Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Dontae Rhim and his Mustang teammates will host Lackawanna Friday evening in the Section VI Class B2 championship game.

Looking to end a 50 year long playoff title drought, top seeded Medina will host No. 2 Lackawanna in the Section VI Class B2 championship game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Medina’s last, and to date only, Section VI championship came in 1971 when the Mustangs downed then Niagara-Orleans League rival Starpoint 83-74. And it has been some 44 years since Medina last reached the sectional finals in 1977 when the Mustangs lost to Fredonia 69-44.

In fact, all five of Medina’s previous sectional final appearances came within an 11 year span from 1967 to 1977. That stretch also saw the Mustangs bow in the finals to Depew in 1967 (74-63), to Starpoint in 1970 (58-54) and to Alden in 1973 (59-49).

Lackawanna is seeking its first sectional title since 2011 when the Steelers downed Newfane 58-35 in the Class B1 final.

Medina and Lackawanna both had close calls in the semifinals. The Mustangs outlasted No.4 N-O rival Newfane 64-55 in overtime and the Steelers nipped Akron 47-43.

Both teams enter the game riding lengthy winning streaks as the 13-1 Mustangs have won 10 in a row and the 12-2 Steelers have taken eight straight.

Leading the Medina offense are Tyler Chinn who is averaging 17.7 points per game, Brian Fry (13.0  ave.), Joe Cecchini (10.1 ave.) and Jarin Rhim (7.8 ave.).  Rhim had a season high 15 in the semi win over Newfane including the Mustangs first 10 in the decisive overtime period.

Sophomore Julienn Clement leads Lackawanna with a 14 point per game average as junior Archie Saeed is averaging 9 and junior Ajiah Turner 8.  Clement and Saeed each scored 10 and Turner 8 in the semi win over Akron.

This will be just the third time Medina has faced Lackawanna in the sectionals. The Steelers won the previous two meetings downing the Mustangs 80-39 in the 2002 quarterfinals and 62-49 in the 1995 semifinals.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Gavyn Boyle puts up a shot against Cleveland Hill defenders Jordan Mann (21) and Montrice Webster (24) during the host Rams sectional semifinal win over the Eagles this evening.

Putting together a big second half scoring edge, No. 6 seed Roy-Hart rallied to defeat visiting No. 7 Cleveland Hill 65-56 this evening in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B3 playoffs.

The victory propels Roy-Hart into Saturday’s B3 championship game at No. 5 Fredonia which downed No. 8 Wilson 70-34 in the other semifinal.

Trailing by nine, 34-25, at the half, Roy-Hart came battling back to outscore Cleve Hill 40-22 in the second half to claim the victory and a spot in the title contest.

Roy-Hart used a 16-7 third period scoring edge to rally into a 41-41 tie at the three-quarter mark.

Roy-Hart’s Tom Ragonese works to keep possession of a rebound as the Cleve Hill duo of Charlie Meredith (5) and Jordan Mann (21) try to rip it away.

Aiden Petrie scored 9 points on a three-point play, two layup and a jumper to spearhead that rally by the Rams which also included two baskets by Tom Ragonese and one by Gavyn Boyle.

Keeping the momentum, the Rams then outpointed the Eagles 24-15 in the decisive final quarter to  lock up the win.

Rhett Goodwin scored 11 points on two jumpers, a layup and 5 free throws to lead that uprising for the Rams which also included two threes by Jon Gillings, a three-point play by Boyle and buckets by Ragonese and Petrie.

Leading by just four, 55-51, midday through the stanza the Rams finally pulled away for good with a clutch 10-2 run which included two jumpers and a layup by Goodwin, a three by Gillings and a layup by Petrie.

Goodwin finished with 22, Ragonese 15, Petrie 14, Boyle 8 and Gillings 6 for the Rams.

Charlie Meredith scored a game high 26 and Nathan Cummings had 12 to pace the Eagles.

Cleve Hill jumped to to a quick 10 point, 18-8, first quarter lead as Meredith led the way with 9.

Meredith then netted 7 and Cummings 6 in the second quarter to help keep Cleve Hill up by nine, 34-25, at the half.

Ragonese scored 9 and Goodin 8, including two threes, in the second quarter to keep the Rams close.

However, Roy-Hart got rolling offensively in the second half outscoring Cleve Hill by 18 (40-22) over the final two periods to claim the victory.

Fredonia 70, Wilson 34

Fredonia raced out to commanding leads of 20-4 after one period and 38-14 at the half in route to posting a 70-34 win over Wilson.

Michael Miller led Wilson with 10.

Girls B2 Sectionals

Top seeded Wilson defeated No. 4 Akron 34-28 in the Section VI Class B2 semifinals.

Aiden Petrie tries to put a rebound shot up for the Rams as Jordan Mann (21), Cameron D’Hilly (14) and Nathan Cummings (2) defend for the Eagles.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Jarin Rhim, who spearheaded Medina’s big overtime scoring surge during this evening’s sectional semifinal win, goes up for a shot as Sam Capen defends for Newfane.

Unlike the two regular season meetings this one went right down to the wire and beyond as top seeded Medina outlasted visiting No. 4 seed Niagara-Orleans League rival Newfane 64-55 in overtime this evening in a thrilling Section VI Class B2 semifinal round playoff game.

The victory sends Medina into the sectional finals for the first time since 1977 as the Mustangs will host No. 2 seed Lackawanna in the B2 championship game on Friday evening. Lackawanna nipped No. 6 Akron 47-43 in the other semifinal.

The teams split a pair of N-O league meetings by margins of 20 and 16 points but this one was much closer as Newfane sent the contest into overtime deadlocked at 46-46 on a layup by Cade Littman with just four seconds to go.

However, the Mustangs answered back in strong fashion at the outset of the overtime period as Jarin Rhim erupted for 10 straight points on a three, two layups and three free throws to put Medina back on top to stay at 56-48 with 1:38 to go in the four minute extra period.

Joe Cecchini puts up a shot for Medina as Michael Carmer tries to block for Newfane.

Newfane could get no closer than five, 60-55, after that as four free throws by Tyler Chinn in the final 16 seconds put a lock on the victory and a rare trip to the finals for Medina.

“It was a matter of regaining our composure in the overtime period and Jarin was a major contributor in the overtime,” said Medina Coach Eric Hellwig. “The main thing for us was to keep our composure and our focus.”

Jarin Rhin and Chinn each scored 15 to lead Medina’s balanced attack as Joe Cecchini added 12, Christian Drisdom 11, Brian Fry 8 and Dontae Rhim three.

Jeremy Foltz scored 14, Sam Capen 12 and Cade Littman 10 to pace Newfane as Zach Snow and Deuce Capen each added 6, Michael Carmer 4 and Tyler Oudette 3.

Medina grabbed a narrow 11-10 lead at the end of the opening quarter on a late rebound basket by Cecchini.

Newfane though turned the tables in the second period as two baskets each off the bench by Littman and Deuce Capen along with a three by Sam Capen rallied the Panthers into a 23-20 half-time lead.

The advantage sea-sawed back into Medina’s favor in the third period which ended with the Mustangs up by two, 35-33, off a late rebound basket by Chinn followed by a three-point play by Dontae Rhim.

Medina then opened up a seven point, 43-36, advantage three minutes into the final period after threes by Cecchini and Fry and a fast break layup by Drisdom but the Mustangs were unable to hold the lead.

Newfane came battling back to regain a 44-43 lead with 1:35 remaining after threes by Foltz and Oudette and a layup by Carmer.

Medina answered with a jumper by Jarin Rhim and a free throw by Chinn to go back on top 46-44 with 16 seconds remaining.

However, the Panthers again answered the challenge this time with a layup by Littman with four seconds to go which knotted the contest at 46-46 forcing overtime.

The last surge and the win though belonged to Medina in what was the Jarin Rhim Show in the overtime. The junior netted the first 10 points of what proved to be an 18-9 Mustangs scoring edge in the decisive extra four minutes.

Medina will take a 13-1 record into Friday’s title contest.

Lackawanna 47, Akron 43

Mitchell Holtz scored 14 and David Kalinowski 10 for Akron in the Tigers narrow 47-43 semifinal loss at Lackawanna.

Medina’s Brian Fry goes up for a shot between Newfane defenders Sam Capen and Tyler Oudette.

Christian Drisdom goes in for a layup for Medina as Newfane’s Trevor Heschke tries to block.

Tyler Chinn drives to the basket for Medina as Jeremy Foltz and Michael Carmer defend for Newfane.

Top seeded East High of Buffalo needed a big fourth quarter rally to edge past visiting upset minded No. 8 Albion 67-63 this evening in a Section VI Class B1 quarterfinal round playoff game.

Trailing 51-46 at the three-quarter mark, East rallied to outscore Albion 21-12 in the decisive quarter quarter to claim the narrow win. An 8-0 scoring run at the outset, which rallied East into a 54-51 lead, ignited that decisive rally.

Albion had grabbed a 9-0 lead at the outset and held a 21-15 advantage at the end of the opening period. Christian Doty scored 6 and Damion Lattimer 5 to lead the Purple Eagles in the early going.

The Purple Eagles went on to hold leads of 38-29 at the half and 51-46 after three quarters.  Bailey Blanchard scored 7 in the second period and Doty 8 in the third for Albion.

Blanchard and Doty each finished with 17 as Chris Shabazz added 8 and Lattimer 7.

“They are the No. 1 seed so nobody really expected us to do much but we played hard,” said Albion Coach Travis Downs.

Class B3

No. 8 seed Wilson upset top seeded JFK 44-40 in a Class B3 quarterfinal as two free throws by Jared Jaques in the final 10 seconds locked up the win.

No. 6 seed Roy-Hart gained home court advantage for Thursday’s semifinal round as No. 7 Cleveland Hill upset No. 2 Southwestern 49-26. The Rams advanced as their scheduled quarterfinal round opponent, No. 3 Allegany-Limestone, had to drop out due to a Covid-19 related pause.

Girls Class B2 sectionals

No. 3 seeded Southwestern downed visiting No. 6 Roy-Hart 89-36 in a Class B2 quarterfinal.

Rileigh McCabe scored 10, Shelby Wolf 7 and Mya Quinn 6 to pace Roy-Hart.

In another B2 quarterfinal, No. 4 Akron downed No. 5 Olmsted 54-41.

In a Class B1 quarterfinal on Monday top ended City Honors downed No. 8 Newfane 70-22.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Newfane’s Michael Carmer goes up to defend against a shot by Medina’s Jarin Rhim during the Mustangs recent home court league win over the Panthers. Medina will now host Newfane in the Section VI Class B2 semifinals on Wednesday.

It will be a very familiar matchup as top seeded Medina hosts No. 4 seed Niagara-Orleans League rival Newfane in the Section VI Class B2 basketball semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The teams split a pair of home court victories during the league campaign. Newfane won the first meeting 64-44. Medina avenged that loss in the rematch by a nearly identical score of 62-46, a win which at that time clinched at least a tie for the N-O title for the Mustangs.

Both teams used big fourth quarter scoring bursts to claim home court wins in the quarterfinals on Monday.  Medina put together a big 18-3 run down the stretch to key a 68-48 win over No. 8 Alden. Newfane exploded for 27 points in the final stanza to lock up a 70-45 victory over No. 5 Depew.

Both teams are led offensively by a trio of double figure averaging scorers. For the Mustangs Tyler Chinn is averaging 17.9, Brian Fry 13.4 and Joe Cecchini 10.0. For the Panthers Jeremy Foltz is averaging 13.0, Sam Capen 11.9 and Zach Snow 10.9.

Wednesday’s other B2 semifinal will have No. 6 Akron at No. 2 Lackawanna.

The championship game is scheduled for Friday on the court of the highest remaining seed.

Medina is seeking its first berth in the sectional finals since 1977 while Newfane has played in the championship game three of the last four years. The Panthers lost to Allegany-Limestone 54-45 in last year’s B2 final. Prior to that the Panthers lost to Olean in the B1 final in 2018 and to East Aurora in the B1 title contest in 2017.

Kendall scored a straight set 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 victory over Elba this evening to improve to 2-1 in Genesee Region League volleyball competition.

Lauren Pilon had 8 aces, 7 kills and 4 digs; Madison Shonitsky 6 assists, 5 aces and 4 kills and Karlee Robb 5 kills and 2 aces to lead the way for Kendall.

Carolyn Sybertz had 4 aces and Taylor Augello 4 kills for Elba.

Byron-Bergen also improved to 2-1 in G-R competition with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-16 win over Pembroke.

Lexi Vurraro had 12 assists, 5 aces and 4 kills; Jorie Strzelecki 6 aces and 5 kills and Julia Pangrazio 6 kills and 5 aces to spark the Bees.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Tyler Chinn tries for a layup against Alden defender Jacob Barker during the Mustangs home court sectional win over the Bulldogs this evening.

Clearing post season hurdle No. 1, top seeded Medina bested visiting No. 8 Alden 68-48 this evening in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B2 basketball playoffs.

Medina will now host No. 4 seed Niagara-Orleans League foe Newfane in the semifinals on Wednesday. Newfane downed No. 5 Depew 70-45.

Tyler Chinn scored a game high 21 and Joe Cecchini 18 to lead the offense for Medina as Jarin Rhim added 8, Dontae Rhim 6, Brian Fry and Matt Henning 5 each, Christian Drisdom 3 and David Berry 2.

Matthew Hay scored 15 and Jacob Baker 14 to pace Alden.

Matt Henning puts up a shot for Medina as Alden’s Matthew Hay tries for a block.

It was a close contest until late as Medina held a slender 8 point, 47-39 lead in the opening minute of the final period.

However, the Mustangs finally broke the contest wide open by putting together a huge 18-3 scoring burst over the next four and a half minutes to race away to a commanding 23 point, 65-42, advantage with just 2:25 remaining.

A three-point play off a layup and a three by Chinn followed by threes by Jarin Rhim and Cecchini ignited that decisive scoring surge.

Medina held a narrow 16-14 lead at the end of the opening period. Cecchini had a three and two layups and Chinn and Jarin Rhim two baskets each in the early going.

The Mustangs then used a 20-11 second quarter scoring edge to extend the lead to 11, 36-25, at the half.

Chinn spearheaded that uprising with 11 points on a three, a jumper and three spinning layups. Cecchini, Jarin Rhim and Henning each chipped in with a three during that stretch.

Medina maintained an 11 point, 47-36, advantage at the three-quarter mark as Cecchini, Drisdom and Fry all hit threes in the third period.

A three by John Watson did pull Alden back to within 8, 47-39, in the opening minute of the final stanza but the Bullldogs would get no closer as the Mustangs countered with a deciding 18-3 scoring explosion to put a firm lock on the win and advance to the semifinals.

Newfane, 70, Depew 45

Zach Snow scored 20 and Sam Capen 19 to lead Newfane past Depew 70-45 as Deuce Capen and Jeremy Foltz each chipped in with 7.

Up 34-25 at the half and 43-31 after three quarters. the Panthers pulled away to the victory by erupting for 27 points in the final stanza.

Akron 42, Springville 35

No. 6 seed Akron downed host No. 3 Springville 42-35 as Mitchell Holtz scored 15 and Adam Metz 11 to lead the Tigers. Holtz had five threes and Mietz three.

Akron will now visit No.2  Lackawanna on Wednesday in the other B2 semifinal.

Roy-Hart advances in Class B3

No. 6 seed Roy-Hart has advanced to the semifinal round of the Class B3 playoffs as the Rams scheduled Tuesday evening quarterfinal opponent, No. 3 Allegany-Limestone, has had to withdraw from the sectionals.

Girls Class B2 Quarterfinals

Top seeded City Honors downed visiting No. 8 Newfane 70-22 in the quarterfinal round of the girls Class B2 sectional playoffs.

Medina’s Dontae Rhim goes up for a shot against Alden defender Jacob Baker.

Two quick touchdowns at the outset off defensive and special teams turnovers ignited Red Jacket to a 50-0 win over visiting Holley this afternoon in a season opening 8 man varsity football game.

Capitalizing on an interception, Red Jacket scored on its first offensive play as Logan Keifer scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 70 yard run.

The Indians then blocked a Holley punt and recovered the ball in the Hawks end zone to make it 16-0.

The Red Jacket advantage increased to 22-0 before the end of the first quarter on a 30 yard TD run by Keifer.

The Indians made it 30-0 at the half as Keifer scored again on a 12 yard TD run in the final minute of the second quarter.

The Red Jacket lead soared to 50-0 at the three-quarter mark as Keifer scored two more touchdowns on runs of 55 and 33 yards.

Holley will next host Roy-Hart/Barker/Lyndonville at 1:30 p.m. in what will be the visiting Silverbacks varsity debut while Red Jacket will visit Perry.

In two other 8 man openers over this past weekend Perry downed South Seneca 51-0 and Pembroke bested CG Finney 46-0.