Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Madison Jacob (7) and her No. 2 seeded Lady Eagles teammates will face No. 1 Fillmore for the Section V Class D1 tittle at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Warsaw.

It will be a rematch of last year’s final as No. 2 seed Kendall faces top seeded Fillmore in the Section V Class D1 girls soccer championship game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Warsaw.

Defending Class D1 champion Kendall, which brings a 15-3 record into the title contest, defeated No. 3 Alfred-Almond 4-0 in the semifinals.

Hailee Mitchell has led the Kendall offense with 20 goals as Alezya Brown has 12, Brianna Wakefield 10, Madison Jacob 8, Lizzy Woodams 7 and Grace Levett 6. Wakefield also has a team leading 13 assists, Jacob 12 and Mitchell 9.

Fillmore, which is 17-0-1, downed No. 4 Arkport/Canaseraga 1-0 in the other semi.

Offensively, Fillmore has shown balanced scoring with seven players who have between 5 and 8 goals. Defensively, the Eagles have allowed only 5 goals and have registered 13 shutouts including the last 8 games in a row.

Kendall edged Fillmore 2-1 in last year’s D1 title contest at Perry.

In the Section VI Class B2 title game, No. 6 Wilson will take on top seeded Allegany-Limestone at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Williamsville East.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – No. 3 seed Albion will host No. 7 Olean at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B football playoffs. Here Albion’s Brillance Johnson picks up yardage against Olean defenders Aiden Nenno and Ryan Byrne during the recent regular season meeting between the team which saw the Purple Eagles claim a home field win.

It will be a rematch of a regular season B3 Division contest when No. 3 seed Albion hosts No. 7 Olean in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B football playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday at Spierdowis Field.

The victor will face the winner of the No.1 Maritime vs. No. 5 Pioneer semifinal in the Class B championship game on November 8 at New Era Field.

During the regular season Albion locked up the B3 Division title with a 49-26 week five win over Olean.

The Purple Eagles bring a 7-1 record into the semi while the Huskies are 5-3.

Both teams had narrow wins in the quarterfinals as Albion trimmed No. 6 Tonawanda 17-14 and Olean rallied to nip No. 2 Newfane 26-24 on a 79 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Randy Silvis to Gavin Kulp on the last play of the game.

The Huskies repeatedly used explosive plays to down the Panthers as Silvis also had touchdown passes of 80 yards to Nick Pantuso and 51 yards to Kulp. Pantuso also had a 90 yard kickoff return for a TD.

On the season, Silvis has passed for 757 yards and 10 touchdowns while Kulp has caught 31 passes for 469 yards and 8 TD and Pantuso has rushed for 739 yards and 7 TDs.

Albion is led by quarterback Thomas Furmanski who has thrown for 9 touchdowns, run for 3 and kicked 2 field goals. The second of those field goals proved to be the margin of victory in the quarterfinal win over Tonawanda.

Furmanski hooked up with Kevin Hillman for 3 touchdown passes and with Alex Gibson for 1, all in the first half, of that earlier win over Olean. Hillman has caught a total of 6 TD passes on the season.

On the ground for the Purple Eagles, Tyray White has rushed for 9 touchdowns, Brillance Johnson 5 and Deyonci Farley 4. White and Farley both rushed for scores against Tonawanda.

The Purple Eagles defense has also contributed to the point production as Chris Shabazz has returned two interceptions for touchdowns and Hillman has returned a fumble recovery for a TD.

This will be the fifth sectional meeting between the Purple Eagles and Huskies. Olean holds a 3-1 edge in those previous four postseason meetings.

The most recent meeting was in 2004 when Olean nipped Albion 14-6 in the semifinals. The Huskies also edged the Purple Eagles by that same 14-6 score in the 2002 championship game which was also Albion’s last trip to the title contest.

Prior to that Albion downed Olean 27-14 in the 2000 semis and the Huskies bested the Purple Eagles 35-20 in the 1994 semis.

Holley to host Maple Grove
Holley (2-3) will host Maple Grove (3-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday to close out the 8 Man Football Division regular season.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Kailie Regan breaks away to score a goal during the LadyEagles Class D 1 semifinal win over Alfred-Almond this evening at Cal-Mum. Logan Brown comes in to defend for A-A and Kendall’s Alezya Brown follows the play.

Breakaway goals keyed the offense and the defense posted a shutout as No. 2 seed defending champion Kendall blanked No. 3 Alfred-Almond 4-0 in the semifinals of the Section V Class D1 girls soccer playoffs this evening at Caledonia-Mumford.

Improving to 15-3, Kendall will next face the winner of the No. 1 Fillmore vs. No. 4 Arkport/Canasseraga semi in the Class D1 championship game on Saturday at a site and time to be determined.

Kendall jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as Madison Jacob scored on a breakaway at 31:23 off an assist from Hailee Mitchell and just six minutes later Alezya Brown broke in for a goal at 25:40 as T’Mia Kitchings earned the assist.

“That was huge,” said Kendall Coach Pam Barchet of the Lady Eagles jumping out to a quick lead.

Up 2-0 at the half, Kendall put a lock on the victory when Lizzy Woodams scored on a rebound shot just 2:17 into the second half off an assist from Kitchings.

Kailie Regan then rounded out the Lady Eagles scoring when she tallied on a breakaway with 20:04 to go off an assist from Brown.

Katie Pearson made 2 saves to earn the shutout in goal for the Lady Eagles.

Alfred-Almond finishes the season at 12-6.

(Click here to see a video of some of the game action.)

Kendall’s Grace Robinson battles with Maggie Griffin of Alfred-Almond for control of the ball.

No. 7 Holley defeated No. 10 Wayland-Cohocton 25-12, 25-16, 25-12 this evening in the opening round of the Section V Class C2 volleyball playoffs.

Ava Parr had 9 aces, 4 kills and 2 digs; Adriana Botello 4 aces, 3 kills, 10 assists and 2 digs; Alexis Clemons 4 aces and 3 kills and Rachael Howard 5 aces, 4 digs and 1 assist for Holley which improves to 6-12.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Barker’s Katrina Clare takes a shot that is blocked by Roy-Hart’s Sophia DiCenso with help from Claire Halstead and Cheyenne Stilwell. The action took place during Barker’s Class C semifinal win this afternoon at Clarence.

A goal in each half earned No. 1 seed defending champion Barker a 2-0 win over No. 4 Roy-Hart in the semifinals of the Section VI Class C field hockey playoffs this afternoon at Clarence.

Despite enjoying an 8-0 advantage in penalty corner opportunities in the first half, Barker held a slender 1-0 lead as Katrina Clare scored at 17:30 off an assist from Lena Fazzolari.

It stayed a tight 1-0 contest until that same combination of Clare from Fazzolari clicked again for a big insurance goal at 8:54 of the second half.

Barker had also downed Roy-Hart by the identical score of 2-0 twice during the Niagara-Orleans League season.

Barker will next face No. 6 Eden in the Class C championship game at 4 p.m. November 5 at Alden. Eden downed No. 7 Holland 2-1 in the other semifinal.

(Click here to see a video from the game, including a near-goal for Barker.)

Barker’s Ella Fox looks to send the ball up field as Lexiss Diel defends for Roy-Hart. Lena Fazzolari backs up the play.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall’s Dale Steffen heads the ball ahead as his teammate Joe Nettles and Fillmore’s Ethan Peet are behind. The action took place during Fillmore’s 3-0 win over Kendall in the Class D1 semifinal this evening at Avon.

A two goal scoring burst early in the second half keyed top seeded Fillmore to a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Kendall in the semifinals of the Section V Class D1 boys soccer playoffs this evening at Avon.

Breaking away from a scoreless deadlock, Fillmore scored what proved to be the game winning goal on a rebound shot by Mason Cool just 5:27 into the half.

Fillmore quickly doubled its advantage when Ethan Peet scored just seven minutes later on a misdirection shot at 27:58.

A goal by Mitchell Ward at 15:11 then put a firm lock on the win for Fillmore.

Fillmore also dominated play throughout the first half but were blanked on the scoreboard as Kendall goalie Mason Kuhn anchored a stingy defense by making no less than 8 big saves. The first of those was a nifty leaping save which knocked the ball over the net and another was a stop from close range.

Kendall had its best scoring opportunity in the first two minutes of the second half but couldn’t connect off a nice centering pass.

Less than three minutes later Fillmore found the net for what proved to be the game winning goal and maintained control the rest of the way.

Fillmore will now take a 16-1-1 record into Friday’s D1 title contest against No. 2 Avoca which downed No. 7 Finney 5-1 in the other semifinal.

Kendall finishes the season at 8-7-2.

Girls Soccer
Section VI Class B2 Semifinals
Top seeded Allegany-Limestone downed No. 4 Roy-Hart 6-3 and No. 6 Wilson bested No. 2 Akron 2-0 in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B2 girls soccer semifinals this evening at Williamsville North.

Kara Choate scored all three Roy-Hart goals.

Skylar Munnikhuysen netted the game winning goal for Wilson.

Kendall’s Brian Gonzalez slides in front of Fillmore’s Mason Cool. Fillmore’s Tobias Webb follows the play.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Barker’s Katrina Clare, left, and Roy-Hart’s Justine Laverty, shown here battling for the ball during a regular season game, and their Lady Raiders and Lady Rams teammates will meet again in the Section VI Class C semifinals on Wednesday at Clarence.

No. 1 seed defending champion Barker will face No. 4 Roy-Hart in the semifinals of the Section VI Class C field hockey playoffs at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Clarence.

Barker defeated Roy-Hart twice during the Niagara-Orleans League season by the identical score of 2-0.

Barker advanced by blanking Newfane 6-0 in the quarterfinals while Roy-Hart shutout Wilson 2-0.

Ciara Gregoire has scored 15 goals and Katrina Clare 14 to lead the Barker attack as Rachel Hurtgam and Ginger Alexander have both tallied 9 and Emily Wagner 6. Clare has dished out a team leading 16 assists.

Samanatha Choate and Lexiss Diel have both scored 5 goals to lead Roy-Hart as Jenna Gioeli, Cheyenne Stilwell and Madison Brown each have 4. Choate leads the Lady Rams in assists with 9.

The other semi will be a matchup of Erie County League foes as No. 6 Eden takes on No. 7 Holland at 7 p.m. at Clarence.

Eden nipped No. 3 Akron 1-0 and Holland downed No. 2 Medina 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

The semi winners will meet in the Class C championship at 4 p.m. November 5 at Alden.

Sacred Heart played to a 35-35 tie with Vets Club Monday but still closed to within three points of the lead as front-running Legion dropped a 38-32 decision to JR Wilson in Medina Euchre League action.

Legion is now 153-127 on the season, Sacred Heart 150-130, JR Wilson 135-145 and Vets Club 122-158.

Sacred Heart will next visit Legion in a key match on November 4 as JR Wilson hosts Vets Club.

The Kendall boys and girls soccer teams will both be competing in the semifinal round of the Section V Class D 1 playoffs early this week.

Seeded No. 4 the Kendall boys will face top seeded Fillmore at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Avon.

Kendall, which is 8-6-2 on the season, defeated Alfred-Almond 2-1 in the quarterfinals while Fillmore, which is 15-1-1, downed Arkport/Canaseraga 4-2.

The victor will face the winner of the No. 3 Finney vs. No. 2 Avoca semi in the finals on Friday.

The No. 2 seed defending champion Kendall girls squad will take on No. 3 Alfred-Almond at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Caledonia-Mumford.

Kendall, which is 14-3, blanked Finney 5-0 n the quarterfinals while Alfred-Almond, which is 12-5, shutout Hammondsport/Bradford 2-0.

The winner advances to Saturday’s title contest against the winner of the No. 1 Fillmore (16-0-1) vs. No. 4 Arkport/Canaseraga (10-5-2) semifinal.

Also on Tuesday a trio of Niagara-Orleans League teams will be competing in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B2 girls soccer playoffs at Williamsville North.

No. 4 seed Roy-Hart will take on No. 1 Allegany-Limestone at 6 p.m.. No. 2 Akron will then face N-O foe No. 6 Wilson ay 8 p.m.

Contributed Photo – Scott Bradley races to complete a podium finish at the Ironman 70.3 Eagleman.

A podium finish at the Ironman 70.3 Eagleman for the second year in a row highlighted what was a most unusual summer of Triathalon competition for Lyndonville native Scott Bradley.

Bradley, who earned a spot on the Male Pro Awards Podium for the first time in an Ironman race last year with a fifth place, finish successfully repeated that feat by finishing sixth out of 23 Male Pros and sixth overall out of 2,288 participants.

A 70.3 triathlon includes a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile (half marathon) run.

The swim being his weakest discipline of the three in a triathlon (despite countless hours of practice in the water), his hope has always been that an event that he was in would have to cancel the swim for some reason.  His hope was realized at Eagleman.  Less than half an hour before the race/swim start, the swim was cancelled because of a Small Craft Advisory for the body of water where the swim was to take place.

Thus, the race was reduced to just the bike and run disciplines.  The Male Pros drew numbers to determine their starting order in a time trial start where a Male Pro would start every 45 seconds.

Bradley rode the second fastest bike time for the day in a time of 1:59:24, the fastest time in his 70.3 career.  Riding at an average speed of 28.14 miles per hour, he ended up only twenty-seven seconds behind the top bike time.  In the nearly 20 year history of this race, these were the first two bike times ever recorded under two hours.

Bradley’s run of 1:24:38 earned him a total time of 3:25:55 and a 6th place finish out of the 23 Male Pros and 6th place finish overall out of 2,228 participants in the race.  With this 6th place finish, Scott earned another spot on the Male Pro Awards Podium, this being the third time he had done that in his last 5 races.

Next up Bradley competed in the Ironman Lake Placid but unfortunately this turned out to be the second DNF (Did Not Finish) of his career.

A full Ironman includes a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile (full marathon) run.

He came out of the water 29th out of 30 Male Pros in a time of 1:04:05.

On his bike, his strongest of the three disciplines, he rode the 12th fastest time of the day in a time of 4:53:34, averaging 22.89 miles per hour for the 112 miles.  In doing so, he climbed to 16th among the Male Pros.

However on the run, he ran into trouble.  His body shut down and stopped perspiring.  In order to avoid the possibility of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, he was forced to pull out of the race.

Then, in order to break up his training for Ironman 70.3 Augusta later in September, he entered the Finger Lakes Triathlon.  This is a rarity for him to race locally.

With the swim cancelled in this event because of excessive algae in Canandaigua Lake and the bike route shortened because of permitting issues, this event ended up being a 1 mile run, 19 mile bike and another run of 6.2 miles. He easily placed first by over 6 minutes.

Bradley’s planned schedule had him finishing the summer portion of his season by racing Ironman 70.3 Augusta. Ga. on September 29.  However, misfortune struck again, this time the Monday before the race he became ill with head and chest congestion.  Not able to recover in time for the race, he had to withdraw. (DNS – Did Not Start).

Wanting to compete in one more race in 2019, he is currently entered in Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells-La Quinta (CA) on December 8.

Bradley is the Assistant Principal at Byron-Bergen Junior-Senior High School.