in the quarterfinals and 7-0 over No.4 Bolivar-Richburg in the semifinals. The Keshequa offense has been led by Reese Powers with 22 goals and 30 assists and Nathan Thayer with 17 goals and 11 assists. The Kendall attack has been led by Michael McCue with 15 goals and 13 assists, Louis Conte 11 goals and 2 assists and Zach Barrett 9 goals and 6 assists.
Barker nips Medina; Akron downs Roy-Hart in Class C field hockey semifinals
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Barker’s Mia Herman drives the ball up field against Medina defender Alex Strong during the Lady Raiders sectional win over the Mustangs this evening at Williamsville North.
A lone second period goal proved to be enough to earn No. 2 seed Barker a narrow 1-0 win over No. 3 Medina in a Section VI Class C semifinal round field hockey playoff game this evening at Williamsville North.
In the other semifinal, top seeded Akron downed No. 5 Roy-Hart 7-0.
Akron and Barker will now meet for the Class C title at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at Williamsville North.
Roy-Hart’s Justine Laverty works to keep the ball away from the Akron duo of Alexandra Roland and Laicy Karczewski.
It will mark the 13th time in the last 20 years that the Lady Tigers and Lady Raiders have met for the sectional title. Barker holds a 9-3 edge in those meetings though Akron took a 3-0 victory last year. It will also mark the 19th time in 20 years that Barker has advanced to the final.
Rachel Sutter scored the Barker goal with 5:05 remaining in the second period off a scramble in front of the net. The goal was the eighth of the season for Sutter who ironically also scored the Lady Raiders lone goal in the Niagara-Orleans League season opening 1-0 win over Medina.
In fact, all three meetings between the Lady Raiders and Mustangs this season were decided by one goal as Medina won the rematch 3-2 in overtime.
Medina goalie Arianna Bloom made several big saves to keep the Mustangs in the game.
Akron broke its semifinal contest open early jumping out to a 4-0 first quarter lead on two goals each by Olivia McClaine and Lacey Berghorn.
The Lady Tigers led 6-0 at the half.
Medina goalie Arianna Bloom makes the save on a shot by Barker’s Alexa Zglinicki.
Medina will host Eden to begin Class C title defense; Albion to host Olean in Class B
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Noah Skinner, left, and Albion’s Tyler Gibson and their Mustang and Purple Eagle teammates will host sectional quarterfinal games Friday.
This past spring Medina ended a 33 year long drought by capturing the Section VI Class C football championship, the Mustangs first sectional title since 1988.
Now the Mustangs are getting set to begin a quest to claim a second sectional title within a span of just seven months.
Top seeded Medina will begin that quest by hosting No. 8 Eden in a Class C quarterfinal contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Vets Park.
The game will be a rematch of this past spring’s Class C semifinal which saw the Mustangs down the Raiders 54-6.
Medina brings an 8-0 record into the sectionals while Eden is 4-4. This is just Medina’s second 8-0 regular season. The first was in 1988.
Leading the Mustangs offense is quarterback Xander Payne who has passed for 1,190 yards and a school record 20 touchdowns including 6 to Jarin Rhim, 5 to Greg Thompson, 4 each to Joe Cecchini and Iverson Poole and 1 to Cayden Lilleby. Rhim has 370 yards receiving and Thompson 327.
Poole leads the Medina ground attack with 541 yards and 8 touchdowns. Noah Skinner has 413 yards and 5 touchdowns and Robert Arnold 235 yards and 4 TDs.
Quarterback Matt Sweet who has rushed for 726 yards and 9 touchdowns and passed for 383 yards and 3 TDs leads the Eden offense.
The Raiders also have Austin Sroda with 629 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns and Quinn Harrington with 212 yards receiving and 1 TD.
The victor will face the winner of the No. 5 Lackawanna vs. No. 4 Salamanca quarterfinal in the semifinals.
Class B Quarterfinal
Albion vs. Olean
No. 3 seed Albion will host No. 6 Olean at 7 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round of the Class B playoffs.
The Purple Eagles bring a 6-2 record into the sectionals while the Huskies are 4-4.
Albion will be turning to senior Tyler Gibson to take over the key signal calling duties after versatile two year starter Amari Jones suffered a broken ankle late in last week’s game against Medina.
“Tyler is a very good three year varsity player,” said Coach David Skrip. “The kids know that it isn’t just one player out there that there are 11 on the field. I know the kids will step up and rally behind Tyler.”
The Purple Eagles attack will also be sparked by junior Javon Jones who has 428 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.
Olean is led offensively by quarterback Railey Silvis who has passed for 936 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 410 yards and 2 TDs.
The Huskies also look to Jamison Pittman who has 649 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns and 188 yards receiving and 3 Ts and Cade Anastasia who has 325 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns.
The victor will face the winner of the No. 2 Iroquois vs. No. 7 Cheektowaga quarterfinal in the semis.
Quarterfinal Schedule
Class C
No. 8 Eden at No. 1 Medina, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 5 Lackawanna at No. 4 Salamanca, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 7 Southwestern at No. 2 Depew, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 6 Akron at No. 3 Fredonia, 7 p.m. Saturday at Dunkirk
Class B
No. 8 Pioneer at No. 1 Maritime, 2 p.m. Saturday
No. 5 Maryvale at No. 4 West Seneca East, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 7 Cheektowaga at No. 2 Iroquois, 7 p.m. Friday
No. 6 Olean at No. 3 Albion, 7 p.m. Friday
Sec. V Wrestling Hall of Fame inducts Grillo
Contributed Photo – The award was announced last year but because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions the formal induction of former long time Holley High wrestling Coach John Grillo into the Section V Wrestling Hall of Fame was not able to be held until recently. Grillo is shown here at the awards dinner with his sons Ashley, Adam and Andrew. During his 44 years as a wrestling coach, most of which was served at Holley, he garnered over 780 wins. He guided his Holley teams to no less than 22 Genesee Region League and 12 Section V titles. He was named G-R Coach of the Year 15 times and Section V Coach of the Year six times. He becomes the third Orleans County coach to be inducted into the Hall of Fame joining Jim Sauberan from Kendall and the late Fred Large from Lyndonville.
Green has strong fall golf season for USF
Medina High graduate Melanie Green has enjoyed a strong start to her sophomore golf season at the University of South Florida.
Contributed Photo – Melanie Green
This past weekend Green led the Bulls to a second place finish at the 16 team Palmetto Intercollegiate Tournament in South Carolina which capped the fall portion of the team’s schedule.
The third place finisher individually, Green carded rounds of 72-67-72 to finish with a 5 under par total of 211.
Green also earned a third place finish at South Florida’s season opening tournament, the USA Intercollegiate at Mobile, Alabama, where the Bulls finished second out of 17 teams.
She opened the tourney with a school record 7 under par round of 65 and finished with a school record 54 hole total of 11 under par 205.
The fall season also saw Green lead the Bulls at the Golf Week Red Sky Classic in Colorado with a 147 total.
Green also helped South Florida to a sixth place finish at the Evie Odom Invitational at Virginia Beach with a 212 total which included rounds of 70 on the last two rounds for a 212 total. She had a team leading toal of 11 birdies during the tourney and finished in a tie for 11th place individually.
A first team All Conference selection last year as a freshman, Green was a three-time Section VI and a two-time state champion during her scholastic days at Medina.
Panthers rally to edge past Silverbacks
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart/Barker/Lyndonville’s Drew Sandolfini powers ahead for yardage during the Silverbacks loss to visiting Newfane this evening.
Trailing by 16 late in the third quarter, Newfane rallied for three unanswered touchdowns to edge Roy-Hart/Barker/Lyndonville 30-26 in a season ending match up game this evening at Middleport.
The host Silverbacks built up a 26-10 lead after Drew Sandolfini scored on a two yard touchdown run with 6:53 to go in the third quarter. A 37 yard run by Jordan Terwilliger set up the opportunity.
However, the Panthers came battling back as quarterback Ryan Kramp scored three touchdowns on runs of 1, 1 and 4 yards to rally Newfane into the lead at 30-26, the last score coming with 3:46 to go in the final period.
Newfane took a 10-6 lead after one quarter on a 10 yard touchdown run by Chase Braman and an extra point kick and a 32 yard field goal by Ben Dickinson.
The Silverbacks first quarter TD came on a 1 yard run by quarterback Trenton Muck.
The Silverbacks then rallied into the lead at 20-10 by scoring two touchdowns in the final 1:16 of the second quarter on a 36 yard pass from Muck to Mikey Burrows and a 45 yard run by Jordan Terwilliger. Muck also hooked up with Jordan Terwilliger on a two-point conversion pass after the first TD.
A fumble recovery by Andy Hill set up the first TD opportunity.
Keeping the momentum, the Silverbacks upped the lead to 26-10 with a touchdown midway through the third quarter but the Panthers answered back with three unanswered scores to rally for the win.
The Panthers finish the season at 4-5 and the Silverbacks at 1-7.
Jordan Terwilliger breaks away for a big gain for the Silverbacks.
Kendall boys win OT thriller to gain C2 final
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Louis Conte scored the game winner in OT for Kendall
One lone goal proved to be just enough as No. 6 seed Kendall outlasted No. 2 Bradford/Dundee 1-0 in overtime in a Section V Class C2 boys soccer semifinal round game this evening at Canandaigua.
Louis Conte scored the game’s lone goal for the Eagles at the 108th minute mark off an assist from Zach Barrett. The goal was his 11th of the season.
Bradford/Dundee almost pulled out the win at the end of regulation time but had a shot rattle off the cross bar with two seconds to go.
Jorden Ostrander made 11 saves to earn the shutout in goal for the Eagles.
Kendall, which bested No. 3 seed HAC 3-1 in the quarterfinals, will face No. 1 Keshequa in the Class C2 championship game on Saturday. Keshequa defeated No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 7-0 in the other semifinal.
Kendall is now 10-7-2.
Volleyball Sectionals
Section VI Class C1
No. 6 Cleveland Hill defeated No. 11 Medina 25-15, 25-9, 21-25, 26-24
No. 8 Newfane defeated No. 9 Olmsted 25-6, 25-6, 25-12
Section V Class D1
Warsaw defeated Holley 25-14, 25-15, 24-14
Lyons defeated Lyndonville 25-9, 25-10, 25-20
Section V Class D2
Canisteo-Greenwood defeated Kendall 25-17, 24-26, 25-17, 25-20
HAC nips Kendall girls in OT in C2 semifinal; Roy-Hart girls edge Southwestern in B2 semi
No. 4 seed HAC outlasted No. 9 Kendall 3-2 in double overtime in a rain soaked Section V Class C2 girls soccer semifinal round playoff game this evening at Brockport.
HAC scored the game winning goal on a direct kick by Chloe Fowler with two minutes to play in the second 10 minute overtime period.
Kendall sent the contest into overtime when Ava Quintern scored on a rebound shot with just 1:46 remaining in regulation time knotting the contest at 2-2.
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kara Choate scored the lone goal in Roy-Hart’ s semifinal win
Kendall also broke onto the scoreboard first as Quintern scored off an assist from Grace Levett just 10 minutes into the first half.
However, HAC answered back with a pair of goals, the first on a breakaway and the second on a rebound shot off a missed penalty kick, to take a 2-1 lead at the half.
HAC will now face the winner of the No. 2 Byron-Bergen vs. No. 6 Bishop Kearney semifinal in the Class C2 title contest on Friday.
Section VI Class B2 semifinal
Roy-Hart 1, Southwestern 0
No. 3 seed Roy-Hart nipped No. 7 Southwestern 1-0 in a rainy Section VI Class B2 girls soccer semifinal at Williamsville North.
Kara Choate scored the game’s lone goal for the Niagara-Orleans League champion Lady Rams with just four minutes remaining in the second half off an assist from Garce Parker.
Reanna Perkins made 9 saves to earn the shutout for Roy-Hart which will next face top seeded Fredonia for the title on Saturday. Fredonia defeated No. 12 Akron 3-1 in the other semi.
Class C Semifinal
Wilson 3, Holland/West Valley 1
Lily Avery, Leia Cloy and Madelaine Schultz each scored a goal for No. 4 Wilson in the 3-1 Class C semifinal win over top seeded Holland/West Valley.
Wilson will face No. 3 Frewsburg in the title contest on Saturday. Frewsburg downed No. 2 Portville 4-0 in the other semi.
Medina, R-H win field hockey playoff openers
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Iyla Lilleby takes a shot to score Medina’s first goal in the Mustangs opening round sectional win over Eden this evening at Vets Park as Lydia Kobie tries to block for the Raiders.
No. 3 seed Medina and No. 4 Roy-Hart both scored home field shutout victories today in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class C field hockey playoffs.
Medina blanked No. 6 Eden 4-0 and Roy-Hart shutout No. 5 Newfane 11-0.
Medina grabbed a 1-0 lead just 42 seconds in the second quarter on a goal by Iyla Lilleby.
Penelope Schalck doubled the Mustangs lead to 2-0 at the half when she scored with just 1:11 to go in the period.
Keeping the momentum the Mustangs made it 3-0 three minutes into the third quarter on a goal by Lydia Fox.
Alex Strong rounded out the Mustangs scoring with a goal in the first two minutes of the final quarter.
Roy-Hart got goal production from five different players as Brooke Zglinicki, Cheyenne Stilwell, Jessica VanKuren and Sydney Rhinehart each scored twice and Olivia Marsillo once.
Zglinicki also dished out three assists while Stilwell and Justine Laverty each had two.
Thursday’s semifinal matchups at 6 p.m. at Williamville North will have Medina vs. No. 2 Barker and Roy-Hart vs. No. 1 Akron.
Medina’s Penelope Schalck battles for control of the ball with Eden’s Genevieve Dexter.
